

SpaceX
SpaceX bags 60th successful Falcon 9 launch eight years after rocket’s debut
Following the successful separation of the ~7 metric ton satellite Telstar 18V after a nominal orbit insertion, SpaceX’s venerable Falcon 9 rocket can now lay claim to a full 60 successful orbital missions completed over the course of its relatively brief eight-year career as a commercial launch vehicle.
Telstar 18V – the second heaviest commercial satellite ever launched into orbit – is now free to make its way into a final geostationary orbit ~35,800 km (~22,250 mi) above Earth’s surface, where it will serve the Eastern Hemisphere with a variety of communications services, ranging from TV to internet.
https://twitter.com/_TomCross_/status/1039020007987077121
After Falcon 9’s upper stage separated from the first stage and pushed onwards to a low Earth parking orbit, Falcon 9 Block 5 booster B1049 flipped around using an array of powerful cold-gas nitrogen thrusters and arced towards a now-routine drone ship landing roughly 700 kilometers off the Florida coast, breaking the satellite communications link as per usual before appearing aboard Of Course I Still Love You.
With Hurricane Florence nipping at the drone ship and its entourage’s heels, SpaceX will likely try to quickly usher the Falcon 9 booster back to Port Canaveral, where it will be offloaded, brought horizontal, and transported to a local facility for refurbishment ahead of its next flight, hopefully the first of many to come. Falcon 9 Block 5 has been designed – nominally – for rapid and extensive reusability, perhaps up to 100 flights per booster with routine maintenance (10 flights with minimal refurbishment) and turnaround as rapid as 24 hours for the same core. While it appears that there may be a significant amount of work left before those aspirational figures can be made real, Block 5 is clearly a major step forward for the Falcon 9 family and includes – aside from reusability – upgrades that will enable the rocket to launch NASA astronauts aboard Crew Dragon with extreme reliability.
- Falcon 9 B1049 and Telstar 18V. (SpaceX)
- Falcon 9 B1049 and Telstar 18V. (SpaceX)
- Falcon 9 B1049 and Telstar 18V. (SpaceX)
- Liftoff! (SpaceX)
- Falcon 9 B1049 completes its reentry burn. (SpaceX)
- Falcon 9 B1049 completes its reentry burn. (SpaceX)
- B1049 stands proud after a successful landing aboard drone ship OCISLY. (SpaceX)
- Falcon 9’s upper stage seen in orbit shortly after launch. (SpaceX)
- Falcon 9’s upper stage seen in orbit shortly after launch. (SpaceX)
- The 7060 kg Telstar 18V drifts gracefully away from Falcon 9 S2 into orbital glare. (SpaceX)
- The 7060 kg Telstar 18V drifts gracefully away from Falcon 9 S2 into orbital glare. (SpaceX)
- (Tom Cross)
Compared alongside almost all other modern rockets, Falcon 9 is exceptional for the sheer speed with which it has burst onto the commercial launch scene, with Boeing’s nearly-retired Delta II family of rockets the only vehicle to hold a candle to Falcon 9 in terms of competitive advantage. Delta II, which debuted in 1989, managed a thoroughly impressive seven launches in its first year of operations and a full 55 launches (53 successes, 1 partial failure, 1 total failure).
With one partial in-flight failure (a secondary payload loss during CRS-1), one total in-flight failure (CRS-7), and one on-pad failure (Amos-6), Falcon 9 is truly comparable with Delta II, although Boeing’s expendable launch vehicle has, of course, remained permanently expendable, and relied almost unilaterally upon the US government for all but a small handful of its first several dozen launches. SpaceX’s Telstar 18V success is just one of many examples of this difference of interest in commercial competition, and a full 12 of the 16 missions SpaceX has now launched in 2018 flew commercial satellites and were awarded to the launch company on a competitive basis.
https://twitter.com/_TomCross_/status/1039031282339127297
Up next for SpaceX is Argentinian Earth observation satellite SAOCOM-1A, scheduled to launch from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base atop a flight-proven Falcon 9 Block 5 booster no earlier than October 7th.
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!
News
Starlink makes a difference in Philippine province ravaged by typhoon
The Severe Tropical Storm battered the province, leaving communications networks in the area in shambles.

The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is using Starlink to provide connectivity in the municipality of Masbate, which was affected by Severe Tropical Storm Opong (international name Bualoi).
The Severe Tropical Storm battered the province, leaving communications networks in the area in shambles.
Starlink units enhance connectivity
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda visited the province to assess internet and communications infrastructure and deliver 10 additional Starlink satellite units, according to the Philippine News Agency. The is move aimed at strengthening emergency response and restore digital access to the area.
Aguda met with Masbate Governor Richard Kho during his visit and joined telecommunications representatives in inspecting provincial offices, free charging stations, and Wi-Fi connectivity sites for residents.
According to DICT officer-in-charge Rachel Ann Grabador, three Starlink units, 10 routers, and a 2kW solar-powered station have already been deployed in the province following the typhoon. The units have been installed at key facilities such as Masbate Airport’s communications tower and the Masbate Provincial Hospital’s administrative office.
Game-changing technology
Thanks to its global coverage and its capability to provide high-speed internet connectivity even in remote areas, Starlink has become the best communications solution that can be deployed in the aftermath of natural disasters. Its low-cost kits, which are capable of of providing fast internet speeds, are also portable, making them easy to deploy in areas that are damaged by natural disasters.
As noted in a Space.com report, there are currently 8,475 Starlink satellites in orbit, of which 8,460 are working, as of September 25, 2025. Initially, SpaceX had filed documents with International regulators to place about 4,000 Starlink satellites in Low Earth Orbit. Over time, however, the number of planned Starlink satellites has grown, with SpaceX aiming to launch as many as 42,000 Starlink satellites to fully connect the globe.
Elon Musk
SpaceX shares targets and tentative launch date for Starship Flight 11
As with all SpaceX tests, the estimated timeline for Starship Flight 11 remains subject to change based on conditions and readiness.

SpaceX is targeting Monday, October 13, for the eleventh test flight of its Starship launch system. The launch window is expected to open at 6:15 p.m. CT.
Similar to past Starship missions, a live webcast will begin about 30 minutes before launch on SpaceX’s website, X account, and X TV app. As with all SpaceX tests, the estimated timeline for Starship Flight 11 remains subject to change based on conditions and readiness.
Super Heavy booster landing test
The upcoming mission will build on the data gathered from Starship’s tenth test flight, focusing on booster performance and upper-stage capabilities. The Super Heavy booster, previously flown on Flight 8, will launch with 24 flight-proven Raptor engines, according to SpaceX in a blog post on its official website. Its primary objective is to validate a new landing burn engine configuration designed for the next generation of Super Heavy.
Instead of returning to Starbase, the Super Heavy booster will follow a trajectory toward the Gulf of America. During descent, it will ignite 13 engines before transitioning to a five-engine divert phase and then completing the landing burn with three central engines, entering a full hover while still above the ocean surface, followed by shutdown and dropping into the Gulf of America.
Starship upper-stage experiments
The Starship upper stage for Flight 11 will carry out a series of in-space demonstrations, including the deployment of eight Starlink simulators that are comparable in size to next-generation Starlink satellites. These payloads will reenter and burn up during descent. A planned Raptor engine relight in orbit will also provide valuable test data.
To evaluate the upper stage’s resilience during reentry, SpaceX engineers have intentionally removed heat shield tiles from select areas to stress-test Starship’s thermal protection system. The vehicle will attempt new maneuvers during descent, including a banking profile and subsonic guidance algorithms intended to simulate future return-to-launch-site missions. The upper stage will ultimately target a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX has already posted a link to the livestream for Starship Flight 11:
News
Astra CEO shades SpaceX over employee workload and Starbase
Elon Musk once stated that no one ever changed the world working just 40 hours a week.

Elon Musk once stated that no one ever changed the world working just 40 hours a week. This was something that is openly known among his companies. They have the potential to change the world, but they require a lot of hours.
SpaceX’s working environment was recently criticized by Chris Kemp, the chief executive officer of Astra. During some remarks at the Berkeley Space Symposium 2025 earlier this month, Kemp shared some sharp remarks about the Elon Musk-led private space enterprise.
SpaceX working conditions and Starbase
As noted in a report from Ars Technica, Kemp discussed a variety of topics during his talk. These included Astra’s successes and failures, as well as his thoughts on other players in the spaceflight industry. To be fair to Kemp, he practically shaded every major rival, calling Firefly’s engine “garbage,” dubbing Blue Origin as slow, and stating that Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket is “too small.”
SpaceX also received some colorful words from the Astra CEO. According to Kemp, SpaceX is leading the way in the spaceflight industry and Elon Musk is admirable in the way that he is willing to fail in order to move quickly. He did, however, highlight that Astra offers a significantly better working environment than SpaceX.
“It’s more fun than SpaceX, because we’re not on the border of Mexico where they’ll chop your head off if you accidentally take a left turn. And you don’t have to live in a trailer. And we don’t make you work six and a half days a week, 12 hours a day. It’s appreciated if you do, but not required,” Kemp said.
Elon Musk’s demands
It is known that Elon Musk demands quite a lot from his employees. However, it is also known that Musk-led companies move very fast and, in more ways than one, they have accomplished world-changing feats. Tesla, for example, has practically ushered in the era of the modern electric vehicle, and SpaceX has made space attainable through its reusable rockets. With this in mind, employees at Musk’s companies, and this of course includes SpaceX, are likely proud of their long work hours.
No one could probably go to Mars in this lifetime with a team that really works just 40 hours a week, after all.
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