Jeff Bezos’s space venture Blue Origin plans to launch its first orbital rocket, New Glenn, no earlier than Friday, January 10 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This marks a significant milestone in the commercial space race, as SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has dominated the market.
The NG-1 mission will carry a prototype of Blue Ring, a US Defense Department-funded spacecraft designed for satellite deployment. The six-hour test flight will assess the rocket’s capabilities and provide valuable data for future launches.
Blue Origin has been preparing for this moment after years of suborbital flights with its New Shepard rocket. “This is our first flight, and we’ve prepared rigorously for it,” said senior vice president Jarrett Jones. “We’ll learn, refine, and apply that knowledge to our next launch.”
The launch comes as Bezos and Musk engage in a high-stakes rivalry, with the world’s second-richest person seeking to challenge SpaceX’s dominance. The competition will continue as Blue Origin aims to establish itself as a major player in the orbital launch market.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-01-bezos-blue-friday-orbital.html