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.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has launched its huge New Glenn rocket with two Nasa spacecraft destined for Mars. The New Glenn booster successfully landed back on a platform in the Atlantic, a feat only achieved previously by Elon Musk's SpaceX - marking a new chapter in the billionaire space race | Sky News