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The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of adverse weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.

Mission Postponement Causes

Rainfall and a ground system issue caused initial delays, then came thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.

Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.

New Launch Window

To relieve traffic in the skies during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs starting Monday.

After scrubbing the mission, the company announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as midweek within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.

Mission Objectives

When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration.

The mission will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the company if accomplished.

Previous Flight

The rocket's first launch in January was considered a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed experiments.

But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.

Recovery Efforts

In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to land the first stage.

Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.

Space Race

Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was lagging behind.

The current administration has involved the government push the agency to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against China.

More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”

“Additional missions means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official stated. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”