SpaceX
SpaceX’s last Falcon 9 Block 4 launch showcased in NASA’s behind-the-scenes recap
Five months after the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was placed in orbit, NASA has published a 4K video recapping the spacecraft’s pre-launch preparations and launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 4 rocket.
Why the video in question took almost half a year to go from footage capture to publishing is unclear, but it easily takes the crown as the best look in years at the work that goes on behind the scenes of every SpaceX Falcon 9 launch.
— Eric Ralph (@13ericralph31) September 26, 2018
In the case of NASA’s TESS spacecraft, launched on April 18th, 2018, the SpaceX rocket assigned to the mission happened to include the last new Falcon 9 booster manufactured before production was switched over to the vehicle’s upgraded Block 5 cousin. Optimized with reusability, reliability, and NASA’s human spaceflight standards in mind, Falcon 9 Block 5 successfully completed its launch debut on May 11th, and the upgraded rocket is a few weeks away from its second reuse and sixth launch attempt.
— Eric Ralph (@13ericralph31) September 26, 2018
Falcon 9 B1045, the booster that launched TESS, successfully landed aboard SpaceX drone ship Of Course I Still Love You roughly nine minutes after launch, whereby it was returned to Cape Canaveral and refurbished in just 72 days, SpaceX’s quickest booster turnaround yet. Its second and final launch – sending SpaceX’s 15th Cargo Dragon mission to the International Space Station – went off without a hitch on June 29th, bringing SpaceX operations of non-Block 5 rockets to a quiet and routine close.
— Eric Ralph (@13ericralph31) September 26, 2018
NASA’s recap video of TESS’ prelaunch preparations and the activities leading up to and just after Falcon 9’s launch includes some of the best views available of the work that goes on behind the scenes of every SpaceX mission. Among myriad subjects included in the ten-minute video, viewers are given privileged views of all phases of the NASA spacecraft’s encapsulation inside Falcon 9’s payload fairing, perspectives of SpaceX’s rocket rollout operations at Launch Complex-40 (LC-40), uncut views of the rocket’s launch from camera angles inaccessible to the public, and more.
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- Falcon 9 B1045 prepares for its first of two launches, April 2018. (NASA/SpaceX)
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- Falcon 9 B1045 prepares for its first of two launches, April 2018. (NASA/SpaceX)
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- Launch Complex 40 takes a beating during launch, but it’s designed to stand up to Falcon 9’s 7,607 kN (1,710,000 lbf) of thrust. (NASA/SpaceX)
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- One frame of a slow-motion telephoto view of Falcon 9 B1045 just after launch. (NASA/SpaceX)
To top it off, the recap was published on YouTube at a high framerate and 4K (“UltraHD”) resolution, providing a number of opportunities to create uniquely high-quality GIFs of a SpaceX and NASA launch. A few of those snippets can be seen throughout this article and the full video is available to watch at the link below.
For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!
Elon Musk
Starlink achieves major milestones in 2025 progress report
Starlink wrapped up 2025 with impressive growth, adding more than 4.6 million new active customers and expanding service to 35 additional countries, territories, and markets.
Starlink wrapped up 2025 with impressive growth, adding more than 4.6 million new active customers and expanding service to 35 additional countries, territories, and markets. The company also completed deployment of its first-generation Direct to Cell constellation, launching over 650 satellites in just 18 months to enable cellular connectivity.
SpaceX highlighted Starlink’s impressive 2025 progress in an extensive report.
Key achievements from Starlink’s 2025 Progress
Starlink connected over 4.6 million new customers with high-speed internet while bringing service to 35 more regions worldwide in 2025. Starlink is now connecting 9.2 million people worldwide. The service achieved this just weeks after hitting its 8 million customer milestone.
Starlink is now available in 155 markets, including areas that are unreachable by traditional ISPs. As per SpaceX, Starlink has also provided over 21 million airline passengers and 20 million cruise passengers with reliable high-speed internet connectivity during their travels.
Starlink Direct to Cell
Starlink’s Direct to Cell constellation, more than 650 satellites strong, has already connected over 12 million people at least once, marking a breakthrough in global mobile coverage.
Starlink Direct to Cell is currently rolled out to 22 countries and 6 continents, with over 6 million monthly customers. Starlink Direct to Cell also has 27 MNO partners to date.
“This year, SpaceX completed deployment of the first generation of the Starlink Direct to Cell constellation, with more than 650 satellites launched to low-Earth orbit in just 18 months. Starlink Direct to Cell has connected more than 12 million people, and counting, at least once, providing life-saving connectivity when people need it most,” SpaceX wrote.
Elon Musk
Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million
The milestone highlights the accelerating growth of Starlink, which has now been adding over 20,000 new users per day.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has continued its rapid global expansion, surpassing 9 million active customers just weeks after crossing the 8 million mark.
The milestone highlights the accelerating growth of Starlink, which has now been adding over 20,000 new users per day.
9 million customers
In a post on X, SpaceX stated that Starlink now serves over 9 million active users across 155 countries, territories, and markets. The company reached 8 million customers in early November, meaning it added roughly 1 million subscribers in under seven weeks, or about 21,275 new users on average per day.
“Starlink is connecting more than 9M active customers with high-speed internet across 155 countries, territories, and many other markets,” Starlink wrote in a post on its official X account. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell also celebrated the milestone on X. “A huge thank you to all of our customers and congrats to the Starlink team for such an incredible product,” she wrote.
That growth rate reflects both rising demand for broadband in underserved regions and Starlink’s expanding satellite constellation, which now includes more than 9,000 low-Earth-orbit satellites designed to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet worldwide.
Starlink’s momentum
Starlink’s momentum has been building up. SpaceX reported 4.6 million Starlink customers in December 2024, followed by 7 million by August 2025, and 8 million customers in November. Independent data also suggests Starlink usage is rising sharply, with Cloudflare reporting that global web traffic from Starlink users more than doubled in 2025, as noted in an Insider report.
Starlink’s momentum is increasingly tied to SpaceX’s broader financial outlook. Elon Musk has said the satellite network is “by far” the company’s largest revenue driver, and reports suggest SpaceX may be positioning itself for an initial public offering as soon as next year, with valuations estimated as high as $1.5 trillion. Musk has also suggested in the past that Starlink could have its own IPO in the future.
SpaceX employees, including its CEO Elon Musk, shaded American Airlines on social media this past weekend due to the company’s reported talks with Amazon’s Starlink rival, Leo.
Starlink has been adopted by several airlines, including United Airlines, Qatar Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, WestJet, Air France, airBaltic, and others. It has gained notoriety as an extremely solid, dependable, and reliable option for airline travel, as traditional options frequently cause users to lose connection to the internet.
Many airlines have made the switch, while others continue to mull the options available to them. American Airlines is one of them.
A report from Bloomberg indicates the airline is thinking of going with a Starlink rival owned by Amazon, called Leo. It was previously referred to as Project Kuiper.
American CEO Robert Isom said (via Bloomberg):
“While there’s Starlink, there are other low-Earth-orbit satellite opportunities that we can look at. We’re making sure that American is going to have what our customers need.”
Isom also said American has been in touch with Amazon about installing Leo on its aircraft, but he would not reveal the status of any discussions with the company.
The report caught the attention of Michael Nicolls, the Vice President of Starlink Engineering at SpaceX, who said:
“Only fly on airlines with good connectivity… and only one source of good connectivity at the moment…”
CEO Elon Musk replied to Nicolls by stating that American Airlines risks losing “a lot of customers if their connectivity solution fails.”
American Airlines will lose a lot of customers if their connectivity solution fails
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2025
There are over 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit currently, offering internet coverage in over 150 countries and territories globally. SpaceX expands its array of satellites nearly every week with launches from California and Florida, aiming to offer internet access to everyone across the globe.
Currently, the company is focusing on expanding into new markets, such as Africa and Asia.
Tesla Cybertruck undergoes interior mod that many owners wanted
Tesla CEO Elon Musk drops massive bomb about Cybercab
