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.

Jeff Bezos, the second richest man in the world, successfully blasted off a 320-foot-tall rocket ship made by his Blue Origin company from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the early hours of the morning. It made the company the first to successfully reach orbit on its first launch of an orbital-class rocket.

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.

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

"My own opinion is that we should do both – we need to go to the moon and we should go to Mars," Bezos said, when asked if he was concerned about changes to NASA's moon program. Jeff Bezos speaks about his flight on Blue Origin’s New Shepard into space ...

In recent years, Space X has been a clear winner in space tech, even managing to catch a booster for the most powerful rocket ever built on a pair of ‘chopsticks’ last year, and stepping in to rescue two astronauts still stranded in space after the Boeing Starliner which carried them there was deemed not safe enough to take them home.

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket launch marks a significant step in Jeff Bezos' rivalry with SpaceX and future Mars exploration.- Watch Video on English Oneindia

Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin which rivals SpaceX in the space industry, says he feels "very optimistic" about the incoming administration's space agenda.

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is set to blast off from Cape Canaveral - so where do things stand in the battle of the billionaires for space exploration?

Jeff Bezos told Reuters on Sunday that he trusts Elon Musk will not leverage his relationship with President-elect Donald Trump against Blue Origin. Bezos expressed optimism about the new

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket has officially launched, marking a pivotal moment in Jeff Bezos' ongoing rivalry with SpaceX and setting the stage for future space exploration. The rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,