VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc reportedly made a $2 billion offer to United Launch Alliance, the prime spacecraft launch service provider of Pentagon jointly owned by Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

An unmanned Delta 4 rocket blasted off from Florida on Wednesday to deliver the ninth of 12 next-generation Global Positioning System satellites into orbit.

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), founded by Elon Musk, said it has raised about $1 billion in a financing round with two new investors, Google Inc and Fidelity.

A compromise defense policy bill in Congress would bar the purchase of more Russian-made rocket engines to launch U.S. military satellites, clearing the way for competitive bids for 14 future launches, senior congressional aides said on Tuesday.

The U.S. drive to end its reliance on Russian rocket motors got a boost this week when Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos unveiled a new engine project, but officials and industry insiders say it will take years and hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a locally built alternative.

Apple Inc has often displayed uncanny timing, with its well-orchestrated end-of-year iPhone releases. But the leak of racy celebrity photos in the past few days put the company in the unusual position of having to mend its image just days before a highly anticipated Sept. 9 product launch.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will turn over one of its idled space-shuttle launch pad to Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), according to officials on Friday.