Jeff Bezos takes on Elon Musk as billionaire’s 320ft Blue Origin rocket finally set for daring ‘launch to orbit’ in days
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A BATTLE of billionaires will escalate this week as Jeff Bezos prepares for a daring rocket launch to rival Elon Musk's SpaceX. The Amazon founder's space company Blue Origin is set to launch its first orbital rocket in a matter of days. Musk, the world's wealthiest person, currently dominates the commercial space race.
![[Blue Origin is preparing for its first orbital launch with the New Glenn rocket]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/blue-origin-ng-001.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
But Bezos, the second-richest human alive, hopes that his New Glenn rocket will provide some serious off-Earth competition if this week's launch is successful. The rocket is scheduled to blast off as soon as 6am London time on Wednesday, January 8. That's 1am local time at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launch site in Florida.
![[Jeff Bezos, left, recently won a contract from Telesat that will see a satellite constellation launched using Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/blue-origin-ng-004.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
It could also take place on Friday during a back-up launch window. Blue Origin has already made several suborbital flights using the New Shepard rocket. This smaller rocket can carry equipment and even passengers to the edge of space. But Blue Origin's NG-1 mission this week will make a six-hour test flight into orbit.
![[The first New Glenn rocket is built for a minimum of 25 launches]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/blue-origin-ng-003.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
It will by carrying a spacecraft called Blue Ring, which is funded by the United States Department of Defence. The prototype craft is meant to be used for deploying satellites, which could be a big money-spinner for Blue Origin. If the mission is a success, Blue Origin could win valuable contracts for flying gear into Earth's orbit.
![[The New Glenn rocket could blast off as soon as Wednesday, January 8]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/blue-origin-ng-002.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
