If New Glenn can continue to demonstrate its capabilities and (more crucially) its reliability, it has the potential to take some business that SpaceX would otherwise struggle to accommodate.

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.

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.

Blue Origin, the US space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos in 2000, made its maiden voyage into orbital space Thursday with its brand-new rocket, New Glenn.

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

The New Glenn rocket was due to take off from Cape Canaveral in Florida for the first time in the early hours of Monday morning but the launch was cancelled after several delays

Blue Origin scrubbed the launch of its new heavy-lift rocket early Monday, once again postponing the maiden flight of its New Glenn rocket.

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.

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.

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 designed to carry the Blue Ring Pathfinder spacecraft in ...

The Blue Origin New Glenn rocket stands ready on Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) The Blue Origin New Glenn rocket stands ready on Launch Complex 36 at the ...

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 in good position to join Elon Musk’s busy SpaceX brand as a major player in the cellular satellite industry and beyond.