Bezos' Blue Origin prepares for New Glenn rocket launch

Blue Origin is set to launch its New Glenn rocket from Florida early Monday, marking a key step in its efforts to challenge SpaceX in the satellite launch market. The inaugural flight aims to test both the rocket’s performance and its booster landing capabilities.

Blue Origin is preparing for the inaugural launch of its New Glenn rocket from Florida early Monday, marking a significant milestone in the company's goal to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the satellite launch market. The partially reusable rocket, standing at 30 stories tall, is set for liftoff at 06:30 GMT from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, after being fueled with methane and liquid oxygen.

The mission, a decade in the making, will test the landing of New Glenn's first-stage booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, 10 minutes after launch, while the second stage continues toward orbit. The payload includes the first prototype of Blue Origin's Blue Ring vehicle, a spacecraft designed for national security and satellite servicing, which the company plans to offer to the Pentagon and commercial clients.

In a pre-launch interview, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos expressed his main concern: landing the booster successfully. He acknowledged that anything could go wrong on a first flight. "If we could achieve this, it would be a great success," Bezos said, adding that landing the booster would be the "icing on the cake."

New Glenn's development has spanned several years and faced delays, as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has become the industry leader in reusable rockets. However, under new CEO Dave Limp, an Amazon veteran, Blue Origin is pushing forward with increased urgency to compete. New Glenn, which is more than twice as powerful as Falcon 9, already has a significant customer base and contracts worth billions of dollars.