Blue Origin Successfully Launches SpaceX Rival Rocket
The Facts
Jeff Bezos-owned space company Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket at 2:03 am Thursday, later reaching orbit in the second stage of its maiden flight. This marks a significant milestone for Bezos' company in the private space race.
The launch successfully tested the Blue Ring Pathfinder, a vehicle designed for future satellite orbital maneuvers, demonstrating new technological capabilities. While the rocket's booster failed to land on a barge in the Atlantic, Blue Origin emphasized that the main goal was orbit achievement.
The Spin
Narrative A
Jeff Bezos' spacefaring ventures are now catching up to the impressive capabilities of Elon Musk. Despite the cynicism of "spacefaring billionaires," the reality is that society benefits from this type of innovation. From spin-off technologies that benefit life on Earth to exploring new celestial frontiers, the good resulting from private innovation in the space sector is incalculable.
Narrative B
That tech oligarchs have their own personal space armadas and are deeply intertwined with the US government is beyond disturbing. What "space billionaires" have done to occupy Earth's orbit they now stand to inflict on democracy itself. What's needed is urgent regulation of the space-faring tech class — space is a good place to start to help clean up the debris and atmospheric damage already caused by extravagant celestial ventures.