The global space race is no longer limited to major powers like the US, Russia, and China. Private aerospace companies led by US billionaires are making significant moves into this arena, vying for lucrative NASA contracts.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX currently leads in rocket launches and satellite internet services, while Blue Origin, led by Jeff Bezos, is developing its New Glenn rocket for commercial use and focusing on NASA’s Artemis moon missions.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch service is highly efficient, using a “fail fast” method to perfect rockets. In contrast, Blue Origin’s approach is more methodical, based on the principle that “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”
In November, New Glenn successfully deployed two Mars-bound satellites for NASA. The rocket has been performing efficiently with recent successful launches and orbital deliveries. Both companies are competing in NASA’s Artemis program to develop lunar landers by 2030.
Earlier, SpaceX was contracted to deliver the Starship Human Landing System to NASA. Due to delays, Blue Origin was later contracted to provide lunar landers. The company has paused its space tourism (New Shepard) operations to focus on developing lunar cargo and crew landers.
In mid-2027, NASA plans to test one or both companies’ landers. It remains uncertain which company’s lander will be the first to reach the moon in this intense competition.
Both SpaceX and Blue Origin are also competing to establish data centers in orbit to capitalize on solar power and handle AI computing. Elon Musk announced the anticipated merger of SpaceX and xAI, aiming to create “the most ambitious, vertically integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet.”
SpaceX has sought permission for up to 1 million data center satellites, while Blue Origin has filed for nearly 52,000 satellites equipped with AI computing payloads.