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Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated launch of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of adverse weather factors at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Causes

Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.

Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in the past few months.

Rescheduled Attempt

To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the mission, Blue Origin said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting another attempt as early as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.

Mission Objectives

Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.

The mission will also serve as a crucial trial of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if successful.

Previous Flight

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

But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.

Landing Attempts

In its second effort the launch provider will try once more to recover the booster stage.

Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Industry Competition

Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was falling behind schedule.

Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with China.

Increased competition between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”

“Additional missions means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”