Rocket Launch Challenges Elon Musk's Space Dominance

Amazon laminitis Jeff Bezos's abstraction institution has blasted its first rocket into orbit successful a bid to situation nan power of Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The New Glenn rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station successful Florida astatine 02:02 section clip (07:02 GMT).

It firmly pits nan world's 2 richest men against each different successful a commercialized abstraction race, vying to alert bigger and much powerful rockets.

Both want to populate nan skies pinch much satellites, tally backstage abstraction stations, and supply carrier for regular trips by group to nan Moon.

"Congratulations connected reaching orbit connected nan first attempt!" Musk wrote successful a station to Bezos connected X.

Dave Limp, CEO of Bezos's abstraction institution Blue Origin, said he was "incredibly proud".

"We'll study a batch from coming and effort again astatine our adjacent motorboat this spring," he added.

Bezos's squad overcame method barriers that caused delays earlier this week erstwhile crystal statement halted a launch.

Blue Origin's labor and crowds gathered adjacent Cape Canaveral shouted arsenic nan 98 meters-high rocket hurtled into orbit.

But nan institution grounded to onshore New Glenn's main rocket engine, aliases booster, onto a level successful nan Atlantic Ocean.

It had hoped that nan booster would beryllium reusable for early launches but aft astir 20 minutes of flight, nan institution confirmed it had mislaid nan engine.

Bezos's institution Blue Origin has struggled to lucifer nan gait group by SpaceX. But this motorboat will beryllium seen arsenic a awesome measurement guardant for nan business.

The New Glenn rocket was named aft John Glenn, nan first American astronaut to orbit Earth much than 60 years ago.

The rocket is much powerful than SpaceX's astir commonly utilized rocket, nan Falcon 9. It tin besides transportation much satellites, and Bezos wants to usage it arsenic portion of his Project Kuiper, which intends to deploy thousands of low-earth satellites to supply broadband services.

That task would compete straight pinch Musk's Starlink service.

Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin 25 years ago, claiming he wanted "millions of group moving and surviving successful space."

For years nan task has sent a smaller, reusable rocket called New Shepard to nan separator of Earth's atmosphere. It has carried passengers and payloads, including Bezos himself successful 2021.

But Blue Origin has been dramatically outperformed by SpaceX, which launched its rockets 134 times past year.

And SpaceX's caller procreation of rocket, called Starship, is much powerful still. The institution hopes to motorboat it successful its seventh trial formation later today.

Some experts opportunity a successful New Glenn rocket will create existent title betwixt nan 2 companies and could thrust down nan costs of abstraction operations.

"What you are going to spot are these 2 companies situation each different to make moreover greater strides," suggests Dr Simeon Barber astatine nan Open University successful nan UK.

Governments person historically spent billions connected building rockets and sending missions into space.

But US abstraction agency NASA is progressively moving distant from relying only connected nationalist money and has issued immense contracts to backstage companies to supply rockets and different abstraction services.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has already received billions of dollars worthy of abstraction contracts.

His adjacent narration pinch nan adjacent US president, Donald Trump, could fortify his institution further.