SpaceX has taken a major step towards sending the Starship to orbit. On Thursday night, the private space corporation has conducted the SN20 Starship prototype's first static fire test as part of its preparation for the spacecraft's launch. According to Space, the SN20 is currently outfitted with two Raptor engines: A standard "sea-level" Raptor and a vacuum version designed to operate in space.

SpaceX's SN20 Starship prototype just took its first fiery breath. SpaceX conducted a brief engine test at its South Texas facilities last night (Oct. 18) with SN20, which the company is prepping to make the Starship program's first-ever orbital test flight.

According to CNBC, Elon Musk’s SpaceX just crossed a $100 billion valuation. The change results from an agreement with new and existing investors to sell shares at $560 per share. CNBC’s Michael Sheetz reports that this is a 33% increase in share price, following the last sale at $419.99. SpaceX was previously valued at $74 billion. This latest share of sales is not a SpaceX seeking additional capital, as they are all secondary sales of already existing shares.

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Elon Musk said on Twitter that SpaceX plans to upgrade the amenities for its next space-tourist flight, including the toilet. The Inspiration4 crew, made up of four civilian astronauts, took off on Wednesday aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. They landed back on Earth on Saturday evening.

One of SpaceX's oldest rockets launched on a historic 10th flight, carrying the first stack of Starlink satellites into space in more than two months before sticking a landing at sea to cap the successful mission.

Four amateur astronauts have blasted off from Florida on their private mission to orbit. The Inspiration4 crew, comprising one billionaire and three "ordinary citizens", rode out of the Kennedy Space Center in a Dragon capsule provided by the SpaceX rocket company.

Space races are supposed to be won in engineering labs or up in orbit. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, the next one might be won in a courtroom or regulator’s office.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is aiming to cement its position as a leading space enterprise with a mission this week that seeks to deliver four civilians to orbit for several days and then return them to Earth.

In the latest in a series of spats between Elon Musk's and Jeff Bezos' companies, SpaceX called Amazon out for its "theatrics" and "gamesmanship" in its complaints against Starlink Gen2. "As usual, Amazon tries to prevent a fair review on the merits by using procedural gamesmanship," SpaceX said in its letter to the Federal Communications Commission. "Despite its theatrics, Amazon does not identify a single fact, figure or scintilla of data that SpaceX omitted from its application."

SpaceX's first all-civilian launch is scheduled to launch on Tuesday (Sept. 14) carrying a message of diversity during the third billionaire-led flight to launch in 2021. The mission, called Inspiration4, includes four private citizens who will fly on a Crew Dragon spacecraft for an Earth-orbiting mission.

Amazon's response to SpaceX's FCC filing, which accused the e-commerce giant of trying to delay proposals for its Starlink internet service on purpose, is just as scathing. In an FCC filing of its own, Amazon told the regulator that SpaceX chief Elon Musk tends to ignore rules and government-imposed regulations. The company also said that SpaceX often accuses any company "that dares point out its flouting of laws and regulations" as "anticompetitive."

Operators of satellite constellations are constantly forced to move their satellites because of encounters with other spacecraft and pieces of space junk. And, thanks to SpaceX's Starlink satellites, the number of such dangerous approaches will continue to grow, according to estimates based on available data.

Late last month, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded astronautic launches services provider Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) a $178 million contract to launch a science mission to Jupiter's ice-covered moon Europa. This mission was originally intended to fly on The Boeing Company's Space Launch System, a rocket built exclusively for NASA's Artemis program. However, the agency had started to caution since early last year that if it chose to proceed with the SLS, cost overruns worth billions would accompany the decision.

Following the conclusion of World War II in the 1940s, worldwide superpowers started developing rocket propulsion technologies in aircraft, ultimately leading to supersonic planes like the North American X-15 and the first Race for Space. Currently, a new rivalry is brewing among private businesses seeking to expand outside our borders.

Jeff Bezos' space company is offering to cover billions of dollars in costs for a contract with NASA to take astronauts to the moon. Blue Origin said it would cover up to $2 billion in operating costs for the first two years of production of a moon lander, waiving payments for the first two years if NASA awards the company the project. The company is also offering to develop and launch a pathfinder mission at its own costs, as well as work with NASA on a fixed-price contract, which would free NASA from any cost overages.

Yesterday, Jeff Bezos — the founder and CEO of Amazon, and, not incidentally, Blue Origin — took a ride into space along with three other people inside the capsule of a New Shepard rocket.

Working with the United Nations, scientists hope to establish standards for satellite ‘megaconstellations’ and reduce disruption of astronomical observations.

Last week, CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter that the company plans to build an engine known as “Raptor 2.” This would be a more powerful version of the Raptor engine, currently being used for the under-development Starship vehicle.

SpaceX is unlikely to meet its July deadline for performing the first ever orbital flight of its Mars-bound Starship rocket, according to reports. Elon Musk’s space firm said earlier this year that the milestone launch would take place “by July”, in order to keep up with a rigorous testing schedule aimed at achieving the technology billionaire’s ambition of reaching Mars this decade.