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What’s next for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 now that it can land on its own?

SpaceX has a busy month ahead of it! When Elon Musk tweeted that he was going to need a bigger rocket hangar, he wasn’t kidding. Three are already back home from their successful missions to orbit and back, and now there are four more Falcon 9 rockets ready to take to the skies before the end of June. Mission control, we are go for launch!

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SpaceX has a busy month ahead of it! When Elon Musk tweeted that he was going to need a bigger rocket hangar, he wasn’t kidding. Three are already back home from their successful missions to orbit and back, and now there are four more Falcon 9 rockets ready to take to the skies before the end of June. Mission Control, we are go for launch!

But first, let’s relive those prior landings for just a moment, shall we?


 

May 6, 2016

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April 8, 2016

December 21, 2015

 


Launch Details

Next up for SpaceX is the 25th Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida scheduled for May 26th at 5:40 pm.

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The payload for this launch will be the Thaicom 8 satellite, a commercial communications satellite built by Orbital ATK, and its mission is to provide Ku-band communications coverage for Thailand, India, and Africa. SpaceX previously launched another satellite in this series on January 6, 2014 called Thaicom 6. Want a little trivia on the Thaicom 6 mission? It was the final qualification launch that enabled SpaceX to be able to compete for U.S. Air Force launch contracts.

What is Ku-band?

The radio spectrum portion of the satellite Falcon 9 will launch on May 26, 2016.

Ku-band frequency (highlighted) Credit: U.S. Department of Commerce

Ku-band is a radio frequency used mostly for satellite communications, a certain section of which is designated for broadcasting services. To put things into perspective of other “bands”, it has the same purpose as the Ka-band (higher frequency) or C-band (lower frequency), but is more susceptible to weather conditions. For reference, DirecTV satellites use both Ka and Ku-band frequencies, their HDTV being broadcast almost entirely on the Ka-band.

If all goes well, this will be another Falcon 9 mission to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), just like the mission that launched and landed on May 6, 2016. GTO launches fly to 35,790 km above the Earth, pretty high in comparison to the maximum 528 km orbit of the space shuttle program. This means that when Falcon 9 returns, it will be coming in hot and fast again, needing a lot of counter thrust to stick the landing on Of Course I Still Love You, one of SpaceX’s floating autonomous spaceport drone ships (ASDS). Both successful water landings have been on this same ASDS.

One of SpaceX's drone ships for first stage landing after launch.

“Of Course I Still Love You” ASDS – Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX’s last landing was not actually expected to be successful, making the moment it happened so great, “Woohoo!!” was Elon’s first reaction on Twitter. One wonders what the expected outcome is for this landing given the new notch on their belt…

What else is coming up for Falcon 9?

Admittedly, other than the challenging aspects of the landing, the May 26th Falcon 9 mission is pretty routine and not very unique to SpaceX. Most other commercial space companies provide similar launch services for these types of satellites. However, over the next month or so we will see SpaceX resupply the International Space Station, carry one of only two existing satellites with an all-electric propulsion system, and deliver 87 small payloads and CubeSats into orbit via a specialized satellite deployer only three U.S. space companies are certified to carry.

This is gonna be good. Stay tuned!

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Author’s note: I have to assert bragging rights on the May 26th launch because yours truly will get to see it after attending the 44th Annual Space Congress. I’m very excited!

Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

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Elon Musk

Tesla finally clarifies fatal Texas crash, confirms driver manually overrode acceleration

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Credit: CNBC

Tesla has finally clarified the situation regarding the viral crash in Texas where a Model 3 slammed into a home.

CEO Elon Musk replied to reports on Monday that stated the crash was due to the company’s Full Self-Driving or Autopilot suite, which seemed unlikely to those who are familiar with it. Video showed the car slamming into a house at an excessive rate of speed, making it highly unlikely the crash was due to the suite’s operation, as it does not travel at those speeds in residential areas.

Musk said:

“This makes no sense. FSD drives slowly through neighborhood streets, and this was a high-speed crash!”

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Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, added context, revealing that the company’s data shows the driver “manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100%.”

He revealed the speed reached by the car was 73 MPH, and the accelerator was still pressed “even after the crash.”

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Authorities are reportedly investigating “whether Tesla’s Autopilot system played a role after a Model 3 left the roadway…slammed through a brick house at high speed and fatally struck Matha Avila as she sat inside,” the New York Post reported.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is now investigating the crash. Tesla will work with the agency to provide them with whatever information they need in order to clarify the cause of the crash.

Similarly, Tesla had claims of a fatal accident in Harris County, Texas, a few years ago. Early reports indicated that Full Self-Driving was the cause of the crash. After the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) worked with Tesla, the agency proved there was “no use of the Autopilot system at any time during this ownership period of the vehicle, including the time frame up to the last transmitted timestamp on April 17, 2021.”

Tesla alleged “driverless” crash in Texas: What is known so far

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“Application of the accelerator pedal was found to be as high as 98.8 percent,” the NTSB said in their findings. The highest recorded speed in the five seconds leading up to the impact was 67 miles per hour. The area where the crash occurred is residential, and Texas State laws have default speed limits of 30 MPH in residential streets.

This appears to be a similar situation. However, an investigation will prove what happened for sure.

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Investor's Corner

SpaceX makes $20 billion move to optimize its balance sheet

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX announced today that it commenced its first-ever public bond offering, marking a significant step in the newly public company’s capital markets strategy.

The company announced an offering of senior unsecured notes expected to raise at least $20 billion.

The move comes just a short time after SpaceX completed one of the largest initial public offerings in history. In mid-June, the company priced shares at $135 and raised more than $85 billion, propelling founder Elon Musk’s net worth past the trillion-dollar mark and giving the firm substantial liquidity.

According to the company’s SEC filing, the net proceeds from the notes will be used primarily to repay in full the outstanding borrowings under its existing bridge loan facility, cover related fees and expenses, and fund general corporate purposes. The offering is being conducted under Rule 144A, as well as Regulation S, targeting qualified institutional buyers and non-U.S. investors. Notes will be unsecured obligations ranking equally with other unsubordinated debt.

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The $20 billion bridge loan was used to refinance approximately $17.5 billion in higher-cost “junk” debt tied to X and xAI. SpaceX had merged with xAI in February 2026 in an all-stock deal. The bridge facility, which matures in September 2027, had represented the bulk of SpaceX’s long-term debt.

SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise

In connection with the bond launch, SpaceX disclosed it held approximately $100.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of June 19. Investor calls began on the announcement date, with pricing and launch expected shortly thereafter. Rating agencies have assigned investment-grade ratings to the proposed bonds, reflecting confidence in SpaceX’s dominant position in commercial launches and the growth trajectory of its Starlink internet offering.

The debt raise also allows SpaceX to optimize its balance sheet by replacing short-term, higher-cost bridge financing with longer-date, lower-cost fixed-income securities. This provides greater financial flexibility to support capital-intensive initiatives, including the development of Starship, the expansion of the Starlink constellation, and the integration of AI capabilities following the xAI combination.

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SpaceX shares (NASDAQ: SPCX) fell sharply on the news, dropping over 16 percent overall on the market on Monday. The stock had surged initially after debuting but pulled back amid profit-taking and broader market dynamics.

Overall, the bond offering underscores SpaceX’s transition to a mature public company with access to diverse funding sources. It positions the firm to pursue its long-term vision of multiplanetary expansion and AI infrastructure, while maintaining a disciplined approach to its capital structure in a high-growth but capital-heavy industry.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX confirms third massive compute deal at Colossus data center

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Credit: xAI Memphis

SpaceX confirmed today that it has officially signed its third massive compute deal, providing compute at its Colossus data center in Southaven, Mississippi.

Reflection AI will gain immediate access to NVIDIA GB300 chips at SpaceX’s Colossus 2 data center. In return, Reflection will pay SpaceX $150 million per month starting on July 1, with total payments reaching approximately $6.3 billion if the contract runs through its duration, which is until 2029. Either party can terminate the agreement with 90 days’ notice after the initial three-month period.

CNBC first reported the deal.

This latest partnership highlights SpaceX’s strategy of commercializing its massive Colossus supercomputing infrastructure, originally developed to power Elon Musk’s Grok AI models. The company has rapidly expanded its customer base in the AI sector following its February 2026 merger with xAI, a transaction that valued the combined entity at $1.25 trillion.

SpaceX has previously signed significant compute deals with other major players.

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It granted Anthropic exclusive access to the full capacity of its Colossus 1 data center, which exceeds 300 megawatts and includes over 220,000 NVIDIA GPUs. Details from SpaceX’s IPO filings indicate Anthropic will pay $1.25 billion per month through May 2029, potentially generating around $45 billion over the term of the deal.

Additionally, Google agreed to pay SpaceX $920 million per month for compute capacity from October 2026 through June 2029. This 32-month period will provide Google access to roughly 110,000 NVIDIA GPUs, along with supporting processors and memory. Capacity ramps up through September at a reduced fee, with termination options after the first year.

SpaceXA also established arrangements for computing power with Cursor, an AI coding startup. SpaceX acquired them in a $60 billion all-stock deal.

SpaceX makes first acquisition post-IPO

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These arrangements position SpaceX’s collective position as an AI infrastructure powerhouse with high-margin revenue potential. The Google deal alone could generate nearly $29.5 billion over its term, while the Reflection contract adds another $6.3 billion.

Combined with the Anthropic arrangement, SpaceX stands to realize tens of billions in revenue from compute leasing in the coming years, which diversifies beyond SpaceX’s traditional rocket launches and Starlink operation.

The deals underscore growing demand for advanced AI training and inference capacity amid chip shortages and surging model development needs. Reflection, valued at $25 billion and focused on “American open intelligence” with government and national security ties, cited recent restrictions on closed models as validation for open-source approaches.

For SpaceX, the partnerships transform capital-intensive data centers into flexible revenue sources while supporting its broader AI ambitions after the company has gone public.

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