SpaceX launches private-sector lunar lander on trail-blazing flight to the moon

Lighting up the deep overnight sky, a Falcon 9 rocket thundered away from Florida early Thursday, boosting a commercially built robotic lander on a flight to the moon. If successful, it will become the first American spacecraft to reach the lunar surface in more than 50 years. It was SpaceX’s second flight in less than eight hours, following the launch of six U.S. Space Force missile detection and tracking satellites Wednesday evening. In addition, a Russian space station cargo ship took off from Kazakhstan late Wednesday EST. A camera on the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket captures…