Miami/The space war between billionaires had a new takeoff this Thursday: that of Jeff Bezos and his New Glenn rocket, which begins to compete with the Falcon 9 of the technology magnate Elon Musk, who will soon also be the official in charge of putting waste in check. in the government of his ally, President-elect Donald Trump.
The American company Blue Origin, owned by Bezos, thus increases the competition with SpaceX, owned by Musk, which has practically monopolized the launches of private companies since 2008, when it achieved orbital success with its Falcon 1 after three failed attempts.
Now the founder of Amazon is taking on Musk’s rockets, with today’s successful orbital launch of his gigantic New Glenn, but not before failing in a first takeoff last Monday due to an unwanted formation of ice, and after several delays. due to unfavorable weather conditions.
The SpaceX, Tesla and X billionaire has several milestones since his successful 2008 Falcon 1
Bezos thus faces more than 16 years of advantage over SpaceX, and also the question of whether Musk, as Trump’s person in charge of government efficiency, will interfere with the space issue for his own benefit.
The SpaceX, Tesla and orbit of the world.
It has also carried out six test flights of the Starship and its Super Heavy booster, the largest and most powerful ship in the world, and plans a seventh today as part of NASA’s goal of paving the way for the United States to return to the Moon. and get to Mars.
The Starship is designed to undertake long-range voyages, capable of transporting crew members and large satellites. However, in less time, Bezos has not been left behind as a key player in the private space industry.
His company developed the New Shepard, a suborbital rocket that has made multiple successful flights, conducting scientific experiments and transporting space tourists, including itself in 2021. It is also advancing the development of rocket landing and reuse technology with a view to reduce costs for the sake of space sustainability, just as SpaceX does.
The Starship is designed to undertake long-range voyages, capable of transporting crew members and large satellites.
Blue Origin is also working on the Blue Moon lunar lander to support exploration of the Moon in collaboration with NASA. And today a new goal was scored with the New Glenn, a 98-meter-high heavy-lift rocket, which is on its way to certification by the US government to meet the objectives of NASA and its commercial and safety programs. emerging national.
A key to the successful launch of the New Glenn this Thursday was its BE-4 engine, which is also an important part for other rockets such as the Vulcan, from United Launch Alliance (ULA).
“Today marks a new era for Blue Origin and the commercial space,” said Jarrett Jones, senior vice president of New Glenn. Bezos’ company also anticipated a new attempt for “the spring”, in which it hopes to be able to land its booster, something that was not achieved this time.
The space war between two of the richest men on the planet, however, was friendly today. Musk congratulated Bezos “for reaching orbit on the first try!” after managing to take off this morning from one of the platforms at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Center, in Florida (United States).
This afternoon it’s Musk’s turn. SpaceX’s challenge in the seventh Starship test is to carry a payload, with a dozen replicas of the Starlink internet satellites, in what may be the last milestone for the company in its development of reusable rockets.
