Posted: Sun, Jan 19 10:28 AM ET (1528 GMT)
A SpaceX Starship vehicle broke apart on its latest test flight Thursday, dealing a setback to the company. The Starship/Super Heavy vehicle lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase facility at Boca Chica, Texas, at 5:37 pm EST (2237 GMT) on the seventh test flight of the system. The Super Heavy booster was able to return to the launch site for a "catch" by the launch tower, repeating a feat first accomplished on a flight in October. However, contact was lost with the Starship upper stage nearly eight and a half minutes after liftoff, after telemetry showed that several of its Raptor engines had shut down. SpaceX later confirmed the vehicle was lost, and videos on social media showed debris from the vehicle falling through the skies above the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. Dozens of airline flights in the region had to be rerouted to avoid the debris, which caused no damage. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said a propellant leak like triggered a fire in the vehicle.

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Posted: Sun, Jan 19 10:25 AM ET (1525 GMT)
The head of the Space Force's Space Development Agency (SDA) has been placed on administrative leave. The Department of the Air Force has removed Derek Tournear from his position as director of SDA Thursday pending the results of an investigation, but the department did not elaborate on the nature of the investigation. Sources claimed the investigation into Tournear may be linked to complaints from contractors about SDA’s unconventional procurement methods and alleged improper sharing of proprietary information. Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, commander of the Space Force’s Space Systems Command, will step in as acting director of the SDA during the investigation.

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•  SpaceNews article
•  Aviation Week article

New Glenn reaches orbit on first launch
Posted: Sun, Jan 19 10:20 AM ET (1520 GMT)
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket reached orbit on its inaugural launch early Thursday, but the booster didn't stick the landing. The rocket lifted...

Stoke Space raises $260 million
Posted: Sun, Jan 19 10:15 AM ET (1515 GMT)
Stoke Space has raised $260 million to continue development of its own reusable launch vehicle. The company announced the Series C round Wednesday involving a...

ISRO satellites dock in orbit
Posted: Sun, Jan 19 10:13 AM ET (1513 GMT)
Two Indian satellites docked in orbit overnight. The twin satellites of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission docked late Wednesday night, the Indian space agency...