SpaceX founder Elon Musk congratulated his rival Jeff Bezos on the successful maiden test-launch of his heavy-lift rocket New Glenn on Thursday.
“Congratulations on reaching orbit on the first attempt!” Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns, tagging Bezos in his post.
Amazon founder Bezos established his rocket company Blue Origin nearly 25 years ago. But he has seen Musk’s SpaceX come to dominate the US commercial space industry – and obtain lucrative government contracts.
SpaceX’s uncrewed megarocket Starship, developed to carry astronauts to the moon, failed during its first two launches in 2023.
But the spacecraft has now made it into Earth’s orbit on several occasions, and the next test launch is planned for later Thursday.
