Blue Origin called off the highly anticipated first launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday afternoon, citing poor weather conditions at Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 36. It was a day when the sun and rain alternated, and sometimes the sun would stay out while it was raining: call it sunny rain. That proved to be unacceptable to the launch team, and a scrub was called just at the end of the launch window, around 4:15 PM ET.

Blue Origin will recycle and reset, planning for the next attempt for a launch on Wednesday afternoon. The window opens at 2:50 PM ET, and extends to 4:17 the same day.

This Launch Had Everything

It’s rare to say that a launch countdown is an adventure, but this one was — it had everything: rain, then sun, then more rain, fishing boats fouling the range, then the fishing boat losing one of two of its motors and having to limp out to a safe area, and finally, once the fishermen were safely north of the exclusion area, a cruise ship ignoring the Notice to Mariners advisory and heading out into the range, temporarily fouling it in their rush to head to sea with thousands of vacationers aboard.

The first part, weather, you could follow with your own eyes if you were watching from close by. The second, boats and ships in the exclusion area, was a drama easily followed on Channel 16 of the marine band. The weather was shifting often as a steady line of storms between Titusville and Daytona Beach would move south, then drift north. The boat captains were generally cooperative and jocular. The cruise ship? Silent on the channels we were monitoring.

Crowds were heavy, with Jetty Park and Cherie Down Park in Cape Canaveral reaching capacity despite the weather. The beaches were lined with spectators as well, with everyone looking forward to the sight of the 322-foot rocket lumbering skyward. It was not to be on this day, but few grumbles were heard from anyone.

At A Glance