Space
Bezos’ Blue Origin Reached Orbit on Its First Try. Now Comes the Hard Part
- Billionaire Amazon founder joins Musk in elite space club
- Sustaining momentum is a major challenge for rocket firms
The Blue Origin New Glenn rocket lifts off at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Jan. 16.
Photographer: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images
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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin LLC stunned the space industry this week, launching a brand-new rocket taller than the Statue of Liberty into orbit on its first try.
Thursday’s landmark New Glenn launch came after years of setbacks and delays and unfavorable comparisons to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which leapfrogged Blue Origin and others over the past quarter century to become the world’s most prolific rocket launcher.