Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is set for an inaugural launch of its giant New Glenn rocket on Sunday, a long-awaited first leap to Earth orbit that sets up one of the biggest challenges yet to industry dominance enjoyed by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

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

Nearly 25 years after Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin, the company is finally poised to send its first rocket to orbit. New Glenn could lift off as early as next week.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, a commercial space launch license for its New Glenn rocket. The approval marks a significant milestone for the company as it enters the competitive market for national security space missions.

Blue Origin was counting down toward the launch of its first New Glenn heavy-lift rocket at 1:00 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) on Friday (Jan. 10), but rough weather in the Atlantic Ocean

Bezos' New Glenn and Musk's Starship both are heading for launch, and both could lift off in close timing to each other. Here's what we know.

Jeff Bezos’s space company is about to launch New Glenn, a reusable rocket intended to rival SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, for the first time