Private spaceflight

A number of black slabs modeled after the monoliths in "2001: A Space Odyssey" have made the trip into space and back on the first flight of Blue Origin's second human-rated launch vehicle.

It is not a sound often heard in Earth orbit, but in the newly released footage of snack and space history being made, it is clearly there. *Crunch* Doritos is releasing its first ad filmed in space.

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson will serve as co-pilot on tourism company Space Perspective's first crewed balloon flight, expected to occur in 2025.

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos once pledged that if his company's first rocket to reach space and land vertically back on Earth survived, he would put it in a museum. He has made good on his word.

SpaceX is targeting as soon as Oct. 13 for the next launch of its Starship Super Heavy megarocket, but it all hinges on approval from the FAA, which says to expect the flight in "late November."

SpaceX continues to engage the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in a heated and very public debate over launch licensing and alleged violations.

SpaceX has stacked and tested its Starship megarocket ahead of the vehicle's fifth flight, which isn't expected to launch until late November.

SpaceX has retrieved from the sea the first-stage booster that flew on its latest Starship test flight, which launched this past June.

The next test flight of SpaceX's Starship megarocket will feature an attempt to catch the vehicle's first stage with the launch tower — and the company is practicing for the big moment.

SpaceX has sent a letter to high-ranking Senate and House committee members contesting the $630,000 fine proposed by the FAA for alleged launch violations.