Blue Origin, the space company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced Sunday to postpone the anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket due to unfavourable weather conditions.

Rain and a ground system issue caused delays that were followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving managers with the only option of pushing back the rocket's planned second mission.

The launch had been due to proceed amid intensifying competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX.

To relieve airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket lift-offs starting Monday.

But after scrubbing the launch Blue Origin said late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as Wednesday within the window of 2:50pm to 4:17pm (1950-2117 GMT).

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot (98-meter) New Glenn rocket has the task of sending US space agency NASA's ESCAPADE twin spacecraft to Mars, a bid to study the Red Planet's climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.

Source:Ndtv