Blue Origin postpones New Glenn rocket launch again. The ambitious goals of Jeff Bezos' company
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket Photo: JOE MARINO / UPI / Profimedia
The American space company Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, announced on Wednesday that it is once again postponing the launch of its gigantic New Glenn rocket, highly anticipated in the context of the intense competition with Elon Musk's company SpaceX, due to unfavorable conditions, reports AFP, taken by Agerpres.
This flight, which follows a successful first launch in January, was first delayed on Sunday due to inclement weather.
This time, intense solar activity, which raises concerns about “potential effects” on the probes carried, has led the space company Blue Origin to postpone the launch, indicated a spokeswoman for it.
A new launch date is not yet known and could take time to be decided due to the federal government's budget impasse, which has led US authorities to limit commercial rocket launches.
Standing nearly 100 meters tall, the powerful New Glenn rocket will lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with two NASA space probes on board.
The mission, named ESCAPADE, aims to study the history of the climate on Mars and pave the way for a possible human exploration of the Red Planet.
Beyond the scientific interest of this mission, the launch is watched with great attention because of the rivalry between Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, the boss of SpaceX. The commercial competition between the two multi-billionaires has recently intensified over NASA's Artemis lunar program, after the US space agency raised the possibility of abandoning SpaceX due to delays.
