Blue Origin has announced the delay of the highly anticipated in-flight escape test of its New Shepard suborbital spaceflight system. The test was originally scheduled for Tuesday. However, due to unfavorable weather conditions, the test will now take place on Wednesday. The launch was set to take place at a West Texas test site.
The accompanying webcast will reportedly now be available from 10:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
The New Shepard suborbital spaceflight system consists of a reusable rocket and a capsule. The launch would test the safety of the rocket to ensure that the astronauts are unharmed. The test will involve the capsule firing its onboard escape motor after liftoff. This will propel the capsule away to safety.
Blue Origin is the brainchild of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. New Shepard is designed to transport payload and people to suborbital space on short-duration flights. However, Blue Origin plans to go further. The company is expected to provide stiff competition to SpaceX, which is being run by Tesla founder Elon Musk.
Earlier this year, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos announced that the company is developing an orbital rocket as well. The rocket has been named New Glenn. Both rockets derive their names from famous astronauts, Alan Shepard and John Glenn. Alan Sheppard was the first American to reach the space while John Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth.