The Amazon founder’s space company marked a major milestone Thursday with the first test flight of its New Glenn rocket.

Blue Origin has launched its New Shepard rocket—a reusable sub-orbital rocket used for space tourism—27 times. It's named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Bezos flew in New Shepard on July 20, 2021, crossing the Kármán line, the dividing line between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.

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.

New Glenn’s maiden voyage ramps up an ongoing space race between Blue Origin and SpaceX, which were respectively founded the world’s two richest people. Bezos currently has an estimated net worth of $237 billion, while Musk’s fortune stands at $428.5 billion.

“Beautiful,” Mr. Musk commented on one of the images. Image Jeff Bezos announcing the Blue Origin New Shepard space system in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2017.Credit...Nick Cote for The New ...

Ahead of the most important moment in Blue Origin's history, Jeff Bezos couldn't help feeling nervous. "I'm worried about everything," the billionaire Amazon founder told Ars Technica's Eric ...

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.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket, the New Glenn, lifted off successfully early Thursday after a short delay, making it's first ever launch into orbit.

Blue Origin said that after breaching the Karman Line, nearly 100 kilometers above Earth, the payload will experience at least two minutes of lunar gravity forces to test six broad lunar technologies.

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.

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.