Image credit: Grok/X

Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' space venture, successfully launched its colossal New Glenn rocket into orbit early Thursday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

This inaugural flight marks a significant milestone for the company in its competition with SpaceX within the burgeoning satellite launch sector.

The 30-story rocket, equipped with a reusable first stage, ignited its seven engines at around 2 a.m. ET under cloudy skies, following a scrubbed launch attempt earlier in the week.

The launch was met with cheers from Blue Origin staff at both its Washington headquarters and its rocket manufacturing facility in Florida, as announced by Vice President Ariane Cornell during a live company stream.

"The rocket's second stage reached orbit, fulfilling our primary objective on our first attempt," Cornell stated.

However, the mission wasn't without its setbacks; the first-stage booster, intended for recovery on an Atlantic Ocean barge, failed to land successfully after losing telemetry shortly after separation.

Jeff Bezos, who watched the launch from mission control, had expressed prior to the launch that the booster landing was his biggest concern but considered it the "icing on the cake" if they could deliver the payload to orbit.

Aboard the New Glenn was the first prototype of Blue Origin's Blue Ring spacecraft, intended for future national security and satellite servicing missions for both the Pentagon and commercial clients.

The launch was delayed from Monday due to ice on a propellant line; however, this time around, there were no reported issues before liftoff.

This event is a pivotal moment for Blue Origin, which has been in development for 25 years and has seen significant investment.

New Glenn is set to undertake numerous missions, including up to 27 for Amazon's Project Kuiper, aiming to compete with SpaceX's Starlink for satellite internet services.

The rocket's capability surpasses that of SpaceX's Falcon 9 in terms of payload capacity, although pricing has not been disclosed by Blue Origin, with Falcon 9 starting at around $62 million per launch.

The New Glenn project has weathered several leadership changes and delays. However, with the appointment of Dave Limp, formerly of Amazon, as CEO, there's been a push to accelerate development, particularly of the New Glenn and its BE-4 engines, to keep pace with SpaceX's advancements.

This launch adds New Glenn to a growing list of new U.S. rockets, including NASA’s Space Launch System and United Launch Alliance's Vulcan, amidst a broader push in both governmental and private sectors to expand space access and capabilities.

‍