Elon Musk has provided a quick update about Starlink’s impending (and apparent) initial public offering (IPO). Reiterating a point he mentioned in the past, the SpaceX CEO stated that Starlink would likely go public when its cash flow is reasonably predictable. Musk’s update came as a response to an inquiry on Twitter Wednesday night, with…
For the second time in six months, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is ready to launch around 100+ small satellites into low orbit as part of a rideshare mission for dozens of companies and institutions. Known as Transporter-2, the mission is SpaceX’s second dedicated launch under the Smallsat Rideshare Program it established in 2019. In…
In response to a Teslarati report on Starship SN16’s apparent transport to what amounts to a resting place for retired rockets, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that the vehicle may still have a shot at flight. On June 16th, SpaceX technicians rolled Starship SN16 out of the Boca Chica factory’s high bay for the first…
SpaceX’s latest launch webcast offered exceptionally clear views of the company’s 88th successful Falcon booster landing minutes after the rocket helped the US military cross a major reusability milestone. In November 2020, Falcon 9 booster B1062 lifted off for the first time, successfully supporting the launch of the US military’s fourth upgraded GPS III satellite…
SpaceX has installed another prefabricated segment of a new Starship ‘launch tower,’ raising the skyscraper-sized framework to more than half its full height. Measuring some 86 meters (~280 ft) tall after the latest segment was craned on top, the growing launch tower is now the tallest structure SpaceX has ever built (or had built) – outclassing the…
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has reiterated plans for Starship to take over Starlink launches, eventually fully replacing Falcon 9’s role in the constellation. Since dedicated Starlink launches began in May 2019, Musk, COO and President Gwynne Shotwell, and a few other SpaceX officials and executives have made it clear that the company would ultimately transition…
SpaceX’s longest-lived and most prolific drone ship has departed Port Canaveral just a few days after preparations appeared to begin for a several-thousand-mile journey from Florida to California. https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/1402837901189148672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Known as Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY), a name derived from late science fiction author Iain Banks’ Culture universe, the drone ship supported its first Falcon…
The second half of SpaceX’s June 2021 flight schedule has begun to firm up, raising the odds of another four-launch month as the end of the first half of 2021 fast approaches. In an increasing rarity among a slew of pandemic and shortage-stricken satellites, rockets, and launch flows, SpaceX’s fourth upgraded GPS III satellite launch…
Elon Musk’s rapidly-growing satellite internet service seems poised for some updates, with SpaceX recently filing an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for testing a new iteration of its Starlink user terminal. The application was filed with the FCC’s Office of Experimental Testing (OET), and it reveals some interesting specifications with regards to the…
SpaceX has successfully completed its fourth Dragon spacecraft launch in six months, continuing an unprecedented cadence of missions carrying crew and cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Sporting a new booster (B1067) and Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft (likely C209), SpaceX’s two-stage, 70-meter (~230 ft) Falcon 9 rocket lifted off without issue on…