Jeff Bezos' new rocket, taller than the Statue of Liberty, has blasted into space. The giant 320-foot-tall New Glenn rocket, named for legendary U.S. astronaut John Glenn, achieved a successful maiden launch after launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station just after 2 a.

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.

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. Jeff Bezos flew in New Shepard on July 20, 2021, crossing the Kármán line, the dividing line between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.