Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket is about to make a second launch attempt from Florida The reusable rocket had initially been due to set off earlier this week, but was postponed due to a "vehicle subsystem issue" The rocket, New Glenn, is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth

Blue Origin has launched its massive new rocket on its first test flight. Thursday’s liftoff from Florida carried an experiment meant to orbit thousands of miles above Earth.

The rocket was successfully launched after the company’s first attempt was scrubbed. The flight is a crucial test of the Blue Origin’s ability to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Blue Origin's giant New Glenn rocket blasted off from Florida early Thursday morning on its first mission to space, an inaugural step into Earth's orbit for Jeff Bezos' space company as it aims to rival SpaceX in the satellite launch business.

Jeff Bezos Blue Origin has launched its massive new rocket on first test flight from Florida. Named after the first American to orbit Earth, the New Glenn rocket blasted off from Florida, soaring from the same pad used to launch NASA's Mariner and Pioneer spacecraft a half-century ago.

Blue Origin, the rocket company Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos founded, notched one of the most substantial successes in its history on Thursday: sending a rocket to orbit.