Jeff Bezos: Stuck in the Middle With Blue

Blue Origin — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's rival to SpaceX — just did something breathtaking that nevertheless might make you wonder, "So what?"

You're probably already aware that, after several delays, Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket didn't just put a couple of Mars-bound NASA probes into orbit last week; it made a perfect landing on the droneship Jacklyn in the Atlantic Ocean about 10 minutes after liftoff. New Glenn stuck the landing on just the second attempt — hell, on just the second launch. 

SpaceX required three attempts and a total of 19 launches before Elon Musk's rocket company successfully recovered a Falcon 9. And New Glenn is a much bigger beast than Falcon 9, capable of putting 45 metric tons into Low Earth Orbit (LEO), compared to Falcon's 23.

So let me say one more thing before we get to the weird stuff: New Glenn is a great rocket.

What brought this on was an item PJ's own Charlie Martin shared with me today:

The first time two different kinds of reusable rocket stages have been in the same port at the same time in Human history.

But it will not be the last. https://t.co/GI9okAIHqo pic.twitter.com/i3cEYznqYP

— Space Koala (@culpable_mink) November 18, 2025

These are the days of miracle and wonder, indeed. 

Not just two different reusable rocket stages, but two different companies. For the first time in a decade, SpaceX is about to get some real competition in reusable lift.

For a hot minute, that is. But after that, I'm just not entirely sure where New Glenn fits in.

SpaceX hopes to get its game-changing Starship operational next year, greatly increasing the company's ability to put more stuff into orbit — and at an eventual 90-99% reduction in cost.

You read that right. Musk believes that with rapid reusability, Starship can reduce the cost to orbit by two orders of magnitude. That's a 99% savings. But even if he's off by an entire order, that's still a 90% savings. 

And Another Thing: Falcon 9 already reduced the price-to-orbit by up to 40%. Starship's savings would be on top of that. Dayum!

Going by New Glenn's lift and (presumed) price, it's meant to slot in nicely between Falcon 9 (which is too small for many jobs) and Falcon Heavy (which is overkill for many other jobs). But when Starship comes into service, it's hard to see a major role for either Falcon Heavy or New Glenn.

Hell, Falcon 9 is already too small for SpaceX's primary need, which is building out the Starlink constellation with faster third-generation satellites that are too big and heavy for Falcon. 

That doesn't mean there isn't some smaller role for New Glenn. For one thing, Amazon would probably prefer not to keep paying SpaceX to put the company's Starlink-rival Kuiper satellites into orbit. Also, NASA and our national defense/intelligence agencies usually insist on having at least two launch providers. New Glenn might not be able to compete with Starship, but it is reusable — and ULA's new Vulcan rocket isn't.

And Another Thing: Amazon just rebranded its LEO satellite internet service from Amazon Kuiper to Amazon Leo. Get it? Yeah, it's pretty lame branding. "Kuiper" at least had people looking something up.

Also, assuming SpaceX is able to get a start on fulfilling Musk's ambitions for a human colony on Mars, the company might have to say "No" to a lot of business, simply because its logistics can stretch only so far.  Each Mars-bound Starship launch will require a bare minimum of five tanker launches to "fill 'er up" and send her on her way. And establishing a self-sustaining colony on Mars might require as many as 1,000 Starship launches per 60-day launch window.

You don't have to do the math because I already did it in this column back in March.

Years ago, Blue Origin hinted at a Starship rival, tentatively called New Armstrong. But there was never anything more than talk, and even that petered out. Maybe they'll develop New Armstrong someday. I hope so, because even SpaceX needs some healthy competition. Today, the company seems fully focused on making New Glenn reusable, now that they've landed one, and speeding up its launch cadence. 

Assuming there's enough business to require a rapid cadence. So New Glenn is a great rocket that might end up without much to do but settle for Starship's crumbs.

But don't feel too bad for Blue Origin. Even if New Glenn never completely lives up to BO's commercial hopes, there's got to be at least some business for an affordable — which is to say, reusable — rocket.

It's the companies that can't figure out reusability that may have no future.

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