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Rocket Lab’s reusable Electron rocket upgrade gets ready for its biggest test yet
Rocket Lab, the global leader in dedicated small satellite launches, has had quite the productive year, breaking ground on a new U.S.-based launch pad, successfully launching five orbital launches, and announcing plans to send small satellites and small payloads to lunar orbits.
The company also unexpectedly announced plans to attempt to recover and reuse Electron rocket boosters much like SpaceX’s Falcon 9, perhaps as soon as 2020. Just three months after that surprise, the company’s tenth Electron launch is on track to serve as a crucial step and flight test in pursuit of Rocket Lab’s very first booster recovery attempts.
Electron Flight 10 has slipped about a week but is now on track to lift off no earlier than 11:56 pm EST, November 28th (07:56 UTC, Nov 29).
Booster recovery – the new not new rocket version of reduce, reuse, recycle
Rocket Lab explained that recovery efforts would occur in two distinct phases. Phase 1 would involve recovering expended Electron boosters from the ocean off the coast of New Zealand and transporting back to the Rocket Lab’s headquarters for careful inspection. This process is reminiscent of previous practices completed by NASA during the shuttle era to retrieve the Shuttle’s Solid Rocket Boosters from the Atlantic Ocean. The boosters were retrieved and towed back to Port Canaveral, Florida to be inspected and refurbished at Kennedy Space Center.
Although rocket booster recovery is not new in the world of orbital rocketry, it is a new objective for Rocket Lab. In fact, founder Peter Beck stated he would have to “eat his hat” after previously and repeatedly stating that Rocket Lab would never pursue reusability for Electron. After Phase 1, Rocket Lab hopes to attempt its first true Electron ‘catches’. Unlike competitor SpaceX, whose Falcon 9 and Heavy boosters land propulsively on land or sea-based landing pads, Rocket Lab has opted to pursue Electron recovery with parachutes and grappling hook-equipped helicopters.
Electron’s upcoming tenth launch – nicknamed “Running Out of Fingers,” – will feature a new block upgrade for Electron’s first stage booster and will mark the first flight test of recovery hardware. Cold gas attitude control thrusters are the most obvious addition on the upgraded booster and will be used to orient Electron first stages in lieu of aerodynamic control surfaces like SpaceX’s iconic choice of grid fins. In a statement, however, Rocket Lab clarified that although the first stage includes new upgrades, it will only be used to gather data and inform future recovery efforts – no recovery attempts will be made after the next few launches.
Electron Flight 10 is a common rideshare mission that will place seven small satellites in orbit. Among the payloads is a rather fascinating spacecraft called the 2nd Satellite or ALE-2, built by the Tokoyo based ALE Company.
According to a statement posted to the company’s website, the spacecraft “will take on the challenge of materializing a [human]-made shooting star.” The spacecraft produced in conjunction with Spaceflight features four hundred spheres – each 1cm in diameter – that will be gradually ejected to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, creating artificial shooting stars.
Behind the scenes at LC-1 and HQ
Ahead of the all-important tenth Electron launch, Rocket Lab treated its social media followers to some rare glimpses into the production process and the stunning Launch Complex-1 (LC-1) located on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. A video posted to YouTube takes viewers on a digital tour around Launch Complex -1 as well as inside the Electron Production Complex.
In the Production Complex, a revolutionary robot named “Rosie” provides a level of automation that takes over the tedious work of processing a rocket body that has been traditionally completed by humans. Rosie the Robot is able to process an entire carbon composite shell of the Electron booster in just twelve hours. The automation machine also finishes out Rocket Lab’s Kick Stage and protective payload fairings. The piece of processing machinery will assist Rocket Lab in matching production and launch frequency of the Electron rocket with the 120 launches per year that LC-1 is licensed to support.
Rocket Lab’s tenth Electron launch is currently on track for Friday, December 6th from 0756-0922 GMT (2:56-4:22 a.m. EST).
Elon Musk
SpaceX just cleared a key FCC hurdle in its fight with Verizon and AT&T
The FCC accepted SpaceX’s bid for Grain’s 800 MHz spectrum, opening review for Starlink Mobile.
The Federal Communications Commission has formally opened its review of SpaceX’s plan to buy a nationwide block of 800 MHz spectrum from Grain Management, moving Starlink Mobile one step closer to operating as a full U.S. wireless carrier.
In a public notice issued Tuesday, the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau said it accepted for filing the applications to transfer control of two Grain license companies, Prism License Co. 1 and Prism License Co. 2, to Starlink Spectrum Holdings, a wholly owned SpaceX subsidiary. The deal covers 546 paired licenses across 3,224 counties, reaching roughly 100% of the U.S. population in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The proceeding sits under WT Docket No. 26-313.
Acceptance is not approval. It means the applications cleared an initial review and the public comment window is now open. Comments and petitions to deny are due December 1, and oppositions are due December 8. The bureau also said the conditions attached to Grain’s July purchase of the licenses from T-Mobile, which require rapid buildout for terrestrial and direct to device service, would carry over to SpaceX if the transfer is approved.
SpaceX announced the agreement on October 8, saying the new airwaves would let Starlink Mobile’s signal reach phones inside buildings, something its 2 GHz spectrum from EchoStar cannot do as well. The portfolio includes up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum in the 817 to 824 MHz and 862 to 869 MHz bands, which most existing phones already support. Elon Musk called it “the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America.”
According to the filing, SpaceX would hold up to 89 MHz of total spectrum in any given market after the deal closes, including up to 14 MHz below 1 GHz. That is far under the 385 MHz threshold the FCC uses to flag a transaction for closer competitive scrutiny, and well short of the roughly 300 MHz each of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile holds.
Tuesday’s notice does not decide how SpaceX can use the spectrum from orbit. A separate application SpaceX filed on October 27 seeking authority to provide supplemental coverage from space on the same frequencies, along with related waiver requests, is still pending before the commission.
The ground network is already taking shape. Last week, SpaceX picked Qualcomm to supply radios, baseband units and software for a nationwide 5G build, with deployment across tens of thousands of U.S. cell sites starting in 2027. The FCC also voted on October 29 to advance a proposal opening another 482 MHz to direct to device service, though AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile hacritive pushed to strip nearly 300 MHz from it. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has said service on SpaceX’s own airwaves is targeted for early 2028.
A Tesla upfitter has offered to take over Cybertruck lines from the company in a last-ditch effort to save the all-electric pickup from being completely canceled in the middle of 2027.
Unplugged Performance, the Hawthorne, California-based Tesla aftermarket specialist, has publicly offered to take over Cybertruck production from Tesla, funding the effort “through a consortium of investors.”
An open offer to Tesla: We fully support putting Cybercab first, and we’d be glad to take the Cybertruck line off your hands.
We’d fund it with a consortium of investors and run it at no cost to Tesla’s floor space, headcount, or focus. All of that goes to Cybercab. Cybercab gets first call on battery cells too. We’ll wait our turn.
Tesla gains incremental profit: a license fee, plus FSD and Robotaxi network revenues on every vehicle built.
We’d build the Cybertruck, a three-row CyberSUV, and an unmanned CyberCargo hauler. More autonomous miles, across every surface of this planet and beyond.
Worth a conversation?— UP (@UnpluggedTesla) November 10, 2026
The proposal comes as Tesla prioritizes its Cybercab Robotaxi program and prepares to wind down Cybertruck assembly at Gigafactory Texas around mid-2027.
Founded in 2013 by Ben Schaffer and located adjacent to Tesla’s Design Studio and SpaceX, Unplugged Performance has become a leading provider of premium upgrades for Tesla vehicles, including extensive Cybertruck packages under its UP INVINCIBLE line.
Through its UP.FIT division, the company has also developed purpose-built police and fleet versions of the Cybertruck, including deliveries to agencies such as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
In an X post on Tuesday, Unplugged said:
“An open offer to Tesla: We fully support putting Cybercab first, and we’d be glad to take the Cybertruck line off your hands. We’d fund it with a consortium of investors and run it at no cost to Tesla’s floor space, headcount, or focus. All of that goes to Cybercab. Cybercab gets first call on battery cells too. We’ll wait our turn. Tesla gains incremental profit: a license fee, plus FSD and Robotaxi network revenues on every vehicle built. We’d build the Cybertruck, a three-row CyberSUV, and an unmanned CyberCargo hauler. More autonomous miles, across every surface of this planet and beyond. Worth a conversation?”
The arrangement would free Tesla resources and manufacturing capacity for Cybercab while allowing continued production of the stainless-steel pickup and expanded variants. Unplugged Performance indicated it would wait for battery cells after Cybercab needs are met and would generate ongoing revenue for Tesla through licensing and software/network services on the vehicles it produces.
Following strong initial interest, Unplugged Performance posted a follow-up inviting potential investors and strategic partners to email cyber@unpluggedperformance.com. The company clarified that the outreach is solely to gauge interest and does not constitute an offer to sell securities or acceptance of funds at this stage.
The proposal arrives shortly after Elon Musk indicated that Cybertruck production in Texas would be phased out by roughly the middle of 2027 to expand Cybercab output.
Whether Tesla engages with the offer remains to be seen, but the public overture highlights both the aftermarket specialist’s deep experience with the Cybertruck platform and the growing focus on autonomy within Tesla’s manufacturing plans.
Elon Musk said the Tesla Cybercab will perform “a majority of all passenger miles” where it is allowed to operate and that point is “obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.”
Musk used the point to double down on the company’s decision to ax the cult-favorite Cybertruck, as its production space will be removed and transitioned into additional Cybercab lines. The move has catalyzed a polarizing conversation on whether its right or wrong.
Whatever side you are on — it’s happening.
Dodge ended the Viper.
Audi retired the R8.
Mitsubishi said goodbye to the Lancer Evo.
Ford bid farewell to the Bronco (at one point).
Chevrolet sunset the Camaro.Tesla is ending the Cybertruck. I’m pissed. I’m upset.
Fans of those five automakers mentioned did the same thing. It happens. It sucks. I don’t like it.
But I still love Tesla. I love my Model Y. I hoped to be in a Cybertruck in a little under two years.
I won’t be. But I still won’t put my family in anything else. Too safe. Too advanced. Too much better than everything else.
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2026
Regardless, Musk seems to be getting to the point that he is done talking about the choice. At some point, you have to think that this was truly a difficult decision for him and the company as well, and this is not something he took lightly. In fact, he’s probably a little bit disappointed with it, too.
But the point remains that the Cybertruck is gone. Musk’s focus is purely on developing an autonomous platform that the world will utilize for transportation, and he’s telling you that anyone “with eyes and a brain” can see it:
@PalmerLuckey @carlhancock Cybercab will do a majority of all passenger miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.
Obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2026
Tesla is betting that all of its passengers in the future will be okay with not owning their own personal cars and will be fine with ride-hailing for the rest of their lives. Every dinner, every errand, every trip to the airport and transportation thereafter, will all be operated by ride-sharing, and in Tesla’s perfect world, it will happen in a Cybercab.
As of now, Cybercab is only active in Austin, but it has been spotted all over the country with a driver behind the wheel in those prototypes. In Austin, the car has no steering wheel or pedals for people to control the vehicle.
The Cybertruck dilemma is one that has truly come across the entire Tesla community and while it seems to be a great idea to keep it because people love it, the business side of things is steering Musk and Tesla in another direction.
SpaceX just cleared a key FCC hurdle in its fight with Verizon and AT&T
Tesla upfitter offers to keep Cybertruck alive
