Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos, has successfully launched its New Glenn rocket from Florida.
The rocket was carrying two NASA spacecraft deployed towards Mars. The Escapade satellites will take 22 months to reach Mars and will orbit the planet to measure its atmosphere and magnetic field.
The New Glenn reusable booster also separated from the rocket’s upper stage and landed on a floating landing pad in the Atlantic Ocean, in Blue Origin’s first successful launch.
Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, was the first to accomplish this feat for an orbital rocket in 2015, though Blue Origin has followed suit.