Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (and many others) posted pics of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, named for astronaut John Glenn, on social after liftoff.

Blue Origin's giant New Glenn rocket blasted off from Florida early Thursday morning on its first mission to space, an inaugural step into Earth's orbit for Jeff Bezos' space company as it aims to rival SpaceX in the satellite launch business.

Stay tuned. Crews at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station are gearing up for a busy January, including SpaceX Starlink internet satellite missions, Blue Origin's maiden flight of the mighty New Glenn rocket, and the NASA-SpaceX Blue Ghost moon lander mission.