Jeff Bezos challenges Elon Musk with the first flight of his new space rocket

Blue Origin, the aerospace company Jeff Bezosis ready to compete with SpaceX. The New Glenn rocket will make its first launch this Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, according to the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The flight will mark Blue Origin’s entry into the competitive orbital rocket market, until now dominated by Elon Musk.

Although Blue Origin has not officially confirmed the date, Bezos raised expectations by posting on X: “Next station: takeoff”accompanied by a video of the engines starting. In late December, the rocket successfully completed a key test, paving the way for its debut in orbit.

On his first flight, New Glenn will carry a prototype of Blue Ring, a ship financed by the US Department of Defense for the satellite launch. This step represents a crucial turn for Blue Origin, which until now only operated with the New Shepard suborbital rocket, used for brief space trips.

“The market is truly orbital”explains Laura Forczyk, from the consulting firm Astralytical. “The suborbital sector is limited. To compete, you need to reach orbit and offer solutions for more complex missions”.

At 98 meters tall, the New Glenn surpasses SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in size and can carry heavier loads. Unlike the Falcon 9, uses liquid natural gaswhich makes it cleaner. Its first stage is reusable and lands vertically in the ocean, similar to SpaceX’s design.

Despite founding Blue Origin in 2000, Bezos has taken a more cautious approach than Musk. “There is impatience in the space community with the pace of Blue Origin,” says Scott Pace, a space policy expert. However, analysts believe that the success of New Glenn could reduce dependence on SpaceX and generate competition, benefiting NASA and the Pentagon.

While Musk maintains a close relationship with Donald Trump, Bezos has also initiated rapprochements. He met with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago and Amazon has announced a $1 million donation to the inauguration ceremony. The new space scenario seems to be as marked by technological innovation as by political power games.