Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin poised for first orbital launch next week

The NG-1 mission will carry a prototype of Blue Ring, a Defense Department-funded spacecraft envisioned as a versatile satellite deployment platform, which will remain on board the rocket's second stage for the six-hour test flight. It will mark Blue Origin's long-awaited entry into the lucrative orbital launch market after years of suborbital flights with its smaller New Shepard rocket, which carries passengers and payloads on brief trips to the edge of space.