The Amazon founder’s space company marked a major milestone Thursday with the first test flight of its New Glenn rocket.

Named after the first American to orbit Earth, the New Glenn rocket blasted off from Florida, soaring from the same pad used to launch NASA’s Mariner and Pioneer spacecraft a half-century ago.

Blue Origin has launched its New Shepard rocket—a reusable sub-orbital rocket used for space tourism—27 times. It's named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Bezos flew in New Shepard on July 20, 2021, crossing the Kármán line, the dividing line between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin on Monday called off its inaugural launch of its New Glenn rocket after a number of last-minute issues – hurting the space firm in its race to compete with Elon Musk’s dominant SpaceX. The 320-foot rocket was scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 1 a.m. ET before the launch was aborted.

Jeff Bezos launches New Glenn rocket for first time - Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is set to launch from Florida at around 7.48am GMT on Monday

The successful launch of Blue Origin’s massive new rocket is a key step that may allow the company to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The company said it was "reviewing opportunities for our next launch attempt."

Engaging articles, breathtaking images and expert knowledge New Glenn just earned its wings.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has called off the launch of its New Glenn rocket from Florida at the last minute after a “few anomalies” were found during mission countdown.

After more than a decade of development, hype and pent-up demand, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace venture Blue Origin will at long last attempt to put a rocket into orbit. New Glenn, originally intended to

Shrugging off bad weather, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched its powerful New Glenn rocket on its maiden flight early Thursday, lighting up a cloudy overnight sky as it climbed away from Cape Canaveral in a high-stakes bid to compete with Elon Musk's industry-leading SpaceX.

Blue Origin is key to Amazon's ability to compete with SpaceX Starlink. Jeff Bezos has finally done it. He's finally reached space with an honest-to-goodness orbital-class rocket. Ten years ago, Bezos ignited a feud with SpaceX founder Elon Musk when his Blue Origin rocket company launched a suborbital New Shepard rocket to the edge of space and then landed it back on Earth.