SpaceX launches supplies and holiday gifts to space station crew
CBSN
SpaceX capped its busiest year ever early on Tuesday, launching its 31st and final Falcon 9 rocket of 2021. This one boosted a Dragon cargo ship into orbit loaded with supplies, equipment and Christmas presents for the International Space Station crew.
It was only the second all-new Falcon 9 to fly in 2021 as SpaceX capitalizes on its reusable rocket technology, which company officials say is crucial for lowering launch costs and increasing schedule flexibility.
"It's been a record-breaking year for SpaceX," said Sarah Walker, the company's director of mission management. "Reusability is key to lowering the cost of spaceflight, which enables more investments in critical scientific research."
Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday said it will consider the constitutionality of the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund, agreeing to review a lower court decision that upended the mechanism for funding programs that provide communications services to rural areas, low-income communities and schools, libraries and hospitals.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched six space tourists on a high-speed dash to the edge of space and back Friday, giving the passengers — including a husband and wife making their second flight — about three minutes of weightlessness and an out-of-this world view before the capsule made a parachute descent to touchdown at the company's west Texas flight facility.