Blue Origin has launched its huge New Glenn rocket with two spacecraft on board destined for Mars, as the firm makes a major step forward in its race against Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Crowds cheered at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as they watched liftoff, which had been stalled for four days by bad weather, and then on Thursday suffered two further delays.

Blue Origin latest: Successful launch after last-minute delay

On board were two identical Mars orbiters, named Escapade, which are now heading to the Red Planet and due to arrive in 2027.

But the firm’s big success was the recovery of the rocket’s reusable first-stage booster, a critical development in the space race with SpaceX. Mr Musk posted his congratulations on X.

It is only the second flight for this new type of rocket, from the company owned by Amazon tycoon, Jeff Bezos.

The rocket headed out over the Atlantic, where it split into its two stages.

The inaugural test flight in January delivered a prototype satellite into orbit, but failed to land the booster stage.

Relief after booster recovery

This time, staff cheered wildly as the booster landed upright on its platform 375 miles (600km) offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. The company had never managed the feat before with a rocket so large.

The recovery of the booster is an essential step to recycle and slash costs. The feat has already been achieved with such large rockets by SpaceX.

Blue Origin had achieved this with its much smaller models, but if it wants to consistently run science-scale missions for NASA this is an important step.

The rocket, named after American astronaut John Glenn, weighs roughly the same as 20 trucks. It can put into space a payload of 45 metric tonnes.

At 98m tall and 7m wide, it is larger than most rockets, but not as big as SpaceX’s Starship nor the Saturn Vs which sent humans to the moon.

Blue and Gold to visit Red Planet

Meanwhile, NASA’s Escapade (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission comprises two identical orbiting spacecraft named Blue and Gold.

The probes intend to study how solar wind interacts with Mars’s magnetic environment and how this impacts the planet’s atmospheric escape.

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This matters because it will help scientists understand Mars’s climate and protect future crews intending to reach the Red Planet.

This was Blue Origin’s third attempt to launch, with the first on Sunday scrapped because of clouds and the threat of lightning strikes.

Wednesday’s attempt was also postponed as a powerful “cannibal storm” hit Earth.

The wife of British journalist Sami Hamdi, who was held for more than a fortnight by US immigration, has issued a stark warning to football fans travelling to the 2026 World Cup about the risk of being detained.

Mr Hamdi, who returned to the UK on Thursday, was initially detained at San Francisco International Airport on 26 October.

US officials revoked his visa without warning while on a speaking tour, during which he criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the tour was cancelled due to security rules and that he was in the country illegally.

Sitting alongside him in an interview for Sky’s The World With Yalda Hakim, Soumaya Hamdi explained her concerns about British people travelling to the US.

“I would say to British citizens who value their freedom of speech to be very careful, because you got the World Cup in the United States coming up next year.

“If this could happen to Sami on a valid visa, a British citizen, a registered journalist, then it could very well happen again.”

Ms Hamdi added she was not happy about how the UK government had handled their case.

“The assistance that we received from the British government… was really very disappointing.

“I think this is really very concerning that the government is not taking more serious action with regards to our closest ally.”

Speaking about his arrest, Mr Hamdi said it had been “quite an aggressive experience”.

“They escorted me outside of the airport, there was this black car, the kind of things you see in the movies,” he said.

“When I asked them ‘Can I call my family to let them know I’m OK?’, a lady from behind grabs me, pushes me on the car, and says, ‘All right, that’s enough. You’re under arrest’.”

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He added that, while in detention, he felt there was an attempt to wear him down by restricting access to justice.

“You felt, like, with ICE, it’s a battle of wills. Based on the merits of the case, they can’t actually win, but what they do is they keep delaying you and delaying until you’re just desperate to go home.”

Mr Hamdi, who is Muslim and lives in London, insisted he had complied with all visa conditions and alleged the move was linked to his advocacy for Gaza.

According to Mr Hamdi’s legal team, he accepted an offer to leave the US voluntarily after being charged with visa overstay.

His family announced on Monday the US government had agreed to free him and confirmed on Thursday morning he was on a flight home.

Discussing his treatment while in detention, Mr Hamdi said he noticed a distinct change when news outlets like Sky News became aware of his case.

“They throw you in a cell, you sleep in the foot cuffs. They kept me there with 24 hours until my legs were swollen. When I told the guards, ‘Look, my legs are swollen, visibly swollen’, the guards simply ignored it.

“They only started treating me better when everybody at Sky News and the other media started raising their voices.”

The Trump administration has pursued a sweeping immigration crackdown this year, revoking visas for people accused of supporting terrorism and deporting foreign nationals who have voiced support for Palestinians.

After Mr Hamdi’s arrest, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Homeland Security said his visa had been revoked as “those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country”.

But he told Sky News he strongly disputed the reason for his detention. “On the charge sheet… there was no mention of anything related to terrorism or anything related to what they were saying online,” he said.

“They knew no evidence existed of any of the accusations they were making. And in the end, the deal was about face-saving. I was happy to go home.

“Of course, they get to say that Sami Hamdi ended up leaving America, the case gets closed, and it worked out for both of us.”

The US federal government’s longest-ever shutdown has come to an end after Donald Trump signed off a congressional vote with his presidential approval.

But the president was in no mood to field questions from the media after hailing the long-awaited funding bill, which he signed just hours after thousands of files related to Jeffrey Epstein – in which he was referenced – were released.

As it happened: Trump ends shutdown after Epstein files released

Mr Trump has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to the deceased billionaire paedophile, and said in a Truth Social post after their release that the “Jeffrey Epstein hoax” is a “trap” set by Democrats.

His appearance in the Oval Office came after the House of Representatives voted to reopen the government, after the Senate – the upper chamber of Congress – reached a deal on Monday.

The breakthrough came when a handful of Democrat senators rebuffed their party’s leadership – who’d spent weeks pushing for guarantees on healthcare subsidies – and teamed up with Republicans.

The deal then went to the president, who signed it into law.

“It’s a great day,” he declared, as he blamed Democrats for the 43-day shutdown that left federal workers without pay, food aid undelivered, air travel disrupted, and museums closed.

But the big media moment from behind the historic White House Resolute desk was short and sweet – with Mr Trump, unusually, taking no questions from journalists.

What’s in the latest Epstein files?

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee initially published several emails which they said “raises questions about Trump and Epstein’s relationship, Trump’s knowledge of Epstein’s crimes” and the president’s relationship to Epstein’s victims.

White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the “selectively leaked emails” were an attempt to “create a fake narrative to smear President Trump”. He has consistently denied any involvement or knowledge about Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.

It prompted Republicans to retaliate by releasing more than 20,000 pages from Epstein’s files and accusing Democrats of “cherry-picking” their documents.

Read more: What Epstein emails say about Trump

Epstein took his own life in prison in 2019 following a conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, for which he was registered as a sex offender. He was awaiting a trial for sex trafficking charges.

In his Truth Social post, Mr Trump said the release of the latest files were a “deflection” from the shutdown.

The shutdown, which started on 1 October, has disrupted the lives of millions of Americans as all non-essential parts of government have been frozen.

It was the first shutdown in almost seven years.

As he put pen to paper, the president accused the Democrats of an “extortion” attempt over their push for healthcare subsidies – provided under the Affordable Care Act brought in by Barack Obama – to be extended.

“Republicans never wanted a shutdown,” he said.

“It’s cost the country $1.5trn,” he added.