Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

Blue Origin, the aerospace company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has successfully launched the New Glenn, a heavy-lift rocket that could potentially compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets, Azernews reports.

The rocket was launched from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida and carries special equipment designed to monitor all flight parameters. The company plans to land the first stage of the rocket approximately 10 minutes after launch on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean, named "Jacklyn" after Bezos' mother. Blue Origin aims to reuse the first stage up to 25 times, which is expected to significantly reduce the cost of future flights. Additionally, the company hopes to launch a cargo module into low-Earth orbit during this first test flight.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, congratulated Bezos on the successful launch of the New Glenn rocket, marking a milestone in the ongoing space race between the two companies.

The New Glenn launch vehicle is named after John Glenn, the first American astronaut to complete an orbital spaceflight in 1962. Blue Origin first announced the mission in 2015, and the company anticipates that the 98-meter-high, 7-meter-diameter rocket will be able to deliver up to 45 tons of cargo to low-Earth orbit, or up to 13 tons to geostationary transfer orbit in the future.

An exciting aspect of the New Glenn launch is its potential to revolutionize space access. The reusability of the rocket's first stage could help drive down the cost of space exploration and commercial space travel, much like SpaceX's Falcon rockets have done. This could open up new opportunities for satellite deployment, space tourism, and even future lunar or Mars missions.

Moreover, Blue Origin's continued development of space technologies reflects a broader trend of private companies entering the space industry, challenging traditional government-led space programs and increasing global competition. The successful deployment of the New Glenn could pave the way for more ambitious space projects, including potential collaborations with NASA and other international space agencies.