Speaking during a keynote address at the Air Force Assn.'s Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., Bezos said a "big team of people" is working on the rocket's development. The Kent, Wash., company has said the rocket will be available in two- and three-stage versions, and has already netted several commercial satellite launch orders.

The rocket's BE-4 engine test program is also "going very well," Bezos said. The engine, which will be propelled by liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen, is being considered for use in the first stage of the next generation Vulcan Centaur rocket under development by a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. known as United Launch Alliance.