Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin successfully launched its first rocket into orbit

New Glenn, the massive rocket built by Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin, successfully reached orbit in the first real challenge to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Blue Origin has struggled to maintain SpaceX’s pace and its first launch represents a step forward, although plans to land its booster were unsuccessful.

Bezos wants to use New Glenn to deploy a constellation of internet satellites to compete with Starlink, and like Musk has a longer-term eye on colonizing other planets.

SpaceX itself delayed the next test launch of its enormous Starship rocket until today, but its workhorse Falcon 9 yesterday took off carrying two lunar landers, a sign that the space race is now between private companies rather than countries.