SpaceX

Piece of SpaceX capsule crashes to Earth in field

But on closer inspection - and verification from experts - he learned it had fallen from space.

The Australian Space Agency (ASA) later said it came from a SpaceX capsule.

Experts described the discovery as "rare" and "exciting" - but said such events may become more common.

The object landed on 9 July in a large area of fields, but was not discovered by Mr Miners until several weeks later.

Two other pieces were later found nearby, and the ASA asked anyone who came across further items to contact a debris hotline set up by SpaceX.

SpaceX launches secretive spy satellite

Elon Musk's commercial rocket company made a successful liftoff Monday morning from Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The mission was supposed to happen Sunday, but SpaceX delayed its flight because of a sensor problem on the bottom part of the rocket.

The customer for the launch was the National Reconnaissance Office, a U.S. government agency that develops and maintains spy satellites.

SpaceX to fly two tourists around Moon in 2018

The mission is planned for late 2018, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, adding that the tourists "have already paid a significant deposit".

"This presents an opportunity for humans to return to deep space for the first time in 45 years," he said.

The two unnamed people will fly aboard a spaceship which is set for its first unmanned test flight later this year.

Mr Musk said the co-operation of America's Nasa space agency had made the plan possible.

He said the two passengers "will travel faster and further into the solar system than any before them".

SpaceX to fly tourists round the moon

The tourists have already paid a significant deposit to go on the flight, which would use the Dragon 2 spaceship under development for NASA astronauts and the Falcon Heavy rocket due to launch its first test flight, the company said.

The launch of the first privately-funded tourist flight beyond the International Space Station is tentatively targeted for late 2018, said chief executive Elon Musk.

He declined to identify the customers or say how much they would pay to fly on the week-long mission, except to say that it was "nobody from Hollywood".

SpaceX aims to launch internet from space

In a filing to the US Federal Communications Commission (FFC), it laid out details about its plans for a 4,425-strong satellite network.

It is one of several companies aiming to deploy satellite-based internet services over the next few years.

SpaceX suffered a setback in September when a rocket exploded.

In a statement, the firm said: "Once fully deployed, the SpaceX system will pass over virtually all parts of the Earth's surface and therefore, in principle, have the ability to provide ubiquitous global service."

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Rocket, satellite lost in SpaceX-plosion

The force of the blast shook buildings several miles away.

SpaceX said "an anomaly" had occurred while the rocket was being loaded with fuel.

No one was injured, it said.

The rocket's payload, an Israeli-built communications satellite for Facebook due to launch on Saturday, was also destroyed, it added.

Facebook, in partnership with Eutelsat Communications, had been due to use the Amos-6 satellite to deliver broadband internet coverage for swathes of sub-Saharan Africa as part of its Internet.org initiative.

Report: Orbital faces risks in resuming space station runs

The space agency's inspector general office said the company's upcoming flight plan contains significant risks, as its attempts to recover from last October's launch explosion. Orbital's Antares rocket failed seconds after liftoff from Virginia, destroying the space station goods and damaging the launch complex. It was Orbital's fourth supply mission, including a 2013 test flight.