The launch of a huge, partially reusable rocket, built by Jeff Bezos’s company, has been called off this morning after hours of delays.

The 98-metre rocket, called New Glenn, is around as tall as Big Ben. It was set to carry up to 45 tonnes of tech to low Earth orbit.

However, the team at Blue Origin, Amazon founder Mr Bezos’s space technology company, confirmed this morning that the launch was called off.

The decision came following a series of delays due to unspecified issues.

As it happened: See our coverage from the launch

The team said they would work out a new date for lift-off, adding: “We can’t wait to get right back here for our next launch attempt.”

The team said earlier this morning that they were “working through anomalies”.

Speaking in an interview before the launch, Mr Bezos said “the thing we’re most nervous about is the booster landing”.

“Clearly on a first flight you could have an anomaly at any mission phase, so anything could happen,” he said.

New Glenn’s builders hope it will challenge SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which has become the go-to workhorse to get heavy cargo into space.

However, it has taken Blue Origin years to get to this point.

They started developing the orbital rocket almost a decade ago, but setbacks and delays pushed back its maiden voyage.

Ahead of the launch, SpaceX founder and X owner Elon Musk, shared his support, writing “good luck” in a response to a post by Blue Origin on his platform.

Reusable first stage

The rocket – named New Glenn in honour of NASA astronaut John Glenn, has two stages, one of which is reusable.

The first, reusable stage will use seven engines to blast the rocket off the launch pad into higher, thinner air and then drop back to Earth to land on a sea platform called Jacklyn.

That first stage is built to fly at least 25 times, making it more cost-effective and sustainable than building new rockets for every flight.

The second, disposable stage is where cargo and items needed for missions will be stored.

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The two restartable engines on board will kick in once the first stage has used up all its fuel.

They’ll take the rest of the spacecraft out to orbit.

New Glenn could be a gamechanger

Tom Clarke

Science and technology editor

@t0mclark3

The New Glenn rocket is one to watch in the world of space.

Partially reusable and capable of lifting heavy payloads into Earth orbit or even the Moon or Mars, it promises to be a serious rival to Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9.

With his first big rocket only scheduled for launch now, you’d be forgiven for thinking Amazon boss Jeff Bezos was a latecomer to the billionaire boys club sending shiny machines into space.

In fact, Bezos founded his space venture Blue Origin 25 years ago, before Elon Musk created SpaceX and Richard Branson launched Virgin Galactic.

His rocket business kept a low profile until 2015 when it launched its sub-orbital space tourism vehicle New Shepherd 100km above the Earth.

While New Shephard can be dismissed as a billionaire’s plaything for millionaire passengers, New Glenn could be a game changer.

It’s a key tool to deliver Bezos’s Project Kuiper satellite broadband network – a direct challenge to Musk’s Starlink system.

Blue Origin is also working on a lunar lander and, its thought, crew capsules so it can offer its services ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station or be part of NASA’s plans to return humans to the Moon.

New Glenn is set to carry Blue Ring, an experimental “space tug” and satellite support platform, but for Jeff Bezos, there’s a lot more riding on this rocket than that.

Cargo

Rockets like this are designed to take things into orbit or out to space, so they need to be able to carry cargo.

When Mr Musk launched SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket in 2018, he popped his old red Tesla Roadster on board.

Mr Bezos hasn’t done anything as showy as that. Instead, he loaded a prototype cargo carrier onto New Glenn, called the Blue Ring Pathfinder.

In the future, the Pathfinder will be able to carry 3,000kg of scientific gear into space and deliver it to different locations in orbit.

During this test flight, the team back on the ground will make sure they can establish communications with the Pathfinder once it is in orbit.

The Duchess of Sussex has delayed the release of her new Netflix series due to the devastation caused by the wildfires in LA, the streaming platform has announced.

Meghan’s eight-part series, With Love, will premiere on 4 March instead of 15 January.

“I’m thankful to my partners at Netflix for supporting me in delaying the launch, as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California,” Meghan said in a statement to Tudum, the official companion site to Netflix.

Harry and Meghan comforted volunteers and handed out food to evacuees during a visit to Pasadena on Friday, where they met with the city’s mayor Victor Gordo and emergency workers tackling the Eaton Fire.

Footage showed the duchess, wearing a blue “LA” baseball cap, and the prince hugging and consoling people who had fled to the Pasadena Convention Center.

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They were also seen speaking Doug Goodwin, whose home was destroyed in the wildfires, and also to Jose Andres, founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK) which has been helping feed the public and emergency crews.

A description of the Netflix series on Tudum’s website said: “Produced by Meghan, ‘With Love, Meghan’ blends practical how-to’s and candid conversation with friends, new and old.

“Meghan shares personal tips and tricks, embracing playfulness over perfection, and highlights how easy it can be to create beauty, even in the unexpected.

“She and her guests roll up their sleeves in the kitchen, the garden, and beyond, and invite you to do the same.”

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The royals live in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, around 90 miles from Los Angeles.

They are understood to have donated supplies, including clothing and children’s items, to people affected by the disaster.

They released a statement on Thursday urging people to help those affected by the wildfires and to open their homes to those evacuated.

Mel Gibson says there is “nothing left” of his Hollywood home following the LA wildfires and “someone should answer” for the devastation.

The Braveheart star was with podcaster Joe Rogan when the flames engulfed his Malibu mansion and said he was a “little tense” while recording their discussion.

But he knew his family were “out of harm’s way” and a few “necessary things” such as passports were saved.

The loss of his home and others is “tragic”, however, and it “makes you really sad”, he added.

While describing lost items as “only things”, he said they included “works of art, photographs, [and] rare books”, some of them dating back to 1600.

Regarding the conduct of the authorities, he told Fox News: “Apparently, some people were asleep on the job, mainly our leaders.

“That’s something they have to live with. Kids are traumatised. Someone should answer for it.”

Asked if he had a message for California governor Gavin Newsom, or Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, he commented: “Spend less on hair gel.”

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At least 16 people have been killed in the blazes, with more than 100,000 asked to evacuate their homes.

The fires have affected multiple celebrities, ripping through exclusive suburbs in southern California, home to film stars and billionaires.

Legendary British actor Sir Anthony Hopkins has reportedly lost his home in the Pacific Palisades fire.

The star – perhaps best known for his performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs – posted a message on Instagram, in which he said: “As we all struggle to heal from the devastation of these fires, it’s important we remember that the only thing we take with us is the love we give.”

The mother of British child star Rory Sykes, 32, has confirmed her son died in the Pacific Palisades fire.

Sykes appeared in TV programme Kiddy Kapers in the 1990s.

Shelley Sykes said her “beautiful son” was “born blind with cerebral palsy and had difficulty walking” but had overcome “so much with surgeries and therapies to regain his sight and to be able to learn to walk”.

Paris Hilton, meanwhile, says her “heart shattered into a million pieces” after visiting the charred remains of her Malibu beach house.

Describing herself as “in complete shock”, the hotel heiress said seeing her family memories “reduced to ashes” was “devastating”.

Hilton, 43, said she watched her home burn to the ground on TV – and shared a video on social media from inside the gutted structure.

She said she was grateful to be safe along with her husband Carter Reum and their two children, Phoenix and London, but was still devastated.

She wrote on Instagram: “I’m standing here in what used to be our home, and the heartbreak is truly indescribable.

“When I first saw the news, I was in complete shock – I couldn’t process it. But now, standing here and seeing it with my own eyes, it feels like my heart has shattered into a million pieces.”

She has lived in the multi-million-pound property for three years.

Hilton added: “This house wasn’t just a place to live – it was where we dreamed, laughed, and created the most beautiful memories as a family.

“It was where [son] Phoenix’s little hands made art that I’ll cherish forever, where love and life filled every corner. To see it reduced to ashes… it’s devastating beyond words.

“What breaks my heart even more is knowing that this isn’t just my story. So many people have lost everything. It’s not just walls and roofs – it’s the memories that made those houses homes. It’s the photos, the keepsakes, the irreplaceable pieces of our lives.”

She described herself as “incredibly lucky”, adding: “My loved ones – my babies – and my pets are safe. That’s the most important thing”.

She thanked the firefighters, first responders and volunteers who she said were “all risking their lives” to help, adding: “Even in the ashes, there is still beauty in this world.”

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Presenter Ricki Lake said she and her husband Ross had lost their “dream home” and their “heaven on earth”.

She said on Instagram: “We never took our heavenly spot on the bluff overlooking our beloved Malibu for granted, not even for one second.

“This loss is immeasurable. It’s the spot where we got married three years ago. I grieve along with all of those suffering during this apocalyptic event.”

The ancestral home of Big Lebowski actor Jeff Bridges is also understood to have been destroyed.

The four-bedroom home, which had been in the Bridges family for generations, was inherited by Bridges and his two siblings in 2018 according to the Los Angeles Times.

Tina Knowles, mother of singer Beyonce, has also lost a house she owned in Malibu to the fires.

She shared a short video of dolphins playing in the sea on Instagram, writing: “This is what I was looking at on my birthday this past weekend from my tiny little bungalow on the water in Malibu! It was my favourite place, my sanctuary, my sacred Happy Place. Now it is gone!!”

She went on to thank the fire department and first responders and offered condolences to others affected by the fires.

Take That star Mark Owen and his family were evacuated from their home, his wife Emma Ferguson describing them waking to “helicopters, thick black smoke and winds howling”.

She said that while she was grateful her family was safe, it was “exhausting” to be “constantly looking online to see if your house is gone”.

Actor Steve Guttenberg, best known for his role in the Police Academy film franchise, has called the fires “absolutely the worst” he has ever seen and has been doing what he can to help distressed residents.

Other stars to have lost their homes in the fires include Billy Crystal, Miles Teller, Diane Warren, Cary Elwes, Milo Ventimiglia, Anna Faris, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.

On Friday, the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammy Awards, and charity MusiCares pledged $1m (£813,000) to support music artists affected by the fires.

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis has pledged the same amount to fire relief efforts from her family foundation.