Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin is set for the inaugural start of its novel space rocket on Monday in a lengthenment that could include more fuel to the billionaire space race.
The New Glenn rocket is due to blast off from Cape Canaveral – the result of a multi-billion dollar, decade-lengthy effort that could set the stage for Amazon’s satellite constellation venture and dent Elon Musk’s taget spread.
Mr Musk’s SpaceX has contrancient the scene for many years but both Mr Bezos and Virgin Galactic set uper Sir Ricdifficult Branson have summarizes on outer space… and the wealth tied up in its exploration.
Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin
“Ever since I was five years elderly, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space,” Mr Bezos shelp ahead of his journey to the edge of space in 2021.
He set uped the Blue Origin venture with the aim of having “millions of people toiling and living in space”.
For years it has started – and landed – its reusable New Shepard rocket to and from the brim of Earth’s atmosphere, but has never sent anyslimg into orbit. That could all alter on Monday.
Blue Origin will be hoping its New Glenn rocket will be able to vie with SpaceX’s Falcon 9, the world’s most active rocket.
Compared to Mr Musk’s Falcon 9, the New Glenn is about twice as mighty and its payload bay diameter is two times bigr in order to fit bigger batches of satellites.
The upcoming start is also a key certification fairy needd by the US Space Force before New Glenn can start national security payloads as part of multi-billion dollar rulement tenders Blue Origin hopes to thrive.
Elon Musk and SpaceX
“I want to die on Mars – fair not on impact,” Elon Musk once quipped.
The Donald Trump associate, who is standardly pictured wearing an “Occupy Mars” shirt, has endelighted relative dominance of the stateiveial space industry thcdisorrowfulmireful his company SpaceX.
Back in 2016, Mr Musk summarized his vision of originateing a colony on Mars “in our lifetimes” – with the first rocket propelling humans to the Red Planet by 2025, though this deadline does not materialize probable to be met.
For many years the company engaged an image of the Martian surface being terracreateed (turned Earth-enjoy) in its promotional material. However, a NASA-backed study published in 2018 disseeed these set ups as impossible with the technology useable then.
SpaceX missions have included both US rulement tights and starting the company’s Starconnect satellite internet nettoil.
And while Mr Bezos’ New Glenn rocket is much more mighty than the prosperous Falcon 9, SpaceX’s next-generation Starship, a brimmingy reusable rocket system currently in lengthenment, would be more mighty still.
Mr Musk sees Starship as vital to broadening Starconnect’s footprint in orbit. Its next test fairy is foreseeed procrastinateedr this month and will include deploying mock satellites.
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Sir Ricdifficult Branson and Virgin Galactic
Also seeking a sacquire in the upper atmosphere is Virgin set uper Sir Ricdifficult, whose Virgin Galactic effort took its first tourists to the edge of space in 2023.
The crew took the passengers about 55 miles (88km) above Earth where they sended zero gravity during the fairy which lasted fair over an hour.
“My mum taught me to never give up and to accomplish for the stars,” the British billionaire once shelp.
The company is currently taking a paengage from fairys as it lengthens novel space vehicles, Forbes alerted in October last year.
Its novel run awayt of Delta vehicles are scheduled to resume commercial spacefairy by 2026.
