Blue Origin, the space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, launched its massive New Glenn rocket into orbit for the first time early Thursday, marking a new step in the commercial space race.

The uncrewed New Glenn rocket took off at 2:03 a.m. EST from Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Blue Origin said.

Blue Origin officials hope to send their heavy-lift New Glenn rocket on its unmanned maiden voyage into space after 1 a.m. EST, with the mission's goal being to reach orbit before returning to Earth.

Blue Origin will try, try again to launch its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket to orbit for the first time — if the Florida weather cooperates.

New Glenn, which honors John Glenn, is five times taller. Blue Origin poured more than $1 billion into New Glenn’s launch site, rebuilding historic Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The pad is 9 miles from the company’s control centers ...

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (and many others) posted pics of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, named for astronaut John Glenn, on social after liftoff.

On the same day SpaceX conducted the seventh flight of the Starship, rival Blue Origin launched for the first time the New Glenn rocket.

The 320-foot (98-meter) tall New Glenn rocket took off from Launch Pad 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at around 2:03 a.m. EST.

Just past 2 a.m. Eastern time on Jan. 16, 2025, a new rocket blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. By reaching orbit, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket launch has marked a milestone for a commercial space company that has big ambitions.

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.

Blue Origin scrubbed the New Glenn rocket's maiden ... The 320-foot New Glenn rocket is named after space pioneer John Glenn, who was the first American to orbit Earth. The reusable rocket is ...

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin joined the billionaire’s space race in earnest when its New Glenn rocket roared from a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in the early morning hours of Jan. 16. The second stage with the Blue Ring payload successfully reached orbit. However, an attempt to land the first stage on a drone ship failed.