Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin successfully launches and lands another test, bringing space tourism closer

• Blue Origin successfully launched the eighth test flight of its New Shepard rocket on Sunday.
• The lift-off and landing were textbook.
• Founder Jeff Bezos told the CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, this week that Blue Origin is “the most important work that I'm doing.”

Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' private rocket company, launched the New Shepard rocket's eighth test flight from West Texas on Sunday.

New Shepard reached space, cruising at 2,200mph at one point, then came back down for a textbook autonomous landing on the launch pad.

A sonic boom shook the area as the booster sped back to Earth.

It was the second time they were reusing the rocket, the commentator on the company's live-stream said.

After a few delays because of thunderstorms and final safety checks, the reusable rocket lifted off just after 1pm ET.