Jeff Bezos presents the inaugural launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket.

The New Glenn orbital rocket from Blue Origin, the spaceflight company founded by Jeff Bezos, has successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, marking a significant advancement in the company's foray into the orbital and heavy-lift launch market. This is the first launch of New Glenn, an endeavor that prepares Blue Origin to compete with SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company.

At 2:03 a.m. ET, the 98-meter-tall rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 36, illuminating the sky with a thrust of approximately 3.9 million pounds. Although this double thrust surpasses that of SpaceX's Falcon 9, it is less than that of the Falcon Heavy. The countdown for the launch was notably smoother than in a previous attempt, which was canceled due to technical issues.

Shortly after completing its flight, New Glenn achieved one of its primary objectives by reaching orbit and deploying its payload, known as Blue Ring Pathfinder. This payload is intended to test essential technologies for a future spacecraft and includes several systems such as a communication array and a flight computer. During a six-hour mission, an assessment of these systems will be conducted while they are connected to the rocket's second stage.

An additional goal of the launch was to land the first stage booster on a floating platform offshore, following a procedure similar to that used by SpaceX. However, it was confirmed that this part was lost approximately 14 minutes after launch. Despite this setback, the Blue Origin team is pleased with the success of mission NG-1, which represents a new chapter for the company, which has been operating for 25 years.

Jarrett Jones, senior vice president of the New Glenn program, emphasized the importance of this launch, stating that it marks a new era for Blue Origin and the commercial space sector. He thanked the team and the space community for their support, reflecting the sense of achievement and commitment that has led to this success.