A test of abort thrusters destroyed the capsule that had returned from an unmanned test flight to the International Space Station.

Elon Musk achieved a major step toward his goal of lowering the cost of space launch March 30 with the successful relaunch and recovery of a “used” Falcon 9 first stage on a commercial orbital mission.

SpaceX has two paying customers for a lunar flyaround, and will try to send them on their way before the end of 2018, founder Elon Musk said Feb. 27.

The launch marks a shift for the historic Launch Complex 39A at Cape Canaveral from government to commercial launches.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX restored some of its luster Jan. 14 with the launch of a Falcon 9 for the first time since an on-pad explosion on Sept. 1.

New Zealand-based space launch company Rocket Lab has completed the qualification of the second stage of the Electron launch vehicle which will be lofted from a newly constructed site on the east coast of the country’s North Island.

Built for Paris-based Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) of Bermuda, the electric propulsion spacecraft need eight months to reach their final orbit, creating a lag between their March 1 launch and their ability to generate revenue.

NASA is asking for $500 million more in fiscal 2016 than it received from Congress last year to try to meet its many obligations.