Q&A with Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO

SpaceX launched more than 2,500 of its satellites so far this year. It executed liftoff of its Falcon 9 rocket from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday at 1:41 p.m. PDT (4:41 p.m. EDT / 2041 UTC).

Boeing engineers are close to resolving concerns with the mass and aerodynamic shape of the company’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew carrier, and officials are optimistic the spaceship will be ready to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station in early 2018.

SpaceX’s second Falcon Heavy, outfitted to produce more thrust than the heavy-lifter’s debut flight last year, was raised vertical at launch pad 39A in Florida on Wednesday ahead of a launch attempt with the Arabsat 6A communications satellite.