Blue Origin launches rocket with used booster for first time

Washington -

Blue Origin, the U.S. space company of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully reused and recovered a booster for its New Glenn rocket on Sunday, confirming its mastery of a technical feat that could boost its launch cadence and expand its rivalry with SpaceX.

The company has launched the New Glenn twice before, but only with new rocket boosters. It has previously launched its smaller New Shepard rocket, primarily used for suborbital space tourism, with reused components in a less technically challenging operation.

The novel recycling approach comes amid fierce competition between Bezos's firm and fellow tech titan Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has also recovered a booster from a launched rocket.

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