While Jeff Bezos has spent $14 billion to achieve his first space launch, his billionaire rival has built a thriving business, mostly with other people’s money.

Firefly Aerospace launches Blue Ghost Lunar Lander on a SpaceX rocket, embarking on a 45-day journey to conduct scientific experiments on the moon.

Commander Matthew Dominick, pilot Michael Barratt, mission specialists Jeanette Epps and Aleksandr Grebenkin arrived at the International Space Station after docking. Credit: NASA

SpaceX plans to launch the seventh full-scale test flight of its massive Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket Thursday afternoon. It's the first of what might be a dozen or more demonstration flights this year as SpaceX tries new things with the most powerful rocket ever built.

Flawed rocket launches by SpaceX and Blue Origin still leave both companies in position to dominate the space sector.

The rocket company said the space vehicle came apart during its ascent. Videos posted to social media showed debris streaking through the sky.

The SpaceX Starship suffered an explosion during a flight test from Texas, impacting nearby flights. Concurrently, a scientist in Belgium is developing a scent to solve cold cases. Meanwhile, archaeologists in Pompeii have unveiled an opulent bath complex.

NASA's TES-22 CubeSat launched with tech that speeds up satellite deorbiting to clear space debris. It carries technology to study the thermosphere and test solar activity’s impact on satellite operations.

A fire in the aft section of SpaceX's Starship trigged the apparent explosion that destroyed the spacecraft, the company says.

A SpaceX mission set to lift off overnight marks a first for Firefly Aerospace under NASA’s plans to build up American companies to support its lunar goals. A Falcon 9 targeting a 1:11 a.m, liftoff Wednesday from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A is carrying the Cedar Park,

While SpaceX is not the sole new launch company, it has set the pace for reducing the cost and increasing the reliability of space launches.