Blue Origin launches New Glenn rocket for the first time: what is known about SpaceX's competitor

A prototype satellite is launched into orbit thousands of kilometers above the Earth. Jeff Bezos is now a direct competitor of Elon Musk in orbit.

Transmitted by UNN with reference to Associated Press.

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Jeff Bezos' company Blue Origin launched its new rocket on its first test flight on Thursday, sending a prototype satellite into orbit thousands of miles above Earth.

The launch took place after two countdown interruptions that delayed the launch by an hour. In part, everything went well - the first stage's seven methane engines reportedly shut down as planned, allowing the second stage to separate. 

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The New Glenn rocket is named after the first American to orbit the Earth. The 98-meter rocket has been under development for years and was funded by Bezos' company. It carries an experimental platform designed to place satellites or launch them into orbit. The rocket is designed to deliver spacecraft and possibly astronauts into orbit and even to the moon.

Founded 25 years ago by Bezos, Blue Origin has been launching paid passengers to the edge of space, including himself, since 2021. Smaller rockets named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space, are used for short flights from Texas.

Blue Origin has invested more than $1 billion in the New Glenn launch site, restoring the historic Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral space station. The site is located 14 kilometers from the company's control centers and rocket factory, outside the gates of NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Bezos, who attended the launch from Mission Control, refused to disclose his personal investment in the program and said he did not consider Blue Origin to be a competitor to Elon Musk's SpaceX.