Blue Origin rocket successfully lands booster during launch

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 reusable booster powering New Glenn also separated from the rocket’s upper stage and touched down on a floating landing pad in the Atlantic Ocean, in a successful first for Blue Origin.

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company, was the first to accomplish that feat for a orbital rocket in 2015, though Blue Origin followed suit.