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Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of adverse weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.

Launch Delay Causes

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.

Competition between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in the past few months.

New Launch Window

To relieve traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week.

After scrubbing the launch, the company said 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 Eastern Standard time.

Mission Objectives

Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.

Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.

Earlier Mission

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

But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent.

Landing Attempts

For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to land the booster stage.

Until now, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Industry Competition

Rival firms of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.

The current administration has involved the government push the agency to speed up its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with China.

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

“More launches means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”