Space industry

Ken Griffin, Founder and CEO, Citadel (L) and Blue Origin New Shepard rocket lifts off (R)ReutersKen Griffin, billionaire founder and CEO of hedge fund Citadel, placed the winning $8 million bid in an auction Monday for a seat on a spaceflight with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.Bezos' company donated two seats on its New Shepard rocket for a "buy one, give one" auction at the nonprofit Robin Hood's annual benefit for New York City, with the second seat going to a city teacher.But Griffin will not launch to space himself,…

SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule Endurance splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa, Florida on May 6, 2022.NASA TVSpaceX returned the astronauts of NASA's Crew-3 mission to Earth early Friday morning, marking the completion of its sixth human spaceflight.Crew Dragon capsule Endurance splashed down off the coast of Tampa in the Gulf of Mexico."On behalf of the entire SpaceX team, welcome home," Sarah Gillis, SpaceX lead operations engineer, said on a webcast after splashdown. "It's been an absolute honor to…

A newly hatched piping plover chick stands next to one of its parents, Monty or Rose, at Montrose Beach on July 10, 2021.John J. Kim | Tribune News Service | Getty ImagesSpaceX must take steps to track and mitigate its impact on endangered species and their habitat in order to gain approvals for testing and commercial launches of its Starship Super Heavy lift-launch vehicle in Boca Chica, Texas, according to documents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service obtained by CNBC.The documents, released by the federal agency in…

SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.Michael Sheetz | CNBCSpaceX is expanding the solar farm at its Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, according to documents obtained by CNBC from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.The FWS documents, known as a draft biological conference and opinion (BCO), reveal that SpaceX is increasing the size of its on-site solar farm by 1.7 acres, or about 30%, making the solar array a total of 7.1 acres. The company has begun clearing and leveling for construction at the site already.Elon…