New Glenn, the towering orbital rocket that Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin designed to compete with SpaceX’s dominant Falcon rockets, is back for its second launch ever — this time with a job to send twin spacecraft on a long, winding trip to Mars.
The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket was set to take off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida during an 88-minute launch window that opened at 2:45 p.m. ET on Sunday. But Blue Origin revealed during a livestream that cloud cover rolled into the area, preventing liftoff. (Rockets often seek to avoid clouds because flying through one that is electrified can actually trigger a lightening strike.)
“We’re reviewing opportunities for our next launch attempt based on forecasted weather,” the company said in a social media post.
Blue Origin officials previously indicated they have the ability to try again during a launch window on Monday. The weather forecast for that opportunity, however, appeared “somewhat consistent” with Sunday’s conditions, noted Laura Maginnis, New Glenn’s vice president of mission management, during a Saturday news conference.
The Federal Aviation Administration recently said that it would be putting a stop to commercial rocket launches between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. ET, beginning Monday, to ease the burden on air traffic controllers amid the government shutdown.
Continue reading the complete article on the original source
