Jeff Bezos's space company, Blue Origin, achieved a significant milestone by successfully launching its New Glenn rocket into orbit on its first test flight. The launch occurred at Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Thursday morning, following a delay earlier in the week due to ice buildup on the spacecraft.

At 2:03 am and 7:03 am in the UK, the rocket's seven main engines ignited, lifting off into space. The launch was met with cheers and applause from Bezos and Blue Origin employees at Mission Control as the rocket reached orbit about 10 minutes after lunch.

New Glenn is a "giant, reusable rocket" designed for at least 25 flights. Blue Origin's goal for this test flight was to reach orbit safely, which was successfully achieved. Ariane Cornell, Vice President of In-Space Systems at Blue Origin, called the launch a "momentous step" and described it as a "historic launch." The rocket’s second stage, carrying the Blue Ring Pathfinder payload, is now in orbit, while its upper stage is scheduled to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up over a remote part of the ocean.

Despite the success, Blue Origin's attempt to land the rocket’s booster on a platform in the ocean for reuse was unsuccessful. The company had stated that landing the booster on its first try was an ambitious goal, but the attempt did not meet expectations. However, Bezos called the successful launch the most important achievement, with the booster landing as a bonus for the mission. Before the launch, the company said it was "ambitious to land the booster on our first attempt in the Atlantic Ocean," Bezos informed Reuters it would be "the icing on the cake" for the mission.

Elon Musk, CEO of rival SpaceX, congratulated Blue Origin and Bezos on reaching orbit on the first attempt, acknowledging the significance of the accomplishment. Blue Origin also said that New Glenn is expected to conduct six to eight space flights this year if all goes well. The next launch is scheduled for spring.

Bezos established the space company in 2000. Since 2021, it has been conducting small private missions that reach the edge of space.