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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

April 8, 2016

December 21, 2015

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Launch Details

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

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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Tesla Cybercab is coming to Asia this month as US service officially begins

Tesla Asia says Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai this month.

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Concept image of Tesla Cybercab in the streets of Hong Kong via Grok
Concept image of Tesla Cybercab in the streets of Hong Kong via Grok

Tesla’s Cybercab is heading to Asia. The official Tesla Asia account posted on X Thursday, inviting Cybercab fans to “Come experience the future of autonomy in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai.” The post went up within hours of Tesla’s own Cybercab milestone in Texas, where the company said Thursday it had begun offering rides in across Austin.

Exact dates and venues for the Asia tour haven’t been released yet, though Tesla Hong Kong replied to the announcement with “Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong soon,” while Tesla Japan’s response pointed fans to a sign up page for updates. Neither post mentions test rides or a service area, and nothing so far suggests Tesla is launching Robotaxi operations in any of the four cities. Based on how Tesla has run past Cybercab tours, in Europe in late 2024 and at US shopping centers that same December, the Asia stops are almost certainly static displays at Tesla stores or public venues as a means to stimulate buzz for its future driverless ride-hailing service in the big cities.

The timing lines up with Tesla’s only prior Cybercab appearance in the region, a booth at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai last November, which Teslarati covered at the time. At that event, Tesla’s regional general manager for Shanghai framed the car as evidence of the company’s broader mission, a message Tesla has since formalized in its Master Plan Part IV, which states that “autonomous vehicles have the capacity to dramatically improve the affordability, availability and safety of transportation while reducing pollution, particularly in our increasingly dense global cities.” The same document is where Tesla lays out its “sustainable abundance” framing for Cybercab and Optimus alike, describing the two as the hardware behind an AI driven push to cut the cost of transportation and labor at scale.

Whether Cybercab actually operates as a robotaxi anywhere in Asia remains an open question, considering China has already pushed an autonomous ride-hailing market that’s run on homegrown players like Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony AI. For now, the four city tour reads as a marketing push timed to Austin’s momentum.

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Tesla Cybertruck targets job site crews with new Tailgate Utility Track and Bed Gear Box accessory

Tesla launched a $350 tailgate track and a $985 lockable Bed Gear Box for Cybertruck.

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Tesla Cybertruck construction site

Tesla’s Cybertruck team added two more items to the Tesla Shop, targeting job site crews and owners who use the truck bed for actual work rather than just showing it off. The official Cybertruck X account posted the Tailgate Utility Track and the Bed Gear Box within minutes of each other, part of a five item batch that also included a reflective jacket, a spray paint hat and an updated reflective tee.

The Tailgate Utility Track runs $350 and turns the folded down tailgate into another mounting surface. It’s a single aluminum track with a T-slot for sliding accessories and two L-track attachment points, plus two load stops included in the box. The pitch is straightforward: strap down oversized cargo, like lumber or a cooler, that hangs off the back of the bed without it sliding out mid-drive. It bolts onto the existing tailgate and works on every Cybertruck trim.

The Bed Gear Box costs $985 and is a different kind of accessory. It’s a lockable aluminum storage box, 55.78 inches long, 19.8 inches wide and 7.79 inches tall, that mounts to the bed’s L-track rails and comes with two internal bins for smaller items. According to Tesla, at just over 57 pounds empty, it’s meant to stay in place rather than come in and out with each trip, giving owners a factory-fit alternative to loose totes for tools, recovery gear or emergency supplies. Tesla’s listing notes that Long Range and Dual Motor AWD Cybertrucks need the L-Tracks accessory installed separately before the Gear Box will mount, since L-tracks come standard only on certain configurations.

Tesla Cybertruck bed gear box accessory

Tesla Cybertruck bed gear box accessory

Both accessories lean on the idea Tesla has been building toward since Elon Musk first described the Cybertruck’s third-party attachment strategy at the 2023 shareholder meeting, when he said the truck would ship with mounting points so outside companies, and Tesla itself, could keep adding gear without redesigning the bed. That’s the same L-track backbone underneath the tailgate shield and jumpseats Tesla launched last year, and the off-road armor package that arrived through the same X account in 2025.

Owners looking to round out the rest of the L-track ecosystem, cargo dividers, MOLLE panels, bed racks and similar gear, can find a wider range of options through our Cybertruck accessories collection.

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Tesla set to open Cybercab rides to the public, with no steering wheel or pedals

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Credit: Tesla

Update: Tesla has announced Cybercab will enter the public fleet on Friday, September 4 at 5 p.m. CT. The article and headline have been updated to reflect this.

Tesla Cybercab rides will officially open to the public in Austin, Texas, on Friday, September 4 at 5 p.m. CT, as the company confirmed on Thursday following its launch event that the two-seater would be available in the company’s Robotaxi fleet.

Cybercab is Tesla’s first vehicle completely void of any manual controls. It has no steering wheel and no pedals, and it will utilize Tesla’s Full Self-Driving fleet to operate. The first rides have already happened, as those at the event were able to hail a Cybercab to any location within the company’s geofence in Austin.

Tesla’s $25K car is the Cybercab with no steering wheel or pedals

The addition of Cybercab to the public Robotaxi fleet is a major statement in Tesla’s trek to launch fully autonomous driving. For years, critics have complained about the need for drivers to continuously supervise the vehicle.

With Cybercab, there are no manual controls in the cockpit other than to control the seat, the center screen, and the climate. The vehicle is fully geared toward being a living room on wheels in a sense: equipped with Starlink V5 satellites, CEO Elon Musk said the vehicle would enable 4K live video, gaming, and other entertainment options during travel.

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Musk noted that Cybercab is “designed and built for maximally efficient autonomous operation.”

Tesla continues to push the envelope on autonomy, and over the next several months, the company could start selling Cybercab units to the public.

The company opened up a public interest form on its website to gauge demand, and many have already submitted requests to purchase a fleet of Cybercab units for their own personal ride-hailing side hustle.

Tesla hints its already prepping for Cybercab fleet orders

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The launch of Cybercab in this area marks a major accomplishment for Tesla, as it also announced that it has reached 1 million unsupervised autonomous miles since launching driverless rides on the Robotaxi fleet.

Things are moving along at a fine pace, and although we have waited for this for some time, the day has finally come when Tesla is offering self-driving rides of some kind to the public.

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