Spectators watch the final fiery moments of the Starship test flight

The U.S. Air Force announced Tuesday that SpaceX is now eligible to compete for launches of U.S. national security satellites, closing a tumultuous chapter in the U.S. rocket industry and ending the Pentagon’s sole reliance on United Launch Alliance to haul military payloads into orbit.

A Japanese H-2A rocket is set for launch Thursday with the country’s second navigation satellite, growing a network of beacons in the sky to give emergency responders, security forces and the public more accurate positioning and timing signals in Japan and neighboring regions.

Sierra Nevada and United Launch Alliance have announced the most powerful version of the Atlas 5 rocket, with five strap-on boosters and a twin-engine upper stage, will send the first two Dream Chaser cargo missions to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral in 2020 and 2021, a schedule that still must be confirmed by NASA.