The explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket undercuts the hard-charging company just as it appeared ready to grab a share of the lucrative U.S. military launch market.

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Mike Gruss is the chief content and strategy officer at SpaceNews. From 2013 to 2016 he was a senior reporter at SpaceNews covering military space. Previously, he was editor in chief of Sightline Media Group and worked as a reporter and columnist for...