Jeff Bezos eyes space victory as Blue Origin launch nears, revives rivalry with Musk's SpaceX

Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon magnate Jeff Bezos, is preparing to launch its inaugural orbital rocket, New Glenn, next week, marking a pivotal moment in the commercial space race. This milestone comes as the rivalry between Bezos and SpaceX founder Elon Musk intensifies.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration advisory, New Glenn is set to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 1:00 am (0600 GMT) on Wednesday, with Friday reserved as a backup launch window. While Blue Origin has yet to officially confirm the date, the excitement has been building since a successful "hot-fire" engine test on 27 December.

Sharing a video of the towering rocket's engines roaring to life, Bezos announced on social media platform X, "Next stop launch."

NG-1 Mission: A Defence Prototype

The mission, dubbed NG-1, will carry a prototype of Blue Ring, a spacecraft funded by the US Department of Defense. Designed as a versatile satellite deployment platform, the spacecraft will remain aboard the rocket's second stage for a six-hour test flight.

This launch signifies Blue Origin’s long-awaited entry into the competitive orbital launch market, moving beyond its previous suborbital achievements with the smaller New Shepard rocket, which ferried passengers and payloads on brief trips to the edge of space.

Laura Forczyk, founder of space consultancy Astralytical, noted, "The market is really orbital. Suborbital can only take you so far – there are limited payloads and customers for a quick ride to space."

Rivalry Among Space Barons

The milestone will escalate the rivalry between Bezos, the world’s second-richest individual, and Musk, who currently holds the top spot. Musk’s SpaceX has firmly established itself as the industry leader with its Falcon 9 rockets, which serve diverse clients, including NASA, the Pentagon, and commercial satellite operators.

New Glenn, named after astronaut John Glenn, is poised to challenge this dominance. Standing at 320 feet (98 metres), the rocket dwarfs the 230-foot Falcon 9 and is designed to carry larger payloads. Its reusable first stage will attempt a vertical sea landing, with the landing vessel whimsically named "So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance."

Using liquid natural gas rather than kerosene, New Glenn’s engines offer cleaner combustion and require fewer engines overall. "If I were still a senior executive at NASA, I’d be thrilled to finally have some competition to the Falcon 9," remarked G. Scott Hubbard, a former NASA official now based at Stanford University.

Founded in 2000, Blue Origin predates SpaceX by two years but has advanced more cautiously. This deliberate approach has drawn criticism within the space community, as competitors like SpaceX have surged ahead.

Despite these challenges, analysts highlight the importance of competition. "New Glenn provides the US government with dissimilar redundancy – vital for ensuring backup systems in case of failure," said space policy expert Scott Pace.

As SpaceX plans to phase out its Falcon 9 rockets in favour of the experimental Starship by the end of the decade, New Glenn’s debut could prove timely, offering alternatives in a rapidly evolving market.

For Bezos, who dreams of space colonies rather than Mars colonisation, New Glenn represents a significant step. If successful, it will not only secure Blue Origin’s place in the lucrative orbital market but also reignite its rivalry with SpaceX, setting the stage for the next chapter in the commercial space race.

(With inputs from AFP)