- Jeff Bezos just won a huge victory: Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket into orbit.
- Now it’s the turn of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is scheduled to launch Starship for the seventh time later Thursday.
- The two billionaires are engaged in a race to dominate the global space industry.
Before the most important moment in Blue Origin history, Jeff Bezos couldn’t help but feel nervous.
“I worry about everything,” Amazon’s billionaire founder told Ars Technica’s Eric Berger on Sunday, as Blue Origin technicians prepared the company’s 32-story New Glenn rocket for its first launch in orbit.
“We’ve done a lot of work, we’ve done a lot of testing, but there are some things that can only be tested in flight,” Bezos said.
In the end, he shouldn’t have worried. After a series of delays due to a vehicle subsystem problem, New Glenn finally went into orbit in the early hours of Thursday, breaking a barrier that many space companies never clear on their first attempts.
This launch was an important milestone for Blue Origin, founded by Bezos in 2000.
The New Glenn heavy-lift rocket is on launch pad 36 of the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida. Blue origin
It’s a big step toward Blue Origin’s ambitions to use reusable rockets to regularly carry NASA satellites and astronauts into space, and proves the rocket company can compete with its rivals in the new space race.
One of these rivals was watching closely.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk – who personally clashed with Bezos over their respective business rivalries – congratulated the Blue Origin founder on the successful launch.
The spotlight now turns to SpaceX, which is set to launch its own Starship mega-rocket for the seventh time just hours after Bezos’ company first accomplished the feat.
SpaceX steps up to the plate
SpaceX dominates the commercial space launch industry, launching more rockets into orbit than the rest of the world combined last year and making headlines around the world when it successfully nabbed the 232-foot rocket booster from top of Starship in October.
The company’s latest launch, which is scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m. CST but could be delayed, will see it attempt booster capture again and will also demonstrate Starship’s ability to deploy payloads into orbit by launching multiple “dummy” Starlink satellites. “.
SpaceX and Blue Origin both have ambitious launch schedules for 2025, meaning this likely won’t be the first time Musk and Bezos face off in dueling rocket launches.
SpaceX successfully demonstrated its ability to catch a Starship rocket in mid-flight. SpaceX / Document/Anadolu via Getty Images
SpaceX has indicated it will aim to launch Starship up to 25 times in 2025, while Blue Origin plans to capitalize on the success of New Glenn by launching the giant rocket up to 10 times this year.
Both companies have contracts worth billions with NASA’s Artemis program, Starship’s “Blue Moon” lunar lander, and Blue Origin expected to carry astronauts to the Moon within the next decade.
Blue Origin is also expected to put satellites into orbit for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, the e-commerce giant’s rival to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. Amazon previously purchased launch locations for Kuiper from SpaceX.
The space industry prepares for Trump
While Blue Origin has finally joined the ranks of large orbiters, SpaceX could still have a crucial advantage: Musk’s new political influence.
The billionaire Tesla CEO was elevated to “first friend” in the new administration thanks to his support of Trump’s presidential campaign, and is set to play a crucial role leading the so-called Department of Efficiency government.
Trump has already announced that Jared Isaacman will be the next NASA administrator. Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut, has flown several commercial missions for SpaceX and has expressed support for Musk’s ambitions to colonize Mars.
SpaceX also benefited from the support of Sean Duffy, Trump’s nominee for Transportation secretary, who told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that he would review sanctions imposed on the company by the Federal Aviation Authority, which has been a frequent target of Musk’s ire.
Elon Musk has established a close relationship with new President Donald Trump. Brandon Bell/Pool via AP
In contrast, Bezos has attempted to repair his complex and sometimes antagonistic relationship with Trump.
The billionaire visited Mar-a-Lago for dinner with Trump and Musk last month and told the New York Times Dealbook conference that he was “optimistic” about Trump’s second term.
Before New Glenn’s launch, he told Reuters that one thing he wasn’t worried about was the friendship between the new president and his biggest rival.
“Elon has been very clear that he is doing this in the public interest and not for personal gain,” Bezos said. “And I take it literally.”
