Jeff Bezos's space firm Blue Origin has successfully launched its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, sending two NASA spacecraft on a mission to study Mars and completing a breakthrough landing of its reusable booster.

The rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 36 in Florida at 15:55 local time (20:55 GMT) on Thursday. The launch marked only the second mission for New Glenn, a heavy-lift rocket designed to compete with SpaceX's Falcon Heavy.

On board were NASA's Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE), twin satellites that will spend 22 months travelling to Mars before entering orbit to analyse the planet's atmosphere and magnetic environment.

In a major milestone for Blue Origin, New Glenn's first-stage booster - nicknamed Never Tell Me The Odds after a Star Wars quote - separated cleanly and touched down on the drone ship Jacklyn in the Atlantic Ocean. Until now, only Elon Musk's SpaceX had achieved such landings.

"We achieved full mission success today, and I am so proud of the team," said Blue Origin chief executive Dave Limp. "It turns out Never Tell Me The Odds had perfect odds-never before in history has a booster this large nailed the landing on the second try. This is just the beginning as we rapidly scale our flight cadence and continue delivering for our customers."

The ESCAPADE spacecraft will remain in a holding orbit before beginning their cruise to Mars in autumn 2026, when Earth and Mars next align for the journey.

NASA says the pair of near-identical satellites will study how the solar wind interacts with Mars' magnetic processes - and how those interactions may have contributed to the long-term loss of the planet's atmosphere.

"Congratulations to Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, UC Berkeley, and all of our partners on the successful launch of ESCAPADE," said acting NASA Administrator, Secretary Sean Duffy.

"This heliophysics mission will help reveal how Mars became a desert planet, and how solar eruptions affect the Martian surface. Every launch of New Glenn provides data that will be essential when we launch MK-1 through Artemis. All of this information will be critical to protect future NASA explorers and invaluable as we evaluate how to deliver on President Trump's vision of planting the Stars and Stripes on Mars."

The flight also marked the first test of Viasat's HaloNet telemetry relay system, designed to support NASA's Communications Services Project.

New Glenn forms a central part of Blue Origin's longer-term ambitions, from supporting lunar missions to establishing infrastructure in low-Earth orbit.