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SpaceX got the OK to fly again from the Federal Aviation Administration and didn’t waste any time knocking out launches from both Florida and California early Saturday, but the crewed Polaris Dawn launch remains on hold because of weather.

The FAA had grounded SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 after a launch from Cape Canaveral earlier this week ended with its first-stage booster toppling over in a fiery landing in the Atlantic.

“The SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle may return to flight operations while the overall investigation of the anomaly during the Starlink Group 8-6 mission remains open, provided all other license requirements are met.” the FAA said in a statement released Friday night. “SpaceX made the return to flight request on Aug. 29 and the FAA gave approval on Aug. 30.”

3, 2, 1 and liftoff of Falcon 9 from pad 40 in Florida! pic.twitter.com/t9GJK01E5o

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 31, 2024

With the OK to go, SpaceX first sent up a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 with 21 Starlink satellites launching at 3:43 a.m. read more

Rollins College finally received the OK from the City of Winter Park for a faculty and staff housing project after months of controversy and several revisions to the scope and design of the building.

On Tuesday night, the Winter Park City Commission voted to approve the 45,842-square-foot building at 340 W. Welbourne Ave. that will provide 30 attainable residential units, including 6 one-bedroom, 19 two-bedroom, and 5 three-bedroom apartments for Rollins College faculty and staff, according to GrowthSpotter.

Rollins College hasn’t specified what rental rates it will charge faculty and staff — no student renters will be allowed — but representatives from the college have said the costs will be well below market rate.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Winter Park is $1,650, RentCafe reports. Rollins College President Grant Cornwell explained that entry-level faculty and staff can’t pay that.

“These units are going to be available to younger faculty just out of graduate school, who right now when they look at coming to Rollins, they say, ‘What an attractive college but look at those rents. I couldn’t possibly afford that with the compensation package that is being offered’,” he explained. read more

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA and MAURICIO SAVARESE

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil started blocking Elon Musk’s social media platform X early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through its mobile app after the company refused to comply with a judge’s order.

X missed a deadline imposed by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to name a legal representative in Brazil, triggering the suspension. It marks an escalation in the monthslong feud between Musk and de Moraes over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.

To block X, Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, told internet service providers to suspend users’ access to the social media platform. As of Saturday at midnight local time, major operators began doing so.

De Moraes had warned Musk on Wednesday night that X could be blocked in Brazil if he failed to comply with his order to name a representative, and established a 24-hour deadline. The company hasn’t had a representative in the country since earlier this month. read more