NASA is expanding its Wallops Island facility to support three times as many launches

NASA is kicking off a formal environmental assessment of its facilities on Wallops Island, Virginia, to increase the number of authorized rocket launches at the site by almost 200%, according to slides and recordings of an April 29 internal meeting viewed by TechCrunch. The proposed changes could help ease congestion at the country’s other spaceports, […]

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Andreessen Horowitz’s $7.2B new funds for a ‘new era’

What is worth $11 billion and wants to go to Mars to collect rocks? NASA’s mission to Mars to collect rocks that was expected to cost $11 billion and take ages. So, the U.S. space agency is throwing the doors open to get more input, and that means that startups are looking at an opportunity that […]

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SpaceX looks to scale astronaut launch capacity with second Florida pad

SpaceX is in the final stages of certifying a second pad for astronaut launches, which should ease launch site congestion and help the company scale the number of humans it sends to space. SpaceX has performed 13 crewed missions, and all of them launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It’s the […]

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Leaked SpaceX documents show company forbids employees to sell stock if it deems they’ve misbehaved

SpaceX requires employees to agree to some unusual terms related to their stock awards, which have a chilling effect on staff, according to sources and internal documents viewed by TechCrunch.  That includes a provision that allows SpaceX the right to purchase back vested shares within a six-month period following an employee leaving the company for […]

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SpaceX makes significant progress with third Starship orbital test flight

SpaceX is continuing to make progress on the development of Starship, the largest rocket ever built, with the third test flight Thursday accomplishing considerably more than the previous two tests. The 400-foot-tall Starship rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in southeastern Texas at 8:25 a.m. local time. Although SpaceX has been developing Starship for […]

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SpaceX aiming to launch massive Starship for the third time early Thursday

SpaceX will attempt to send the massive Starship rocket to orbit for the third time early Thursday morning after U.S. regulators gave the green light for launch. The company is aiming to complete the launch within a 110-minute window that opens at 7:00 a.m. CT. Starship testing is conducted from SpaceX’s sprawling Starbase campus near […]

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TechCrunch Space: RIP $ASTR

Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. Happy South by Southwest week for all who celebrate. On to the news.

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SpaceX eyes March 14 for next Starship test flight

SpaceX is aiming to launch its massive Starship rocket for the third time as soon as March 14, the company confirmed in a social media post Wednesday. SpaceX is still awaiting regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for the launch, without which Starship will remain grounded. But even though the FAA has yet to […]

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FAA completes investigation into SpaceX’s second fiery Starship test

The Federal Aviation Administration has concluded its review of SpaceX’s investigation of the second Starship launch in November, with the regulator saying Monday that it accepted the “root causes and 17 corrective actions” identified by the company. While this means the investigation is now closed, SpaceX must implement all the corrective actions and apply for […]

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Amazon and SpaceX are quietly trying to demolish national labor law

Amazon alleged in a legal filing published Friday morning that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is unconstitutional. SpaceX and Trader Joe’s — companies that, like Amazon, have repeatedly faced labor law violations from the federal agency — have recently made similar attacks that threaten national worker protections. This is just Amazon’s latest attempt to block union organizing […]

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