Blue Origin,

which is moving much of its work to the Space Coast, demonstrates the first fully reusable rocket.

Blue Origin, the rocket company that is moving much of its manufacturing, launch preparation and launch operations to Cape Canaveral, just served notice to the world’s rocket industry by demonstrating the first completely reusable rocket.

In an event that was conducted in secrecy Monday, the Washington-based company announced it had launched its New Shepard rocket into space from a private, West Texas launch pad and then brought it back down to that complex in a perfect four-point landing.

“Now safely tucked away at our launch site in West Texas is the rarest of beasts — a used rocket,” company founder Jeff Bezos said in a written statement issued Tuesday, accompanied by company video of the launch and landing. “Blue Origin’s reusable New Shepard space vehicle flew a flawless mission — soaring to 329,839 feet and then returning through 119-mph high-altitude crosswinds to make a gentle, controlled landing just four and a half feet from the center of the pad.

“Full reuse is a game changer, and we can’t wait to fuel up and fly again,” he said.

Fully reusable rockets have been a goal for space companies for decades, but only in recent years have any seriously pursued it.

Discarded rocket boosters and their engines cost tens of millions of dollars apiece. The prospect of safely landing and reusing them is expected to significantly cut costs.

Competitor SpaceX of California has come close three times, attempting to land its Falcon 9 rockets on a barge, but one rocket fell into the ocean and the other two fell down and exploded. Masten Space Systems of California has demonstrated reusable launch vehicles and landers, but hasn’t put one in space yet.

Shortly before noon Monday, Blue Origin blasted its New Shepard rocket more than 62.4 miles up, into the fringes of space for a sub-orbital flight. The capsule separated and came back to the Blue Origin Texas site by parachute.

The rocket came down slowed by its engine blast. Four landing legs deployed and it settled onto a landing circle in the desert.

“It’s a big deal. It’s a really big deal,” said Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “And it’s a great step forward for the industry.”

Technically, the launch also was Blue Origin’s first to reach space, though last April a New Shepard came close enough — 59 miles up — to lay some claim. There is no defined boundary for space, but most scientists accept the Kármán line, 62 miles up.

Bezos, who also founded Amazon.com, intends for Blue Origin to send private astronauts, including tourists, into space.

In September, Bezos announced that many of his launches will happen at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station starting later this decade, from Launch Complex 36, which once launched NASA rockets into deep space. He also announced plans for a $200 million rocket production, assembly and testing center in Titusville.