Christian Davenport

Washington, D.C.

Reporter covering NASA and the space industry

Education: Colby College, B.A., American Studies

Christian Davenport covers NASA and the space industry for The Washington Post's Financial desk. He joined The Post in 2000 and has had an array of assignments, including covering the D.C.-area sniper shootings, the Abu Ghraib scandal, the Fort Hood shootings and the burial problems at Arlington National Cemetery. He was a consulting producer of “Space: The Private Frontier,” a two-hour documentary that aired on the Discovery and Science Channels, and a producer and co-host of “Space Launch Live,” the networks’ Emmy-award-winning live broadcast of SpaceX’s first crewed mission, which was the
Latest from Christian Davenport

SpaceX didn’t want to blow up its launchpad. It may have done just that.

Videos shared on social media showed debris slamming into a van several hundred feet away and striking the nearby beach and the shoreline as if they were a war zone.

April 22, 2023

    Four minutes till failure: Watch SpaceX’s Starship come apart in flight

    On Thursday, SpaceX’s Starship was about four minutes into flight when it exploded. See what we know happened so far.

    April 20, 2023

    SpaceX’s Starship lifts off successfully, but explodes in first flight

    Still, it was widely hailed as a success, with congratulations coming from NASA.

    April 20, 2023

    See the tests of SpaceX’s Starship prototypes that ended in fireballs

    Elon Musk's SpaceX is expected to attempt to launch its fully stacked Starship as soon as this week. Take a look back at the rocket's test flights.

    April 20, 2023

    Unmanned Starship explodes over gulf after liftoff

    The first effort was stopped moments before blast off by a frozen valve.

    April 20, 2023

    Despite bankruptcy, Virgin Orbit CEO says company will launch again

    After filing for Chapter 11, the company founded by Richard Branson is looking for a suitor to rescue it.

    April 19, 2023

    SpaceX will try again to launch Starship on Thursday

    A valve on the rocket’s first stage apparently froze, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, leading to a pressurization issue.

    April 17, 2023

    SpaceX scrubs Starship test launch after valve freezes

    The scrub was announced minutes before the launch of what would be the world's most powerful rocket.

    April 17, 2023

    SpaceX’s launch of Starship could remake space exploration

    Powered by a staggering 33 first-stage engines, Starship and its booster are expected to have nearly twice the thrust of NASA's SLS moon rocket.

    April 16, 2023

    Inside the rockets that NASA and SpaceX plan to send to the moon

    In the way they are manufactured, financed and designed to work, NASA’s SLS and SpaceX’s Starship represent two very different approaches.

    April 15, 2023