Blue Origin successfully launched the rocket after an attempt earlier in the week was scrubbed. The flight is a crucial test of the company’s ability to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

New Glenn, a multistage rocket named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, is the first Blue Origin rocket to reach orbit. That puts the company, founded by former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, in good position to join Elon Musk’s busy SpaceX brand as a major player in the cellular satellite industry and beyond.

Founded 25 years ago by Bezos, Blue Origin has been launching paying passengers to the edge of space since 2021, including himself. The short hops from Texas use smaller rockets named after the first American in space, Alan Shepard. New Glenn, which honors John Glenn, is five times taller.

Blue Origin's successful maiden launch of New Glenn rocket made billionaire Jeff Bezos hungry. He ate breakfast at a Space Coast diner in Florida after

Blue Origin, company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, will launch massive New Glenn rocket. You can livestream coverage on iPhone, Android, YouTube.

If all goes to plan, shortly after launch, Blue Origin will attempt to land the first-stage booster on a drone ship named Jacklyn, in honor of Bezos' mother, stationed about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.

The heavy-lift vehicle’s booster starts but doesn’t finish an attempt to land on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.

Blue Origin successfully launched its two-stage heavy-lift New Glenn rocket on its unmanned maiden voyage into space early Thursday, achieving the mission's primary goal of reaching orbit.

SpaceX dominates this week’s launch manifest with three Falcon 9 missions and the seventh flight of its Starship rocket. The three Falcon 9 missions will see the launches of a batch of Starlink satellites, a Transporter rideshare mission, and two Moon landers.

Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin will have to wait a little longer for the long-anticipated maiden orbital flight of its brand-new rocket after a launch attempt dragged on for hours before

The successful flight to orbit of the Amazon founder’s powerful rocket suggests it could grow into a credible competitor with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.