Key PointsSpaceX founder and CEO remains focused on his vision for the company: Establishing a permanent human presence on Mars, with its Starship rockets carrying people to and from the red planet."We don't want to be one of those single planet species, we want to be a multi-planet species," Musk said on Friday, speaking after  to orbit.SpaceX launches more astronauts into space for NASA"It's been now almost half a century since humans were last on the moon. That's too long, we need to get back there and have a permanent base on the moon — again, like a big permanently occupied base on the...…Key PointsSpaceX founder and CEO remains focused on his vision for the company: Establishing a permanent human presence on Mars, with its Starship rockets carrying people to and from the red planet."We don't want to be one of those single planet species, we want to be a multi-planet species," Musk said on Friday, speaking after  to orbit.SpaceX launches more astronauts into space for NASA"It's been now almost half a century since humans were last on the moon. That's too long, we need to get back there and have a permanent base on the moon — again, like a big permanently occupied base on the...WW…

Key Points SpaceX beat out teams led by Blue Origin and subsidiary Dynetics to win a nearly $3 billion contract to build NASA's next crewed lunar lander."It is one more step, in an exciting group of steps, that will get us to a sustainable human landing system to the moon," Kathy Lueders, the leader of NASA's human spaceflight program, said in the agency's announcement.SpaceX's contract is worth $2.89 billion. SpaceX's win on Friday.SpaceX wins contract for spacecraft to land astronauts on moon: WaPoNASA to begin work on the lunar lander concepts under its Human Landing Systems, or HLS,...…Key Points SpaceX beat out teams led by Blue Origin and subsidiary Dynetics to win a nearly $3 billion contract to build NASA's next crewed lunar lander."It is one more step, in an exciting group of steps, that will get us to a sustainable human landing system to the moon," Kathy Lueders, the leader of NASA's human spaceflight program, said in the agency's announcement.SpaceX's contract is worth $2.89 billion. SpaceX's win on Friday.SpaceX wins contract for spacecraft to land astronauts on moon: WaPoNASA to begin work on the lunar lander concepts under its Human Landing Systems, or HLS,...WW…

Key Points SpaceX rolled out its Starlink early access program to the public six months ago, with the satellite internet service growing to more than 10,000 users in the first few months.To get real-life first impressions of the service, CNBC spoke to more than 50 people who have been using Starlink. Those surveyed included households in Canada and 13 U.S. states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.The majority of these Starlink users are in rural or remote areas, such as farmland or wilderness, with...…Key Points SpaceX rolled out its Starlink early access program to the public six months ago, with the satellite internet service growing to more than 10,000 users in the first few months.To get real-life first impressions of the service, CNBC spoke to more than 50 people who have been using Starlink. Those surveyed included households in Canada and 13 U.S. states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.The majority of these Starlink users are in rural or remote areas, such as farmland or wilderness, with...WW…

Key PointsTwo aerospace firms accomplished an industry first on Monday, as a small Northrop Grumman spacecraft docked successfully with an active Intelsat satellite to provide service and extend its life.Intelsat's IS-10-02 satellite is nearly 18 years old, and operating well past its expected lifespan, but the Northrop Grumman-built spacecraft called MEV-2 will add another five years of life to IS-10-02, essentially re-fueling the satellite and giving it a new engine for control.The companies hit a milestone in the growing business of servicing satellites while in space."Today's successful...…Key PointsTwo aerospace firms accomplished an industry first on Monday, as a small Northrop Grumman spacecraft docked successfully with an active Intelsat satellite to provide service and extend its life.Intelsat's IS-10-02 satellite is nearly 18 years old, and operating well past its expected lifespan, but the Northrop Grumman-built spacecraft called MEV-2 will add another five years of life to IS-10-02, essentially re-fueling the satellite and giving it a new engine for control.The companies hit a milestone in the growing business of servicing satellites while in space."Today's successful...WW…

Key PointsIn this article on Tuesday unveiled the latest spacecraft addition to its fleet, VSS Imagine, with the spacecraft representing the first of its next-generation SpaceShip III class of vehicles.The rollout of VSS Imagine gives the space tourism company a second spacecraft to begin testing, as Virgin Galactic continues to work through final development testing of VSS Unity, with its next spaceflight test expected in May."For us to make the business start to scale, at the places that we're aspiring towards, we need two things: We need many more ships than we have right now and we also...…Key PointsIn this article on Tuesday unveiled the latest spacecraft addition to its fleet, VSS Imagine, with the spacecraft representing the first of its next-generation SpaceShip III class of vehicles.The rollout of VSS Imagine gives the space tourism company a second spacecraft to begin testing, as Virgin Galactic continues to work through final development testing of VSS Unity, with its next spaceflight test expected in May."For us to make the business start to scale, at the places that we're aspiring towards, we need two things: We need many more ships than we have right now and we also...WW…

Key PointsIn this articleThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration last year marked two decades of astronauts continuously onboard the International Space Station. But, as the floating research laboratory ages, the space agency is turning to private companies to build and deploy new free flying habitats in low Earth orbit.NASA this past week unveiled the Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) project, with plans to award up to $400 million in total to as many as four companies in the fourth quarter of 2021 to begin development on private space stations.The agency is seeking to replicate...…Key PointsIn this articleThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration last year marked two decades of astronauts continuously onboard the International Space Station. But, as the floating research laboratory ages, the space agency is turning to private companies to build and deploy new free flying habitats in low Earth orbit.NASA this past week unveiled the Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) project, with plans to award up to $400 million in total to as many as four companies in the fourth quarter of 2021 to begin development on private space stations.The agency is seeking to replicate...WW…

Key PointsIn this articleSatellite images give a unique vantage point of the stuck ship Ever Given, as crews work to free the mega container vessel that's been blocking the Suez Canal for four days.' WorldView-2 satellite captured high-resolution images on Friday morning, with a close-up look at the dredging operations underway to free the ship. The Ever Given, which is operated by Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine, has been stuck since Tuesday, when the ship ran aground during the heavy winds and low visibility of a sandstorm.Shipping operators the Ever Given. The enormous cargo...…Key PointsIn this articleSatellite images give a unique vantage point of the stuck ship Ever Given, as crews work to free the mega container vessel that's been blocking the Suez Canal for four days.' WorldView-2 satellite captured high-resolution images on Friday morning, with a close-up look at the dredging operations underway to free the ship. The Ever Given, which is operated by Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine, has been stuck since Tuesday, when the ship ran aground during the heavy winds and low visibility of a sandstorm.Shipping operators the Ever Given. The enormous cargo...WW…

Key PointsSpace infrastructure conglomerate Redwire Space is preparing to go public, announcing Thursday that it is the latest in a string of space firms to merge with a SPAC.Redwire, formed last year by private equity firm AE Industrial Partners, is merging with special purpose acquisition company , which trades under the ticker GNPK. The deal is expected to close by the end of the second quarter, with the merger resulting in Redwire listing on the New York Stock Exchange.A SPAC is essentially a shell company that raises money through an initial public offering to acquire another firm....…Key PointsSpace infrastructure conglomerate Redwire Space is preparing to go public, announcing Thursday that it is the latest in a string of space firms to merge with a SPAC.Redwire, formed last year by private equity firm AE Industrial Partners, is merging with special purpose acquisition company , which trades under the ticker GNPK. The deal is expected to close by the end of the second quarter, with the merger resulting in Redwire listing on the New York Stock Exchange.A SPAC is essentially a shell company that raises money through an initial public offering to acquire another firm....WW…

Key Points said Thursday it closed a $170 million round of funding, making it the latest private space venture to reach unicorn status.ABL raised the funds from T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Management, a third unnamed investment firm and existing investors at a valuation of $1.3 billion."We have always prided ourselves on capital efficiency," ABL CEO Harry O'Hanley told CNBC, noting the company has spent "well under" $50 million to date."If you compare us to other companies spending hundreds of millions of dollars developing launch vehicles, you should see how fundamentally differentiated our...…Key Points said Thursday it closed a $170 million round of funding, making it the latest private space venture to reach unicorn status.ABL raised the funds from T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Management, a third unnamed investment firm and existing investors at a valuation of $1.3 billion."We have always prided ourselves on capital efficiency," ABL CEO Harry O'Hanley told CNBC, noting the company has spent "well under" $50 million to date."If you compare us to other companies spending hundreds of millions of dollars developing launch vehicles, you should see how fundamentally differentiated our...WW…

Key Points' Blue Origin filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office against NASA on Monday, challenging the space agency's award of a nearly $3 billion moon lander contract to SpaceX earlier this month.SpaceX, in a competition against Blue Origin and ' subsidiary Dynetics, was . The HLS program is focused on building a lunar lander that can carry astronauts to the moon's surface under NASA's Artemis missions. For HLS, SpaceX bid a variation of its NASA was previously expected to choose two of the three teams to competitively build lunar landers, making the sole selection of...…Key Points' Blue Origin filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office against NASA on Monday, challenging the space agency's award of a nearly $3 billion moon lander contract to SpaceX earlier this month.SpaceX, in a competition against Blue Origin and ' subsidiary Dynetics, was . The HLS program is focused on building a lunar lander that can carry astronauts to the moon's surface under NASA's Artemis missions. For HLS, SpaceX bid a variation of its NASA was previously expected to choose two of the three teams to competitively build lunar landers, making the sole selection of...WW…