"This is our first flight and we've prepared rigorously for it."

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

Blue Origin hopes New Glenn, named for space legend John Glenn, will make it safely to orbit for the inaugural test flight of a rocket that could rival Elon Musk's SpaceX fleet.

Doing that on a maiden flight would be unprecedented: that kind of partial reusability was pioneered by SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket firm, and it required several attempts before eventually sticking the landing in 2016.

Blue Origin said on Monday that it is looking to launch its New Glenn rocket for the first time to orbit no earlier than Jan. 10, Friday.

Jeff Bezos is preparing to launch a satellite broadband service in Britain in a boost to his challenge to rival space rocket billionaire Elon Musk.

Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, is preparing for a landmark moment in its journey into the orbital launch market. Its first orbital rocket, New Glenn, is set to launch as early as Wednesday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida,

Beachside spectators have monitored the rocket and Launch Complex 36 pre-launch activities on the horizon for weeks, including a Dec. 27 hot-fire test.

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is poised for its inaugural launch, competing directly with SpaceX in the orbital market. The mission will test a spacecraft funded by the US Department of Defense, enhancing the rivalry between Bezos and Musk in commercial space exploration.