Watch the Falcon 9 launch from pad 39A

The change in leadership follows the decision made in 2024 by Mark Nappi, the former VP and program manager of CCP, to retire from Boeing in February.

A communications payload owned by the Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES will ride the first launch of an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket in mid-2015, SES officials said Friday.

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk on Tuesday outlined an ambition to send humans to Mars with methane-fueled reusable spaceships and the largest rocket ever built, an effort he said will likely require government support and initially cost billions of dollars to develop and test.