mission

Meanwhile, Blue Origin’s mission on Thursday extended beyond landing the booster.

This type of launch could allow for more frequent missions in the future, because they could proceed outside the window of direct alignment of Earth and Mars that happens approximately once every two years.

In addition to restarting Alpha launches by early next year, Firefly aims to fly its second Blue Ghost lunar-lander mission in 2026.

"Space agencies no longer want to manage the infrastructure" of the ISS, said Ugo Bonnet, director of the Spaceflight Institute, which offers training for commercial human missions.

In an interview with MarketWatch, Hammack said she understood why some of her colleagues are concerned about the employment piece of the Fed’s mission, given recent sluggishness in the labor market.