Re: "expansion of space briefly exceeded the speed of light "
" For instance if you launched two objects in opposite directions at light speed"
SR allows a 3rd observer to 'see' 2 objects moving together or apart at >c but from the perspective of one object the other can never be moving (towards or away at >c). It's one of the problems with trying to understand relativity by analogy with everyday experience.
In the LHC the protons beams each reach close to c relative to the machine but from their perspective only collide at <c