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The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of adverse meteorological factors at Cape Canaveral.

Launch Delay Reasons

Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing managers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.

Rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in recent months.

New Launch Window

To ease airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the mission, the company said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting another attempt as early as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.

Launch Goals

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to examine the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of sending people there.

The mission will also serve as a key test of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.

Previous Flight

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

But its main rocket section, which was meant to be reusable, failed to make its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Landing Attempts

For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to recover the booster stage.

Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.

Space Race

Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are locked in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting proposals for its planned moon mission, noting that one company was lagging behind.

Donald Trump’s second term has involved the government pile pressure on NASA to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with China.

More rivalry between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”

“More launches means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”