Video: Falcon 9 rocket test-fired at pad 39A (members only)

Confronted with pesky problems in the Falcon 9 rocket’s helium pressurization system, SpaceX has shuffled the order of the next two launches, choosing to go ahead with the liftoff of a Dragon supply ship on a cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station around April 10.

Relativity Space, a small launch startup aiming to fly its orbital rocket from Cape Canaveral for the first time next year, announced Wednesday it has signed a contract with Iridium for up to six launches of the company’s spare communications satellites. Relativity also announced it plans to develop a second launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to allow for missions to polar orbits.

SpaceX is gearing up for the next big leap in the development of the next-generation Starship heavy-lift launch vehicle with a test flight to more than 40,000 feet over the Texas Gulf Coast as soon as Tuesday.