The International Space Station (ISS) has been a cornerstone of humanity’s presence in space for over two decades. However, with its decommissioning set for 2031, the curtain is closing on an era defined by international collaboration and groundbreaking research.

Jeff Bezos, the second richest man in the world, successfully blasted off a 320-foot-tall rocket ship made by his Blue Origin company from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the early hours of the morning. It made the company the first to successfully reach orbit on its first launch of an orbital-class rocket.

After years of delays, the billionaire’s Blue Origin space company launched its New Glenn rocket early Thursday.

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

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin on Monday called off its inaugural launch of its New Glenn rocket after a number of last-minute issues – hurting the space firm in its race to compete with Elon Musk’s dominant SpaceX. The 320-foot rocket was scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 1 a.m. ET before the launch was aborted.

Tesla CEO and Amazon founder vie for dominance of satellite launch market and could influence Nasa plans to return to Moon

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.

While Jeff Bezos has spent $14 billion to achieve his first space launch, his billionaire rival has built a thriving business, mostly with other people’s money.

Founded 25 years ago by Bezos, Blue Origin has been launching paying passengers to the edge of space since 2021, including himself. The short hops from Texas use smaller rockets named after the first American in space, Alan Shepard. New Glenn, which honors John Glenn, is five times taller.

"My own opinion is that we should do both – we need to go to the moon and we should go to Mars," Bezos said, when asked if he was concerned about changes to NASA's moon program. Jeff Bezos speaks about his flight on Blue Origin’s New Shepard into space ...

Lauren Sánchez, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' fiancée, sported a white pantsuit to President Donald Trump's inauguration. The author and activist wore a white suit and lace bustier to Donald Trump's Presidential Inauguration

Years in the making with heavy funding by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the 320-foot rocket carried an experimental platform designed to host satellites or release them into their proper orbits.