STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
NPR's business news begins with a blastoff. The founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos - busy guy - has announced that his space company, Blue Origin, is partnering with U.S.-based United Launch Alliance to develop a new rocket engine. The estimated billion dollar project will provide an American option for launching U.S. military and national security satellites into space. Right now, the United States is forced to rely on Russian rockets for those launches. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.