EDT Thursday, Jan. Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, launched its 320-foot-tall New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral

Blue Origin successfully launched the rocket after an attempt earlier in the week was scrubbed. The flight is a crucial test of the company’s ability to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Jeffrey Preston Bezos is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon.

The uncrewed New Glenn rocket took off at 2:03 a.m. EST from Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Blue Origin said.

Blue Origin did not immediately set a new launch date, saying the team needed more time to resolve the problem.

Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin postponed the inaugural launch of its new rocket early Monday, after running into technical problems. Blue Origin had planned to attempt to blast off its New Glenn rocket from a site in Florida.

The first-ever launch of the New Glenn represents a major milestone for the Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, whose Blue Origin spaceflight company has now officially entered the orbital launch market and heavy-lift space industry, setting it up to compete with the likes of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Florida’s sky briefly lit up during the night as one of a handful of big new American-made rockets took flight. It was the first time a new space company achieved orbit on the first launch attempt.