Shrugging off bad weather, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched its powerful New Glenn rocket on its maiden flight early Thursday, lighting up a cloudy overnight sky as it climbed away from Cape Canaveral in a high-stakes bid to compete with Elon Musk's industry-leading SpaceX.

The successful launch of Blue Origin’s massive new rocket is a key step that may allow the company to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Blue Origin launched its massive new rocket, sending up a prototype satellite to orbit thousands of miles above Earth.

Blue Origin's successful maiden launch of New Glenn rocket made billionaire Jeff Bezos hungry. He ate breakfast at a Florida diner in Florida after.

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Florida’s sky briefly lit up during the night as one of a handful of big new American-made rockets took flight. It was the first time a new space company achieved orbit on the first launch attempt.

Jeff Bezos' company Blue Origin launched its New Glenn mega-rocket for the first time. The milestone is a leap for reusable rocketry.

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 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.

The launch was a first for the Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin. Here's what the New Glenn rocket accomplished, and what's next.

Named after the first American to orbit Earth, the New Glenn rocket blasted off from ... Years in the making with heavy funding by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the 320-foot (98-meter) rocket carried ...

One of the key questions about Blue Origin is whether it will push toward full reusability with New Glenn. In 2021, Ars first reported on an effort codenamed "Project Jarvis" to develop a stainless steel upper stage that could be reused. The company even built a test tank, although the effort was eventually shelved.