With the successful New Glenn flight, Blue Origin can finally turn the corner

“That's the little one,” Bezos noted. “Mark 2 is twice as high and twice as wide.”

They are impressive vehicles, built on a large scale. They are important first steps toward delivering cargo — Mark 1 could be launched within the next 12 to 18 months — and ultimately crew. But none of these next steps can happen without New Glenn as a foundational first step. That's why this month's launch was so important.

Bezos is clearly thinking about this methodically. First develop the path to space. And once you have that, what's next? You have to learn to live off the land.

“In my view, the next big step is resource development on the ground,” he said. “So that's a really big unlock. For example, if you can make propellant on the moon, that's a really big deal. You know, lifting a kilogram of mass from the moon takes 25 times less energy than lifting a kilogram of mass from Earth So when you're talking about traveling through the solar system, being able to extract propellants and other materials, building materials and so on from celestial bodies is a big problem.'

It's a great vision and it's nice to see Blue finally taking the first steps. What happens next will come down to Bezos' will, his finances and whatever path the US government decides to take.

Days after New Glenn's initial launch, Bezos attended Donald Trump's inauguration, standing next to Musk. The SpaceX founder played an important role in Trump's election and advised him on space policy.

Bezos and Musk, the tortoise and the hare, seemed chatty and friendly in a way that wasn't the norm for the rivals. More often than not, they've been sniffing at each other instead of flirting with each other. Maybe now they will work together to help America spread among the stars.

We'll see. Musk is interested in Mars and Bezos is more fixated on the moon. Ultimately, Trump can tell them both to follow their hearts, while the US government plays along.