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Sitting atop its stainless steel Super Heavy booster, Starship stood taller than the Statue of Liberty at the company's new orbital launchpad in South Texas. As the booster fell back to Earth, Starship continued to climb toward the heavens, then shut off its engines to glide through space. Once fully operational, Starship will be able to carry up to 150 metric tonnes (165 US tons) to space, per SpaceX. Illustration of SpaceX Starship human lander design that will carry NASA astronauts to the Moon's surface during the Artemis mission. NASA's new moon rocket, SLS, could send 46 tons into orbits beyond the moon.

Persons: —, Elon, Musk, Dan Huot, Marianne Ayala, Morgan Stanley, Artemis, Artemis III Organizations: Service, SpaceX, Business, SpaceX's, Texas launchpad, X, NASA, Super, Saturn, Morgan, SLS, SpaceX SLS, Apollo Locations: South Texas, Texas

☆ SpaceX Starship: What’s next for the most powerful rocket ever built
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

CNN —Mere moments after SpaceX’s Starship system — the most powerful rocket ever built — was lost in a test flight Saturday, a somewhat complicated narrative around the vehicle began to emerge. “What we did today will provide invaluable data to continue rapidly developing Starship,” SpaceX said Saturday in a statement. SpaceX's mega rocket Starship launches for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on Saturday, November 18, 2023. The Starship spacecraft was then able to ignite its own engines and break away from the Super Heavy rocket booster to continue the mission. SpaceX's Starship rocket prototypes are seen at the SpaceX Starbase in Brownsville, Texas, on August 19, 2023.

Persons: CNN —, Artemis III —, Bill Nelson, SpaceX, —, Eric Gay, John Insprucker, Elon Musk, Jim Watson, Wayne Hale, they’ve, ” Hale, “, They’ve, ”, SpaceX’s, Christina Hammock Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, Jeremy Hansen, Wiseman, Glover, Hammock Koch, Hansen, Artemis, Bill Ingalls, Hale, Jeff Bezos, Lakiesha Hawkins, ” Hawkins, NASA isn’t, Apollo Hale, Neil A, Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin E, Aldrin Jr, ” What’s, Veronica Cardenas, Reuters It’s Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, NASA, China, Super, International Astronautical, Getty, FAA, CSA, Canadian Space Agency, Orion, Planetary Society, SLS, Origin, Blue, Kennedy Space Center, Saturn, Earth, ” CNN, Reuters, Federal Aviation Administration Locations: Starbase, Boca Chica , Texas, Baku, Azerbaijian, Boca Chica, South Texas, AFP, Texas, Washington, Florida, “, SpaceX’s, Brownsville , Texas

☆ Investing in Space: A reality check on SPAC frenzy revenue projections
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

Overview: Forecast or fantasyWe're now at least two years on from when a slew of space companies went public during the SPAC frenzy, and, look, none of them look great. Now a bit further down the road, I want to look at a different financial metric: 2023 revenue projections. I ran an informal series for a while to mark when a space company announced it was going public. The rest of the pack isn't as on the mark: A few companies are roughly halfway to their earlier 2023 revenue projections, or performing even better. Spire forecast 2023 revenue of $227 million and is closing in on about $107 million.

Persons: Angela Weiss, CNBC's Michael Sheetz, it's, I'd, Here's, Derek Tournear, Ron Rosano, Trevor Beattie, Namira Salim, –, REx, Christopher Povak, Lisa Watson, Morgan, – Watson, Morgan Starliner, General, NASA Astrobotic, Andy Lapsa Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, AFP, Getty, Terran, Galactic Astra, CNBC, Pentagon, Space Development Agency, LinkedIn, Galactic, NASA, NASA NRO, Soyuz, – Reuters, Reuters SpaceX, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, IAC, Lunar Research, SpaceX, Boeing NASA, Moonshots Capital, Lavrock Ventures, Veteran Fund, Mana Ventures, AIN Ventures, Capital Factory, Astra, – Bloomberg, ViaSat, Viasat Locations: Russian, Azerbaijan, Russia, Venezuela, South Africa, Florida, Washington, CNBC Los Angeles

☆ Exclusive: Suedzucker unit drops plan to lift French sugar output, citing Ukraine imports
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Sybille De La Hamaide | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

European sugar prices have hit record highs, well above soaring global markets, due to a sugar deficit in the bloc, linked notably to falling output in France where farmers have been deterred by poor harvests in recent years. High sugar prices at a time when grain prices have fallen could make farmers favour beets in their rotations, sugar beet growers said. The French sugar beet crop area fell to a 14-year low this year. "We must be careful not to fall into the opposite extreme," Franck Sander, chairman of French sugar beet union CGB, told Reuters, warning that a rise in area could make EU prices slump. Saint Louis Sucre closed two factories in 2019 as part of a wider restructuring plan at Suedzucker, Europe’s largest sugar refiner.

Persons: Saint Louis Sucre, Germany's Suedzucker, Saint, Louis Sucre, rapeseed sowings, Franck Sander, Sybille de La, Nigel Hunt, Michael Hogan, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, European Union, Thomson Locations: France, Ukraine, Suedzucker, Poland, London, Hamburg

☆ NASA spent billions on its SLS mega-rocket to take humans to the moon. It finally admitted it is 'unaffordable.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

NASA officials have said their SLS mega-rocket program is "unaffordable." Officials agree the SLS budget "needs to be improved," but it's not clear how, per a government report. The exact costs are unclearThe GAO says NASA has spent $11.8 billion since 2011 on the development of the integrated SLS rocket. NASA's SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft shown here being rolled of their assembly building ahead of the Artemis I mission. NASA's SLS is an anomalyPart of the criticism for the SLS program is that it sticks out as a "bit of an anomaly" in NASA's latest approach to project development, Rosseau previously said.

Persons: Artemis, Brendan Rosseau, Joel Kowsky, NASA's, Rosseau, it's, SLS's, pare, they've, Eric Berger, Paul Martin, Berger, Blue Origin's Organizations: NASA, Service, Orion, SLS, Office, GAO, Planetary Society, Elon, SpaceX, Harvard Business School, Origin, SpaceX's, SpaceX NASA, Ars Technica Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ NASA’s mega moon rocket is ‘unaffordable,’ according to accountability report
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Senior NASA officials say that the agency’s Space Launch System — the massive rocket designed to propel its ambitious Artemis program to establish a base on the moon — is “unaffordable,” according to a report Thursday from the US Government Accountability Office. The report does not name which officials — or how many — at NASA made such claims. That plan includes efforts to “stabilize the flight schedule,” increase efficiencies, “encourage innovation” and “adjust acquisition strategies to reduce cost risk,” according to GAO. That’s expected to be followed by Artemis III, the first attempt to return American astronauts to the moon since the Apollo program. But while NASA “partially concurred,” the agency “has not yet implemented this recommendation,” the GAO report said.

Persons: Artemis, NASA “, Artemis I, That’s, Artemis III, watchdogs, “ Organizations: CNN —, NASA, Office, SLS, GAO, Government watchdogs

☆ The moon is open for business, and entrepreneurs are racing to make billions
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

"Definitely the moon is going to be a big business," said Prachi Kawade, a senior analyst at NSR, a research-and-consulting company focused on the space market. At first, lunar missions could be limited to a couple of weeks or months in a lunar base camp. Another lead for moon mining is the rare-earth elements that millennia of meteorites crashing into the moon may have left behind. Fly me to the moonHowever, the most lucrative part of the moon market by far is rocket development, said Kawade, who leads NSR's lunar-market report. NASA built its own system for its upcoming Artemis moon missions, the Space Launch System (SLS) mega-rocket with its Orion spacecraft.

Persons: Artemis, Brendan Rosseau, Lockheed Martin, Prachi Kawade, that's, Rosseau, Steve Creech, Creech, Kawade, NASA We're, George W, Bush, Rousseau, landers, Per, NASA's, NASA Ames, Daniel Rutter, Elon Musk's, Artemis III, Musk, NASA isn't, Glenn, III, VIII, Bill Nelson, Svetla Ben, Itzhak, Ben Organizations: NASA, Service, Harvard Business School, SpaceX, Origin, Nokia, Lockheed, General Motors, NSR, Apollo, ESA, Payload, Astrobotic Technology, Rover, Exploration Rover, Polar Resources, Mining, Orion, Elon, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Politico, Artemis, China, Air University Locations: Wall, Silicon, China, Pittsburg, Texas, California, Colorado, Japan, Russia, Latin America, Central Asia, Pakistan

☆ Boeing sued over alleged theft of IP, counterfeiting of tools used on NASA projects
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The company's lawsuit centers around multiple custom-designed tools that Wilson says it created for Boeing. Boeing, in turn, "rewarded Wilson's efforts by brazenly stealing" the IP related to multiple devices, the complaint says. The company brought 10 claims against Boeing, including claims of copyright infringement, misappropriation and theft of trade secrets, and fraud. "We fully believe that there are other companies, probably small American-owned companies, that have been affected by this same activity inside Boeing," Wilson lawyer Flowers told CNBC. Read the full copy of Wilson's complaint below:

Persons: Wilson, Pete Flowers, David Wilson, Lance Astrella, Lockheed Martin, Flowers Organizations: Wilson Aerospace, Boeing, CNBC, NASA, Space Station, SLS, Space Shuttle, Lockheed Locations: Colorado, Washington

☆ Analysis: Boeing, Northrop face obstacles in commercializing flagship US rocket
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/3] NASA's next-generation moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with its Orion crew capsule perched on top, is shown on its launch pad as it is prepared for launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. November 12, 2022. NASA's SLS vision has its skeptics. NASA currently manages SLS production, with Boeing and Northrop its top contractors, each having contracts under which the space agency bears any delay costs. Boeing and Northrop executives have declined to discuss plans for cutting SLS costs under the proposed commercial contract. Boeing has said the SLS program has created 28,000 jobs.

Persons: Joe Skipper, Colonel Douglas Pentecost, Glenn, Jeff Bezos's, Cristina, Jim Free, Artemis, Amit Kshatriya, Kshatriya, Joey Roulette, Will Dunham, Ben Klayman Organizations: Orion, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Pentagon, Northrup, U.S . Department of Defense, DoD, U.S, military's Space Force, NASA, SLS, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Office, U.S . Congress, Northrop, Artemis, Space, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida, U.S, Florida

☆ Bezos' Blue Origin wins NASA astronaut moon lander contract to compete with SpaceX’s Starship
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Jeff Bezos has his NASA moon ticket. The billionaire's space company Blue Origin won a key contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Friday to develop a crewed lunar lander for delivering astronauts to the moon's surface later this decade under the agency's Artemis program. NASA's contract award is worth just over $3.4 billion, officials said Friday, while Blue Origin Vice President John Couluris said the company will contribute "well north" of the contract's value as well. "We're making an additional investment in the infrastructure that will pave the way to land the first humans on Mars," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in announcing the Blue Origin award. Bezos said in a tweet Friday he's "honored to be on this journey with @NASA to land astronauts on the Moon — this time to stay."

☆ Citi has added Accor Hotels as a transfer partner, making ThankYou points more useful for stays at brands like Fairmont, Raffles, Sofitel, and Ibis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Joseph Hostetler | Jasmin Baron | Credit Cards Reporter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

You'll receive 500 Accor points for every 1,000 Citi ThankYou points you transfer (a 2:1 ratio). Examples of popular Accor brands are:Banyan TreeFairmontIbisRafflesSLSSofitelSwissotelAccor has now been added to the list of Citi ThankYou Rewards points transfer partners, bringing Citi's number of partners to a whopping 17. For every 1,000 Citi ThankYou points you transfer, you'll receive 500 Accor points. That's significantly lower than Insider's valuation of Citi ThankYou points at 1.6 cents apiece, on average. The best way to use Citi ThankYou points for maximum value is usually for award flights instead of free hotels.

REUTERS/Go NakamuraBOCA CHICA, Texas, April 20 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX aimed on Thursday to launch the company's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket for the first time, on a highly anticipated but brief uncrewed test flight from the Gulf Coast of Texas. A successful flight would instantly rank the Starship system as the most powerful launch vehicle on Earth. In February, SpaceX conducted a test-firing of the Super Heavy, igniting 31 of its 33 engines for roughly 10 seconds with the rocket bolted in place vertically atop a platform. The Federal Aviation Administration last Friday granted a license for the first test flight of the fully stacked rocket system, clearing a final regulatory hurdle for the long-awaited launch. After separating from the Starship, the Super Heavy booster is expected to execute the beginnings of a controlled return flight before plunging into the Gulf.

Space fans walk the dunes as workers prepare the SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket as they attempt to schedule another launch launch from Starbase after it was scrubbed on April 17, 2023. SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Elon Musk's SpaceX is again attempting to launch of its towering Starship rocket to space after scrubbing an attempt earlier this week. The Starship orbital launch, out of a private facility in Texas along the Gulf Coast, represents the culmination of years of regulatory work and technological tests. The company had hoped to conduct the first orbital Starship launch as early as summer 2021, but faced delays in development and in winning FAA approval, which came late Friday. Watch SpaceX's live stream below and follow along for live updates out of South Texas.

☆ SpaceX readies for another attempt to launch Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The Starship spacecraft, which stands at 164 feet (50 meters) tall, rides atop the rocket. The Starship rocket sits on the SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on April 15, 2023. In the lead-up to the first launch of the company’s Falcon Heavy rocket, which held the title of most powerful rocket before NASA’s Space Launch System took flight last year, Musk foresaw only a 50-50 chance of success. “People (came) from all around the world to see what will either be a great rocket launch or the best fireworks display they’ve ever seen,” Musk told CNN at the time. The inaugural Falcon Heavy launch in 2018 was ultimately successful.

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Elon Musk's SpaceX is attempting to launch its towering Starship rocket to space for the first time Monday from a private facility in Texas along the Gulf Coast. SpaceX had hoped to conduct the first orbital Starship launch as early as summer 2021, but delays in development and FAA approval pushed back the timeline. Starship is designed to carry cargo and people beyond Earth and is critical to NASA's plan to return astronauts to the moon. Two years ago, SpaceX won a nearly $3 billion contract from NASA to use Starship as a crewed lunar lander. Watch the run-up to the launch below and follow along for live updates from South Texas.

BOCA CHICA, Texas, April 17 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX called off the highly anticipated debut launch of its newly-combined Starship cruise vessel and Super Heavy rocket in the final minutes of countdown due to a frozen valve, delaying the uncrewed test flight for at least two days. But the California-based space company announced in a live webcast that it was scrubbing the planned 90-minute flight into space for a minimum of 48 hours, citing a frozen pressurization valve in the lower-stage rocket booster. A successful debut flight would also instantly rank the Starship system as the most powerful launch vehicle on Earth. But neither stage would be recovered for the expendable first test flight to space. After separating from the Starship, the Super Heavy booster is expected to execute the beginnings of a controlled return flight before plunging into the Gulf of Mexico.

REUTERS/Gene BlevinsBOCA CHICA, Texas, April 17 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX made final preparations early on Monday to launch its powerful new Starship rocket system to space for the first time, on a brief but highly anticipated uncrewed test flight from the Gulf Coast of Texas. But neither stage will be recovered for the expendable first test flight to space, expected to last no more than 90 minutes. The Federal Aviation Administration just last Friday granted a license for what would be the first test flight of the fully stacked rocket system, clearing a final regulatory hurdle for the long-awaited launch. As designed, the Starship rocket is nearly two times more powerful than NASA's own Space Launch System (SLS), which made its debut uncrewed flight to orbit in November, sending a NASA cruise vessel called Orion on a 10-day voyage around the moon and back. Reporting by Joe Skipper in Boca Chica, Texas, and Joey Roulette in Denver; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk holds the keys to the moon because SpaceX's Starship megarocket launch is crucial to NASA's return
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The rocket, which NASA has tagged for upcoming missions, is crucial to NASA's return to the moon. The highly anticipated Starship launch will determine whether NASA's Artemis moon program is on track for success. NASA's SLS relies on Starship for the moon landingA Starship prototype being launched. NASA's SLS rocket, by contrast, has a high price tag for the taxpayer: The project has cost $50 billion in development since the program's inception in 2006. All of this makes NASA's SLS a poor competitor to SpaceX's shiny new rocket.

☆ China could start building a moon base with lunar-soil bricks in 5 years, amid NASA fears of a moon territory dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

China could be ready to start building its lunar base within five years, scientists said. China has made major strides in space exploration, recently launching its own crewed space station. "We will be using real moon soil to make the first brick right there on the moon," he added, per SCMP. These could be used to make habitats on the moon using traditional Chinese building techniques, he said. The agency wants to build its own station orbiting the moon, as well as an Artemis lunar base.

☆ NASA to announce astronauts chosen for Artemis II lunar flyby mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] People gather ahead of an event of NASA to announce the crew of the Artemis II space mission to the moon and back in Houston, Texas, U.S., April 3, 2023. REUTERS/Go NakamuraApril 3 (Reuters) - NASA plans on Monday to introduce the four astronauts for its Artemis II lunar flyby mission, set for launch as early as next year in what would be the first crewed voyage around the moon since the end of the Apollo era more than 50 years ago. The newly introduced crew will include the first Canadian astronaut for a moon mission, as well as three Americans from a pool of 18 NASA astronauts - nine women and nine men - selected for the Artemis program in 2020. They were the last of 12 NASA astronauts who walked on the moon during six Apollo missions starting in 1969 with Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. If Artemis II is a success, NASA plans to follow up a few years later with the programs' first lunar landing of astronauts, one of them a woman, on Artemis III, then continue with additional crewed missions about once a year.

☆ Boeing's role in building NASA's new rocket
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

The mobile launcher with NASA's SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 to Launch Complex 39B on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “I worked over 50 Space Shuttle launches,” Boeing SLS program manager John Shannon told CNN by phone. Though more than 1,000 companies were involved with designing and building SLS, Boeing’s work involved the largest and most expensive portion of the rocket. The SLS rocket ended up flying its first launch more than six years later than originally intended. All of the “major components” for a third SLS rocket are also completed, Shannon added.

☆ SpaceX's most powerful rocket returns to flight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

With each launch, the Falcon Heavy rocket puts on a dramatic show back on Earth. It’s a signature move for SpaceX, which routinely recovers and reuses its rocket boosters to drive down the cost of launches. All about this rocketFor years, the Falcon Heavy was the world’s most powerful operational rocket. If successful, SpaceX’s Starship would dethrone the SLS as the most powerful rocket flying today. Both the SLS rocket and SpaceX’s Starship are integral to NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon’s surface for the first time in half a century.

The first full-color image released from the next-generation James Webb Space Telescope is the sharpest infrared image of the distant universe ever produced, according to NASA. Space Telescope Science Institut / NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERONASA released the first batch of images from the tennis court-sized observatory to much fanfare in July. The exoplanet HIP 65426 b in different bands of infrared light, as seen from the James Webb Space Telescope. Back to the moonFifty years after the final Apollo moon mission, NASA took key steps toward returning astronauts to the lunar surface. Chinese officials have also said they intend to use the space station for space tourism and commercial space initiatives.

☆ Astronauts explain why nobody has visited the moon in 50 years — and the reasons are depressing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Dave Mosher | Hilary Brueck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The last time a person visited the moon was in December 1972, during NASA's Apollo 17 mission. But those stays during the Apollo program didn't establish a lasting human presence on the moon. Researchers and entrepreneurs have long pushed for the creation of a crewed base on the moon — a lunar space station. But many astronauts and other experts suggest the biggest impediments to making new crewed moon missions a reality are banal and somewhat depressing. During NASA's Apollo program, 12 people landed on the moon.

After a 26-day mission that took it on a historic journey around the moon, NASA’s next-generation Orion capsule has returned to Earth. NASA has touted the Artemis I test flight as laying the foundation for returning U.S. astronauts to the moon. Artemis I was designed to test the Orion capsule and the huge Space Launch System rocket that carries it into orbit. NASA plans two more Artemis test flights before it launches regular missions to the moon to establish a lunar base camp. Artemis II will launch four astronauts in the Orion spacecraft on an expedition around the moon.

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