Blue Origin first to successfully land reusable rocket, beating SpaceX

Bezos's Blue Origin is less known than Musk's SpaceX, yet it was Blue Origin that has now managed to successfully land a BE-3 rocket smoothly on the ground first.

Nevertheless, Blue Origin's successful launch and landing is no small feat and a big step toward more accomplishments from the private company and potential space exploration.

After that, it was time for the crew to watch as the rocket came plummeting back to Earth. "Not anymore. Now safely tucked away at our launch site in West Texas is the rarest of beasts, a used rocket", Bezos wrote in a blog post Monday. After reaching its planned test altitude of 329,839 feet, the vessel returned to Earth, landing upright just four and a half feet from its launch pad, according to Blue Origin. Founder Jeff Bezos hailed the success a real game-changer.

Bezos first revealed he was entering the commercial space flight business back in April, when he announced that Blue Origin, a company that he owns, would soon be running test flights for its "New Shepard" spaceship, with a capacity for six people.

The billionaire founder of Amazon said that although rockets have always been expendable, that is no longer the case. In 2014, SpaceX and Boeing Co. shared the first contract to operate manned flights to the orbiting lab. Blue Origin's rocket only made a comparatively easier suborbital flight.

In the video, the rocket can be seen flying across the sky and releasing the New Shepard capsule.

The space vehicle is comprised of two elements, a three-person crew capsule and a rocket booster powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

SpaceX has tried on several occasions to land its rockets on Earth undamaged, but weather and technical problems have prevented it from doing so.

Blue Origin's New Shepard vehicle shot up to 329,839 feet or about 62 miles. This means the rocket can be re-used for subsequent flights, which companies like Blue Origin claim will make spaceflight far less expensive.

But he added that "it is, however, important to clear up the difference between "space" and "orbit" and noted that any mission would need to achieve greater velocity for a true space mission.