Relive New Glenn’s maiden voyage here as it happened. 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.

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket blasts off and reaches orbit on its initial flight. More Videos. How to make new friends using Reddit, Instagram, more

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched its first New Glenn rocket early Thursday morning from Florida, an inaugural step into Earth's orbit to rival SpaceX in the satellite launch market. (Reporting by Joey Roulette;

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a pair of lunar landers into space early Wednesday, sending Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience on their lengthy journeys to the moon.

Built by Firefly Aerospace and Ispace, the pair of spacecraft will land separately in the moon's northern latitudes, conduct science experiments and test new technology

Firefly’s Blue Ghost — named after a species of U.S. Southeastern fireflies — should reach the moon first. The 6-foot-6-inches-tall (2-meter-tall) lander will attempt a touchdown in early March at Mare Crisium, a volcanic plain in the northern latitudes.