Photos: Falcon takes flight

Join us for a roundup of the week’s space news with reporters covering the big stories. Spaceflight Now’s Will Robinson-Smith is joined by Irene Klotz, Senior Space Editor for Aviation Week, and Richard Tribou, Space Reporter and Senior Content Editor for The Orlando Sentinel.

Nine Merlin main engines on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ignited at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) Friday, April 17, during a hold-down test-firing on launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA has selected Blue Origin, Dynetics and SpaceX to move forward with development of human-rated lunar landers, committing nearly $1 billion in funding for a range of moonship concepts that include a variant of SpaceX’s next-generation Starship vehicle, officials announced Thursday.