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Rocket Lab secretly launches revolutionary satellite and readies for US launch debut
Rocket Lab’s recent flawless return to flight mission nicknamed “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical,” set the company up for loftier goals in the latter half of 2020 in a big way. Returning to operation after an in-flight anomaly and subsequent investigation is a massive accomplishment for any launcher. Returning to flight and debuting a pathfinder satellite developed and built in-house, however, solidified Rocket Lab as a full end-to-end space systems company.
For good measure, company founder and chief executive officer, Peter Beck, hopes to round out the year by activating two more Electron launchpads – one of which will be the launcher’s first US-based launch location dedicated to supporting missions for the United States government. Furthermore, following Electron’s seventeenth flight, Rocket Lab hopes to recover the expended first-stage booster – and perhaps more importantly, a mountain of data – as a stepping stone to launch vehicle reuse, a practice pioneered and solely dominated by SpaceX.
A return to flight and an introduction to space systems
Just eight weeks after Electron’s ill-fated thirteenth flight resulting in the loss of a second stage and all customer payloads due to an in-flight electrical anomaly, the next Electron was raised at Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. The fourteenth flight of Electron was a dedicated mission for San Francisco-based information services company, Capella Space. Initially announced, the mission deployed a single microsatellite called “Sequoia” to an approximate 500km circular orbit. Peter Beck later confirmed the mission also secretly featured the successful deployment of Rocket Lab’s first in-house designed and built satellite called “First Light.”
“First Light” is a pathfinder spacecraft based on Rocket Lab’s configurable Photon satellite platform. According to Rocket Lab, it exploits Electron’s Kick Stage, “a nimble but powerful extra stage on Electron designed to circularize payload orbits.” The Kick Stage is designed as a satellite bus with extended capabilities to transition into a satellite – Photon – and performing an independent standalone mission. This is exactly what occurred with “First Light.”
Following the deployment of the “Sequoia” microsatellite, Rocket Lab teams signaled the Kick Stage to enable the standalone Photon capabilities. The command transitioned the spacecraft from a delivery vehicle to a fully functional satellite for the very first time. “First Light” serves as the testbed of many upgraded components including improved management systems for power, thermal, and attitude control.
in a statement provided by Rocket Lab Beck said, “Launching the first Photon mission marks a major turning point for space users – it’s now easier to launch and operate a space mission than it has ever been. When our customers choose a launch-plus-spacecraft mission with Electron and Photon, they immediately eliminate the complexity, risk, and delays associated with having to build their own satellite hardware and procure a separate launch.”
Eventually, the extended Photon capabilities of the Kick Stage will be used to support lunar and interplanetary missions. Beck has gone on record many times stating that Rocket Lab is working toward funding a private mission to Venus with a more robust version of the Photon platform which will deploy a probe to collect information about the Venusian atmosphere.
Counting down to Electron’s first launch from Virginia
On September 17, just two weeks after introducing the world to “First Light,” Rocket Lab announced the final successful Electron wet dress rehearsal at its new Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia.
The wet dress rehearsal is a standard preparatory practice of raising the rocket vertical on the launchpad, fueling the rocket, and conducting a practice run of all countdown systems and procedures ahead of a launch attempt. This gives launch teams the opportunity to ensure that the rocket is prepared for flight and work out any kinks that may arise ahead of sending the vehicle to space. The countdown is carried down to T-0 and then the vehicle is emptied and safed.
Recently, Rocket Lab was granted a five-year Launch Operator License by the Federal Aviation Administration for the LC-2 site enabling the space systems company to support up to ten Electron missions a year from U.S. soil. The new operator license combined with the one previously procured for Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand allows Rocket Lab to support up to 130 flights of the Electron rocket globally per year.
It was speculated that Electron’s next flight – and the first launch from LC-2 in Virginia – would be the dedicated STP-27RM mission coordinated by the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center. The first from Virginia will launch a single microsatellite for the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Monolith program. However, the first mission from Virginia is still waiting on a debut date to be identified.
In order for Electron to fly from Virginia, NASA must first certify Electron’s Autonomous Flight Termination System (AFTS) – a protective measure that will automatically destroy the rocket in a safe manner should anything anomalous occur during first stage flight. Electron’s AFTS has already previously flown numerous times from New Zealand. The first flight from Virginia, however, will be the first time a vehicle will launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport with an AFTS.
15 launches, 3 launch pads, and a booster recovery
Until then, Rocket Lab is busy preparing for flight fifteen from New Zealand. The recently announced mission, nicknamed “In Focus,” is a rideshare mission featuring nine SuperDove satellites for Planet Labs and one payload for Spaceflight Inc. customer Canon Electronics Inc.
While preparing for the next flight, nearby Rocket Lab is simultaneously wrapping up construction on yet another launch pad. Launch Complex 1B is very much near completion and is expected to be brought online by year’s end. And that’s not the last goal Rocket Lab looks to achieve by the new year.
Beck has time and time again confirmed that the seventeenth flight of Electron will be the first attempt at recovering an expended first stage booster. Eventually, the company will attempt to catch the booster as it is falling back to Earth under the canopy of a parachute by utilizing a helicopter equipped with a specialized grappling hook. The first attempt at recovering a booster is not expected to be quite as elaborate.
Rocket Lab has strengthened the first-stage booster enough to survive the return trip. Until now, the booster has slammed into the ocean water and broken up into small bits. With the assistance of improved software and a deployable parachute, the booster of flight seventeen is expected to softly float back for a gentle water landing with the assistance of “recovery pontoons” as described in a Twitter post by Beck.
As of now, Rocket Lab has not identified any target dates for the upcoming milestones. The company has previously stated that the first mission from Virginia is expected to launch in the third quarter of 2020. Electron’s next flight – “In Focus” – from New Zealand is expected in the first half of October. Rocket Lab will provide future launch and development updates on their social media accounts.
Tesla is ending Cybertruck production sometime in mid-2027, according to CEO Elon Musk.
Musk made the announcement on X last night, which came as a shock to many. He said that the Cybertruck will end production “to make room for increased Cybercab production” at Gigafactory Texas.
It is a huge blow to the fans of Tesla who have come to love the Cybertruck and identify with it as a symbol of their fandom. It has been the best-selling electric pickup, but it has had an underwhelming sales performance in terms of what was expected. This is mostly due to Tesla not meeting the prices it planned to offer the Cybertruck, as its unveiling and actual release were four years apart.
Tesla will be winding down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year to make room for increased Cybercab production
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2026
Overall, the responses were mixed. Some fans understood the move toward Cybercab production, especially as Tesla is truly pushing the autonomous future through its Robotaxi platform. However, others did not understand it.
“Damn, how many Cybercabs do you guys need?” one response read. Another said it was “Sad but understandable.”Even analyst Gary Black had responded to the news, stating he hoped Tesla planned to replace it with a traditional pickup design.
It doesn’t seem like that will be the case.
Tesla is so hell-bent on delivering autonomy and eventually providing a driverless service that owning a car seems like an arbitrary idea, according to their thesis. Instead, Cybercabs will be available to pick you up and drop you off on demand, safely, without any human help.
As a result, Tesla has thinned its lineup considerably, and one can only ask where the vehicle lineup goes from here. Eventually, it seems like Cybercab could be the only vehicle that Tesla will sell.
Elon Musk
SpaceX’s next Starship flight set to make history on Friday the 13th
SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15 and its first ship catch.
SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15, the mission the company plans to use for its first attempt at catching the ship itself with the launch tower.
SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev shared the date on stage at the UP.Summit on Thursday, according to Ars Technica’s Eric Berger, who was in attendance. It is the first launch target to come directly from a SpaceX executive. Until now, the public schedule had relied on FAA air traffic planning slides, which listed Flight 15 for no earlier than November 8 and later November 12. SpaceX has not posted an official mission page yet, and no launch time has been shared.
The date lands inside the window Elon Musk sketched out last month. Speaking at Giga Texas on October 10, Musk said the flight would “probably launch a little bit before Thanksgiving,” as Teslarati reported. On SpaceX’s third quarter earnings call ten days later, he confirmed that Flight 15 would try to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the ship, and put the odds of a successful ship catch at “more likely than not.” SpaceX also aired an animation of the maneuver during that webcast, showing the ship swinging vertical over Starbase before dropping into the tower’s chopsticks.
The hardware is ready. Booster 22 fired all 33 of its Raptor engines for a full duration static fire at Pad 2 on October 25. Ship 42 followed with a single engine burn simulating a deorbit maneuver on October 26 and a 60 second firing of all six engines the next day, according to NASASpaceflight. Ship 42 had already rehearsed the catch in September, when the Pad 2 arms lifted it into position and crews connected the quick disconnect arm while the vehicle hung from the tower.
The remaining hurdle is regulatory. The FAA’s Starship page does not yet list a Flight 15 license. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said in October that, after “significant constructive engagement with the FAA,” she expects the license to cover a return to the launch site and a tower catch for both stages. Bringing the ship home means a reentry path that heads toward land, rather than ending over open ocean as every Starship flight so far has.
SpaceX has caught Super Heavy three times, on Flights 5, 7 and 8, but the ship comes back from orbital velocity and has never been caught. Flight 14 on September 28 was the first Starship to reach orbit, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites before splashing down despite an early engine shutdown that Musk blamed on engine computer software.
Musk has called a successful ship catch “the first time that there’s been full recovery of an orbital class rocket,” and he has already named the step after it: a Flight 16 where both the booster and the ship fly again. NASASpaceflight reports that Ship 43, the next vehicle in line, is set for static fire testing in December.
EVgo has tapped Tesla Superchargers for its most recent efforts to expand its charging presence in the United States, a move that seems logical based on the effectiveness of the automaker’s own infrastructure.
EVgo opened its first Supercharger site in Illinois, a 12-stall station near downtown Chicago at 3145 South Ashland Avenue in the Riverside Square & River’s Edge center, right beside a grocery store. This marks the start of the company’s plan to deploy hundreds of Supercharger stalls across the United States, primarily at grocery-anchored Regency Centers properties where drivers can shop, eat, or run errands while they charge.
We’ve opened our first EVgo Supercharger location in Illinois, marking the start of our plan to add hundreds of Supercharger stalls across the U.S.
Designed for both NACS and CCS vehicles with Magic Dock technology, these new sites help make fast charging more accessible and convenient for all EV drivers. Learn more: https://t.co/V92t5FDryQ
— EVgo Fast Charging Network (@evgonetwork) November 5, 2026
The new location uses Tesla’s Magic Dock technology so both NACS and CCS vehicles can plug in natively without drivers needing to carry their own adapters. Peak power reaches 325 kW at this site, with pricing set between $0.25 and $0.35 per kWh depending on the hour—the same rate for Tesla and non-Tesla drivers.
The stalls also appear in Tesla’s in-car navigation and Trip Planner, making them easy for Tesla owners to find and route to. Illinois has seen EV registrations rise nearly 60 percent over the past two years, and EVgo’s broader network has experienced more than 700 percent growth in charging demand over three years, so the timing fits the market’s trajectory.
Choosing Tesla hardware through the Supercharger for Business program turns out to have been a smart, practical move.
Tesla’s V4 stalls and cabinets deliver high, reliable power with a proven track record of strong uptime, while Magic Dock delivers true dual-standard compatibility in one package. Because the sites show up in Tesla’s navigation tools, EVgo instantly gains visibility among millions of existing Tesla drivers, which should raise utilization and help the company double its addressable market as more vehicles adopt NACS. EVgo still owns the stations and sets pricing, yet benefits from Tesla’s established hardware, longer cables, and operational support.
The result is faster, lower-risk infrastructure expansion that serves every EV driver—Tesla or otherwise—with convenient, high-power charging at everyday retail locations. For drivers, that means fewer adapters, more predictable stops, and a denser network just as electric vehicles become everyday transportation.
Tesla is ending Cybertruck production
SpaceX’s next Starship flight set to make history on Friday the 13th
