LONG BEACH, Calif. — Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) aims to field a fully reusable version of the Falcon 9, the expendable rocket the company is getting ready to send to the international space station (ISS) on a crucial demonstration mission now expected to be delayed until January.

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Dan Leone is the NASA reporter for SpaceNews, where he also covers other civilian-run U.S. government space programs and a growing number of entrepreneurial space companies. He joined SpaceNews in 2011.Dan earned a bachelor's degree in public communications...