Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin joined the billionaire’s space race in earnest when its New Glenn rocket roared from a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in the early morning hours of Jan. 16. The second stage with the Blue Ring payload successfully reached orbit. However, an attempt to land the first stage on a drone ship failed.

Blue Origin's New Glenn finally roared into orbit in the early hours of Thursday, with SpaceX's Starship rocket set to launch hours later.

The New Glenn rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a test flight that will take it high above Earth before returning to the planet's atmosphere for a landing

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.

While Jeff Bezos has spent $14 billion to achieve his first space launch, his billionaire rival has built a thriving business, mostly with other people’s money.

The world’s second richest man suffered an embarrassing botched launch of his new rocket system just hours after shrugging off speculation he might be intimidated by Elon Musk having the incoming president’s ear on all things off-world.

The successful flight to orbit of the Amazon founder’s powerful rocket suggests it could grow into a credible competitor with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Elon Musk took to X to share GIFs from the movie "Step Brothers," comparing himself and fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos to the film's two main characters after Bezos's space company, Blue Origin, successfully launched its first rocket into orbit.

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.

Blue Origin is key to Amazon's ability to compete with SpaceX Starlink. Jeff Bezos has finally done it. He's finally reached space with an honest-to-goodness orbital-class rocket. Ten years ago, Bezos ignited a feud with SpaceX founder Elon Musk when his Blue Origin rocket company launched a suborbital New Shepard rocket to the edge of space and then landed it back on Earth.

Blue Origin yohereje icyogajuru cyacyo gishya kitwa ... Ahavuye isanamu, Getty Images Insiguro y'isanamu, SpaceX y'umuherwe Elon Musk isanzwe ifite amasoko menshi y'ikigo cya leta gishinzwe ...

Tesla CEO and Amazon founder vie for dominance of satellite launch market and could influence Nasa plans to return to Moon