The US military is raising the stakes – and expanding the field – in the high-profile competition for Space Force mission contracts.

The Space Force plans to purchase more rocket launches from companies in the coming years than previously expected, giving more companies a chance to secure billions in potential contracts.

“This is a huge deal,” Doug Pentecost, deputy program executive officer at the US Space Force’s Space Systems Command, told reporters during a briefing this week.

Earlier this year, the Space Force began the process of purchasing five years’ worth of launches, under a lucrative program known as National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase III.

The United States sees increasing momentum to improve its military capabilities in space, spurring the need to nearly triple the number of third-stage launches it has purchased in second-stage in 2020.

“It just amazes me,” said Pentecost. “We only estimated 36 missions for Phase 2. For Phase 3, we estimate 90 missions.”

In February, the Space Force outlined a “mutual fund” strategy to purchase launches from the companies. NSSL divided Stage 3 into two groups. Track 1 is the new approach, with lower requirements and a more flexible bidding process that allows companies to compete as rockets debut over the coming years. Path 2 represents the current approach, in which the Space Force plans to select a select number of companies for missions that meet the most demanding requirements.

Pentecost said the Space Force hosted an industry day in February to review details of the program and 22 companies attended. Since then, Space Force has made a number of tweaks to Phase 3. It has added more missions, introduced a price cap, expanded Path 2, and established an annual schedule of missions.

The government weighs bids according to a company’s “gross estimated price” to launch. This is broken down into “launch service,” which means the cost of building and launching a missile, and “launch service support,” which covers special requirements the military might have for a launch. The maximum launch service subsidy amount is $100 million per year, per company.

“We’ve implemented some cost constraints so we don’t get inflated. We don’t want to [a situation where] Everyone gets a mission—you get a mission, you get a mission, you get a mission—because there’s no real competition after that,” Pentecostals said.

“We believe all of our partners in the industry want to be the first man, so we think that will provide competitive pricing to keep our costs down,” he added.

While track 1 is expected to attract the most bids and award 30 missions, track 2 is the big show.

With Lane 2, the Space Force awards the most valuable contracts to launch national security satellites at the highest stakes.

“These are billion dollars [satellite] “The payload going into unique orbits,” said Pentecost.

Not only has Lynn 2 seen an increase in the number of missions available for grabs — it’s currently estimated at 58 launches, up from 39 in February — but Space Force also made the decision to expand the slots available for final prizes to three companies, rather than limiting them to two.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, the joint venture of Boeing And Lockheed MartinThey were supposed to be the main contenders for Lane 2, but now there’s an open door for another company like Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.

Space Force will allocate 60% and 40% of the 51 missions to the two largest bidders, respectively, and the remaining seven launches will go to the third-place bidder.

Regardless of where a company ranks, it must demonstrate that it can meet all of Track 2’s requirements, which include having launch sites on both the East Coast and West Coast, and the ability to reach nine high-accuracy “reference” orbits, many of which are much farther from Earth than the LEO requirements of Track 1.

Asked by CNBC how many companies are developing missiles that can meet these requirements by the launch deadline, a Space Force spokesperson declined to specify, saying the Army is “tracking several” that are “expanding their launch capabilities into most of these orbits.”

“Hopefully, not only will ULA, SpaceX, and Blue Origin compete for that, there are others who have interest in the past.” Chad Mellon, chief of procurement and integration at Space Systems Command, said during the briefing.

Space Force presents an annual festival for the month of October. 1 Deadline for assignment of tasks to companies that have won a contract.

Pentecost clarified that the first missions will end in October 2025, but the aforementioned contracts do not guarantee assignments, which protects the Space Force from delays that companies may experience in developing and flying missiles.

“You could have won the contract already, and you had this great plan about how you were going to fly [fiscal year] 2027. But since you haven’t flown yet, and I have a satellite that needs to fly in a couple of years, we’re not going to give you that task—we’re going to pass it on to the other person,” Pentecostal said.

Space Force aims to finish its solicitation for bidders by September and then submit all proposals by December, with contracts awarded in October 2024.

The main driver for this push, Space Force officials said, is “capacity assurance,” since there are “a lot of other companies” trying to buy satellite launches and the Space Force needs to close their orders.

“We wanted to make sure that we basically hedged against the scarcity of launches that could happen because if there is absolutely too much demand and everyone is [buying]”The prices can be very high,” Mellon said.

But despite that fear, Pentecost said that 2026 “looks like the sweet spot” when a number of the companies’ rockets will be developed and ready to fly. And the companies that stay on the right track will have the upper hand in the third phase of the NSSL.

“If you fly before then, or if your schedule shows you will fly before then, you will have significant strengths, which will put you in a better position to win the best provider or second best in this competition,” said Pentecost.

Medicare has agreed to pay for Leqembi’s treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, a major turning point for patients diagnosed with the early stages of the disease.

Leqembi is the only drug on the market now that has been shown to slow the progression of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease in a clinical trial. The monoclonal antibody, given twice monthly through an IV, slowed cognitive decline by 27% over the course of 18 months in the trial.

Leqembi is made by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai and its partner Biogenheadquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Medicare’s decision to cover Leqembi, which came moments after the US Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Thursday, promises to make treatment more accessible to patients.

Medicare coverage is critical for most patients to have any hope of being able to afford Leqembi. Eisai priced Leqembi at $26,500 a year before insurance coverage, which is too expensive for Medicare patients, whose average income is about $30,000.

Medicare foots the majority of the bill, though many patients will still face several thousand dollars out of their own pockets.

Patients on traditional Medicare will pay 20% of Leqembi’s bill, according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That means those patients could see an annual bill of more than $5,000, according to an estimate from KFF, a nonprofit group that researches healthcare issues.

People with Medicare Advantage plans typically pay 20% more for drugs like Leqembi, up to the out-of-pocket limit, which was about $5,000 on average for in-network services, according to the KFF.

Patients with supplemental insurance such as Medigap or Medicaid may pay less, according to the KFF.

People with modest means may not be able to afford an out-of-pocket Leqembi even with Medicare coverage, said Tricia Newman, a Medicare expert at KFF.

Newman said this is particularly worrisome because blacks and Hispanics are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease but are likely to have lower incomes.

If demand for Leqembi is high, there are also concerns that patients could face long waiting times to see specialists and receive injections.

Medicare has certain conditions that must be met for patients to be eligible for Leqembi coverage.

To be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment, patients should undergo a cognitive assessment and undergo a positron emission tomography scan or a spinal tap to detect the amyloid protein associated with the disease. PET scans are the most common way to detect amyloid because they are less invasive.

Medicare currently covers one PET scan per age for amyloid detection. A spokesperson for the agency said CMS is reconsidering this policy and plans to release a proposed rule soon.

The requirement for clinicians to enter patient information into the registration system is controversial. The Alzheimer’s Association and some members of Congress are concerned that the requirement to collect data creates unnecessary red tape for patients to receive treatment.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has created a nationwide portal that is supposed to make it easier for doctors to enter required information about their patients. CMS has released a video showing clinicians how to navigate the system:

Doctors can access free registration on this website.

doctor. The record is simple and unlikely to be burdensome for patients and doctors, said David Knopman, a neurologist who specializes in Alzheimer’s disease at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease need to talk to their doctor about whether Leqembi’s benefits outweigh the risks, according to CMS.

Although Leqembi slightly slowed cognitive decline in clinical trials, the treatment also carries serious risks of brain swelling and bleeding. In the trial, 13% of patients given Leqembi had swelling and 14% had bleeding.

Swelling and bleeding were usually mild, with no obvious symptoms, but these episodes can be fatal, according to an independent Food and Drug Administration review of clinical trial data. When symptoms do appear, they include headache, confusion, dizziness, vision changes, and nausea.

People who have two copies of a gene mutation called APOE4 are at increased risk of swelling and bleeding and patients should be tested to confirm if they have the mutation before taking Leqembi, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. A CMS spokesperson said Medicare covers testing for the APOE4 mutation.

And according to the Food and Drug Administration, patients who take anticoagulants appear to be more likely to have bleeding in the brain.

Three patients who received Leqembi died in the trial, although the Food and Drug Administration could not determine if these deaths were related to the treatment.

Patients who have been appropriately diagnosed and informed should be able to decide for themselves whether they want to take Leqembi after weighing the benefits of the treatment against the risks of potentially serious side effects, Knopman said.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday fully approved the Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi, a pivotal decision that would expand access to the expensive drug for older Americans.

Medicare announced shortly after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval that it now covers antibody treatment for patients enrolled in the insurance program for seniors, though several conditions apply.

Leqembi is the first antibody treatment for Alzheimer’s disease to receive full approval from the Food and Drug Administration. It is also the first such drug to gain broad coverage through Medicare.

Leqembi is not a cure. The treatment slowed cognitive decline from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease by 27% over the course of 18 months during the Eisai clinical trial. The antibody, which is given twice a month by intravenous infusion, targets a protein called amyloid that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Medicare coverage is a critical step in helping older Americans with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease pay for treatment. With a median income of about $30,000, most people on Medicare can’t afford Leqembi’s $26,500 annual rate set by Eisai without insurance coverage.

Medicare had previously agreed to cover Leqembi only for patients participating in clinical trials after the treatment received urgent approval in January. This policy has severely restricted access to the drug.

To be eligible for coverage, patients must be enrolled in Medicare, be diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease, and have a physician participate in a data collection system set up by the federal government to monitor treatment benefits and risks.

Joanna Pike, president of the Alzheimer’s Association, a lobby group that advocates for people living with the disease, said that while Leqembi is not a cure, it will help patients in the early stages of the disease maintain their independence, manage their daily lives and spend more time with their families.

“This gives people months to get to know their spouses, children and grandchildren,” Paik said in a statement Thursday. “It also means more time for the person to drive safely, accurately, and quickly to take care of family finances and to participate fully in hobbies and interests.”

But the treatment carries serious risks of brain swelling and bleeding. Three patients who participated in the Esay study died. FDA scientists said it’s unclear if Leqembi played a role in these deaths.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia among older adults and the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

doctor. David Knopman, a neurologist who specializes in Alzheimer’s disease at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, said Leqembi clearly showed a benefit for patients in the Eisai trial, though he cautioned that the treatment’s efficacy was modest.

Adequately diagnosed and informed patients should be able to decide for themselves whether they want to take Leqembi after weighing the benefits and risks of treatment as well as the potential logistical challenges of finding a place to receive the twice-monthly injections, Knopman said.

To receive coverage, Medicare requires patients to find a healthcare provider who participates in a scoring system that collects factual data about the drug’s benefits and risks. The system is controversial. The Alzheimer’s Association and some members of Congress worry that this requirement will create barriers to treatment.

There are concerns that the number of healthcare providers participating in such registries will be limited, and that people in rural towns and other disadvantaged communities will have to travel many hours to find such a provider.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has created a nationwide portal to make it easier for healthcare providers to provide required data on patients receiving Leqembi. The free-to-use portal went into effect moments after the FDA’s decision on Thursday.

representative. Anna Echo of California, ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Health, and Rep. Nanette Bargan, D-Calif., raised concerns in a letter to CMS last month that patients might struggle to find a physician involved in the system.

Alzheimer’s disease is usually diagnosed with the help of a positron emission tomography (PET) scan to detect the amyloid protein associated with the disease or in some cases with a spinal tap. Medicare currently covers one PET scan per age for dementia. It is not clear if the program plans to change that policy.

There is also concern that there may be too few specialist doctors and sites to administer the injection if Leqembi is widely adopted as a treatment and patient demand for the antibody is high.

Some studies have estimated that wait times for antibody treatments like Leqembi could range from months to years over the next decade depending on demand.

Thomas Phillipson, who advised the FDA commissioner and CMS official during the second Bush administration, said registration is an unnecessary hurdle and Medicare should drop it, but he doesn’t think the requirement will create an insurmountable barrier for patients arriving at Lekembe.

If Leqembi is in high demand, said Phillipson, an expert in health care economics at the University of Chicago, doctors will have an incentive to participate in the enrollment and drug companies will want to help.

He said how high the demand for Leqembi would be was uncertain. He said families concerned about serious side effects may choose not to take the treatment, while others will decide the benefits outweigh those risks.

Leqembi’s price and treatment benefit-risk profile are controversial.

Medicare patients treated with Leqembi will pay 20% of the medical bill after they meet the Part B deductible, according to CMS. Costs may vary depending on whether the patient has supplemental medical coverage or other secondary insurance, depending on the agency.

Patients can face up to $6,600 in annual costs for Leqembi even with Medicare coverage, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study estimated that the treatment could cost Medicare up to $5 billion a year depending on how many people get the injections.

senator. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Health Committee, called Leqembi’s price “unreasonable” and in a letter last month asked Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to take action to reduce the cost.

Sanders said the patient’s out-of-pocket costs for Leqembi would amount to one-sixth of seniors’ total annual income, and he noted that the higher cost of treatment could increase premiums for everyone on Medicare.

Leqembi’s annual list price of $26,500 is lower than the company’s estimate of $37,600 for the total value of the treatment per patient, Eisai says. The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, a nonprofit organization that analyzes healthcare costs, estimated in April that it should be between $8,900 and $21,500 a year.

Although Leqembi could be costly for Medicare, Philipson said delaying treatment coverage would dramatically increase health care spending as people with mild Alzheimer’s disease, which can be managed at home, progress to more serious illness requiring nursing home care. Expensive.

Phillipson and his colleagues at the University of Chicago estimated that delaying Medicare coverage of antibody therapies for Alzheimer’s disease by a year would lead to $6.8 billion in spending increases. By 2040, healthcare spending will increase by $248 billion.

Thursday’s full FDA approval comes after a panel of six outside advisors voted unanimously in June to support the drug’s clinical benefit for patients. The committee was unusually small because some members had recused themselves due to conflicts of interest.

The American Academy of Neurology said in a February letter to CMS that there is a consensus among its experts that Eisai’s clinical trial for Leqembi was well designed and that the results were “clinically and statistically significant.”

Some nonprofit groups such as Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization, have strongly opposed FDA approval of Leqembi. A representative from Public Citizen told the advisory committee that the evidence of the drug’s benefit did not outweigh the significant risks of brain swelling and bleeding.

Representatives from the National Center for Health Research and Physicians of America, also nonprofits, told the panel that the Eisai clinical trial did not include enough black patients, who are at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Leqembi has been technically approved for the US market since January, when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the treatment under an accelerated course. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses accelerated approvals to save time and get drugs to critically ill patients faster.

But Medicare refused to cover Leqembi at the time, asking for more evidence that the expensive treatment had real clinical benefit for patients who outweigh the risks.

The program’s cautious coverage policy stems from the controversial Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2021 of another antibody treatment for Alzheimer’s disease called Aduhelm, which was also introduced by Eisai and Biogen.

An advisory committee for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declined to approve Aduhelm because the data did not support a clinical benefit for patients. Three counselors resigned after the agency decided to approve the treatment anyway.

Knopman is one of the advisors who resigned because of the FDA’s decision on Adholm. He said that a date for Kimbe is different. Knopman said Esay ran a clean trial that showed the antibody had modest clinical benefit for patients.

A congressional investigation later found that the FDA’s approval of Adholm was “riddled with irregularities.”

In his letter to Becerra, Sanders said the FDA “has a special responsibility to restore the public’s trust following its inappropriate relationship with Biogen during the agency’s review of a previous Alzheimer’s disease drug, Aduhelm.”

Pfizer On Monday, it said it would stop development of an experimental obesity and diabetes pill, called lutigliprone, because of elevated liver enzymes in patients who took the drug once daily in clinical studies.

These elevated enzymes often indicate damage to liver cells, but the pharmaceutical giant said no patients experienced liver-related symptoms or side effects.

Pfizer shares closed down 3.6 percent on Monday.

New York-based Pfizer said it would instead focus on its other oral obesity drug, danoglipron, which is in fully registered phase II clinical trials.

That study found that body weight decreased after patients with type 2 diabetes took high doses of danuglipron twice daily for 16 weeks, according to Pfizer results released last month.

The company expects to complete plans for a Phase 3 clinical trial program for danuglipron by the end of 2023. Pfizer added that it is also developing a version of danuglipron that patients take once a day instead of twice.

“We look forward to analyzing danuglipron’s Phase 2 results and selecting the dose and titration schedule that will maximize therapeutic benefits, safety, and tolerability,” William Sessa, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer for internal medicine, said in a press release.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the obesity pill could eventually bring in $10 billion each year for the company.

Lotiglipron, danuglipron, and Novo NordiskThe popular weight loss injections Ozempic and Wegovy are part of a class of medications called glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists.

They mimic a hormone produced in the gut called GLP-1, which sends signals to the brain when a person is full.

Medications can also help people manage type 2 diabetes because they stimulate the release of insulin from the pancreas, which lowers blood sugar levels.

Oral medications such as danuglipron from Pfizer can offer an advantage over frequent injections. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly They are also developing their own experimental pills for obesity and diabetes.

The new class of obesity drugs is sparking public interest and causing the weight-loss industry to go gold. But there is still uncertainty about its accessibility, and questions remain about how long patients need to take the drugs to shed unwanted weight.

Some people who stop taking medications complain of a return of weight that is difficult to control.

More than 2 in 5 adults are obese, according to the National Institutes of Health. About 1 in 11 adults is obese.

Analysts believe Eli Lilly’s pill has an edge over Pfizer’s danuglipron.

Pfizer’s decision to compete in the oral weight-loss drug space with danuglipron will be challenging given the strong data on Eli Lilly’s experimental pill orforglipron, Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal said in a research note Monday.

Overweight or obese patients who took orforglipron once a day lost 14.7% of their body weight after 36 weeks, according to clinical trial results released by the company on Friday.

Bansal added that doctors generally prefer a one-a-day pill such as orforglipron over twice-daily danuglipron: “Depending on convenience, tolerability, and volume of weight loss, Forglipron is likely to be the factor to overcome,” Bansal added.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is set to join the Federal Aviation Administration as a defendant to face a lawsuit brought by environmental groups in the wake of the company’s first test flight on Starship, the world’s largest rocket, which ended in a mid-flight explosion last month.

In a motion filed Friday in court, SpaceX asked federal judge Carl Nichols to allow the company to join the Federal Aviation Administration as a defendant against environmental and cultural heritage nonprofit groups that sued the aviation regulator earlier this month.

The plaintiffs “do not oppose” the company’s involvement in the filings. “It’s a standard applicant to be expected to intervene in a case where his or her statement is contested,” said Jared Margolis, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity and chief counsel for the plaintiffs.

The groups suing the FAA have alleged that the agency should have conducted a more in-depth environmental study on the potential impacts of SpaceX activity before allowing the company to launch the world’s largest rocket, the Starship, from its Starbase facility, a spaceport on the Gulf Coast. near Brownsville, Texas.

The groups also claimed that the “mitigation measures” the agency is asking SpaceX have not been enough to avoid “significant negative impacts” for endangered species, their habitats and tribes in the region whose land and wildlife are sacred.

SpaceX’s filing on Friday lays out the potential consequences for the company if environmentalists win the lawsuit, noting the implications for their business and finances — as well as saying there would be harm to the “great national interest” and potential scientific benefits of the Starship.

“If the court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, the FAA’s decision could be set aside, and the issuance of further licenses for the Starship/Super Heavy program could be significantly delayed, causing severe harm to SpaceX’s business,” the company wrote.

The lawsuit seeks the FAA to make an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) — a lengthy and sweeping action that will likely sideline SpaceX’s Starship operation in Texas for years.

The company too He wrote in the motion that “the FAA does not adequately represent SpaceX’s interests” in the lawsuit, given that it is a government agency. She noted that the FAA “has a direct and material economic interest in the outcome of this case that the government does not share.”

The FAA said in a statement to CNBC that it “does not comment on ongoing litigation cases.”

SpaceX’s chief financial officer, Brett Johnson, filed a declaration along with the motion detailing the company’s potential damages if it lost the lawsuit. In the statement, Johnson wrote that “SpaceX has invested more than $3 billion in development” of the Starbase facility and the Starship system since July 2014.

This year alone, the company expects to spend about $2 billion developing Starship, according to comments CEO Musk made after the first fully-stacked launch attempt last month.

Johnson also highlighted the batch of contracts that SpaceX is building for future spacecraft missions.

SpaceX currently has a major NASA contract worth up to $4.2 billion to use the rocket to land astronauts on the moon. In addition, the company has signed commercial contracts for clients—including three separate missions for wealthy individuals Jared Isaacman, Yusaku Maezawa, and Dennis Tito—for the Starship that Johnson writes is “worth hundreds of millions of dollars at this time.”

Starship is also critical to the future of Starlink’s satellite Internet business, which has more than 1.5 million customers. Johnson noted that “SpaceX has invested billions of dollars in Starlink” so far.

Musk has previously highlighted the interdependence between these two companies, with Johnson also stressing that SpaceX needs a flying Starship in order to launch the second generation, or “V2,” of Starlink satellites.

“Without Starship… not only would SpaceX be hurt financially by not being able to launch v2 satellites, but hundreds of thousands of people… would be waiting until the Starlink constellation was upgraded and could serve them,” Johnson wrote.

Finally, Johnson noted that losing the lawsuit would cause the company to “significantly reduce” investment in its Starbase facility, which could harm its interests, as well as local employees and communities.

Starship’s dramatic and explosive first launch saw the company achieve several milestones for a nearly 400-foot rocket, which flew for more than three minutes. But it also lost multiple engines during launch, caused massive damage to terrestrial infrastructure and ultimately failed to reach space after the rocket began to fall apart and was deliberately destroyed in the air.

SpaceX is working to clear up damage to the launch site, which dug a hole in the ground and smashed debris into the tower, nearby tanks, and other ground equipment. The launch also created a plume of dust and sand, with particles reported as far as six miles from the launch pad.

The test flight also ignited a 3.5-acre fire on state park land.

Phil Metzger, a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida School of Research, studies particle samples. He believes SpaceX dodged a bullet at launch, telling CNBC that the amount of “concrete flying” could destroy the rocket on the launch pad.

“It could have been a lot worse than it was. I think they made a mistake by taking a risk and firing [concrete] On the surface, try doing it this way once. But it was a 70% success rate. They removed the tower, tested the first stage, got a lot of good data, found a staging issue, and hopefully they’ll be able to fix that and get a better result on the next test,” Metzger said.

Metzger did not assess the environmental impacts of the launch pad debris, and rocket blasts, on the endangered species that live in and migrate through the area. The Texas regional office of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and independent researchers are among those studying the environmental effects of the spacecraft’s test flight and explosion.

The SpaceX move has also provided the reason why Starship is ultimately useful to scientific endeavors. The company wrote that the missile’s unprecedented capabilities “will allow scientists to focus on previously impossible science tasks and pursue the fastest, easiest way to move their missions from idea to execution.”

“For example, with its large capacity, the Starship can put large telescopes and heavy science experiments into orbit, and carry cargo, people and even colonies on other moons and planets,” SpaceX wrote.

Read the company’s filing to establish itself as a defendant along with the FAA:

Correction: The spacecraft’s test flight caused a 3.5-acre fire on state park land. An earlier version misclassified Earth.

Virgo galaxy It is targeting as early as May 25 the launch of its next space flight, which marks its first flight in nearly two years since aviation founder Sir Richard Branson and the last planned step before commercial service begins.

Called Expedition 25, it marks the company’s fifth spaceflight to date, as it lifts off from Spaceport America in New Mexico. It’s the Final Evaluation flight, with six Virgin Galactic employees on board for a short trip to the edge of space.

The update comes after a longer-than-expected refurbishment of the company’s spacecraft: Two months after Branson’s flight, and after an FAA investigation into a mishap during his flight, the company halted operations for what was supposed to be “eight to” 10 months”—but it ended up taking nearly from 16 months instead.

Virgin Galactic shares rose as much as 5% in early trading Wednesday after the announcement, before giving up the gains to trade for little change on the day. The company reported first-quarter results earlier this month that revealed mounting losses as it funds the development and expansion of its spacecraft fleet.

In-house pilots Mike Masucci and CJ Sturko will fly the VSS Unity spacecraft, while Jamil Janjua and Nicola Bissell will fly the VMS Eve. In the cabin will be Senior Astronaut Beth Moses, as well as Astronaut Instructor Luke Mace, Chief Engineering Officer Christopher Hoy, and Director of Internal Communications Jamila Gilbert.

Virgin Galactic’s approach to space tourism is to fly up to about 40,000 feet, launch the spacecraft and fire its engine to go over 80 kilometers (or about 262,000 feet) — an altitude that the US recognizes as the frontier of space.

Known as suborbital, this type of spaceflight takes passengers a few minutes of weightlessness, unlike the longer, more difficult and more expensive orbital flights conducted by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. After flying his own craft in 2021, Branson told CNBC he hopes to fly with SpaceX.

Based on the results and data gathered from Unity 25, the company is aiming to carry out its first commercial mission in “late June.”

CNBC has learned that Kathy Lueders, NASA’s newest senior human spaceflight official, has joined Elon Musk’s SpaceX after retiring from the agency two weeks ago.

Lueders’ role will be general manager, working out of the company’s “Starbase” facility in Texas, and reporting directly to SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.

It’s a major hire for SpaceX as the company aims to make the massive Starship rocket safe to carry people in the coming years. Lueders, a respected expert in the sector, is already familiar with the company’s human spaceflight work thus far.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Lueders’ hiring.

Lueders retired from NASA at the end of April, after 31 years with the agency. Before leading NASA’s human spaceflight program, she oversaw the culmination of the Commercial Crew Program as Director, including the first SpaceX missions to carry NASA astronauts.

Earlier this year and shortly before retiring, SpaceX completed the launch of its sixth operational crew for NASA – completing its initial contract for the agency. The company has taken additional awards for eight other manned missions.

Notably, Lueders is following in the footsteps of one of her recent predecessors at NASA, William Gerstenmaier, who joined SpaceX in 2020 after more than a decade as the agency’s chief human spaceflight officer. Gerstenmaier is now SpaceX’s Vice President of Construction and Flight Reliability.

Correction: The headlines and photo caption on this story have been updated to correct the spelling of Kathy Lueders’ name.

Virgin Orbit on Tuesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States after failing to secure a financing lifeline.

The California-based satellite launch company has filed the lawsuit with US bankruptcy court in the District of Delaware and is looking to sell its assets.

It comes after CNBC obtained an audio recording of Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart telling employees during a comprehensive meeting last week that the company has ceased operations “for the foreseeable future.” The company also said it would lay off nearly all of its workforce.

“While we have made significant efforts to address our financial situation and secure additional financing, we must ultimately do what is best for business,” Hart said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We believe the cutting-edge launch technology this team has created will have broad appeal to buyers as we continue the process of selling the company. At this point, we believe the Chapter 11 process represents the best path forward for identifying and finalizing an effective sales process and maximizing value.”

Virgin Orbit said it is focused on a quick conclusion to the sale process to clarify the company’s future.

Virgin Orbit said a pledge from Virgin Investments allowed the company to secure $31.6 million in new funds through “debt in possession” financing. This process, sometimes known as DIP financing, refers to financing companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to allow them to continue operating.

Virgin Orbit has developed a system that uses a modified 747 to send satellites into space by dropping a rocket from under the plane’s wing mid-flight.

The company’s last mission suffered a mid-flight failure, with a problem during launch preventing the rocket from reaching orbit. I crashed into the ocean.

Virgin Orbit is among the few US rocket companies that have successfully reached orbit using a specially developed launch vehicle. It has launched six missions since 2020, with a tally of four successes and two failures.

It had been looking for new money for several months, with majority owner Richard Branson unwilling to fund the company further.

Branson founded the company in 2017 and owns 75% of the shares. Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala holds the second largest stake, at 18%.

The company started trading services in 2021 and started public trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange after the so-called SPAC merger. The deal saw the company valued at about $4 billion at the time.

It’s a markedly different picture nowadays. Virgin Orbit’s market capitalization was about $65 million, according to Monday’s closing price.

“Today my thoughts and concerns are with the many talented colleagues and friends who are now finding their way forward and who have been committed to the mission and promise of all that Virgin Orbit stands for,” said CEO Dan Hart.

“I am confident in what we have built and hope to achieve a deal that positions our company and our technology for future opportunities and missions,” he added.

CNBC channel Michael Sheetz Contribute to this report.

SpaceX brought its fourth mission back for its operational crew from the International Space Station on Friday, as the quartet of astronauts crashed into the company’s capsule off the coast of Florida.

Freedom’s Crew Dragon spacecraft ejected from the International Space Station around noon EST to begin its return journey back to Earth, with the crash occurring around 5 p.m. ET.

“Welcome home — thank you for flying SpaceX,” the company’s mission control center told the crew shortly after landing.

“Thank you for your amazing trip to orbit, and a wonderful trip home,” said Crew 4 Captain Kjell Lindgren in response.

The crew includes 4 NASA astronauts, Lindgren, Bob Heinz, and Jessica Watkins, as well as ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. The mission began in April for a six-month stay at the space-orbiting research laboratory.

Elon Musk launched the Crew-5 mission last week, bringing four more astronauts to the International Space Station.

SpaceX has now transported 30 people into orbit since its first launch in May 2020, with six government missions and two special missions.

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SpaceX launched four people to the International Space Station from Florida on Wednesday, as Elon Musk’s company maintains a steady pace of manned missions.

NASA’s mission, known as Crew-5, will move the group to the International Space Station for six months in orbit. The mission is NASA’s fifth operational crew launch to date, and the company’s eighth human spaceflight in just over two years.

“It was a smooth, rough ride,” NASA astronaut and 5 crew leader Nicole Mann said after the spacecraft reached orbit, adding that “you have three newbies who are happy to be floating in space now.”

The Crew-5 mission brings the number of astronauts SpaceX has launched to 30, including government and private missions, since it was first launched in May 2020.

Crew-5 disembarked on Earth shortly after 12:00 p.m. ET, beginning a nearly 29-hour journey to dock with the International Space Station.

SpaceX launched astronauts in a Crew Dragon capsule called Endurance, atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Both the rocket and capsule are reusable.

The Endurance Corporation is flying into space for the second time — having flown the Crew-3 mission to and from the International Space Station last year.