News
SpaceX launches third Falcon 9 rocket in 72 hours, breaks fairing reuse record
In one fell swoop, SpaceX has successfully launched the third Falcon 9 rocket in less than 72 hours, broken payload fairing reusability record, and placed the 2000th operational Starlink satellite in orbit.
After a string of delays from January 29th to February 2nd, Falcon 9 finally lifted off at 1:13 pm EST (18:13 UTC), February 3rd with the seventh batch of Starlink V1.5 satellites on a mission coincidentally known as Starlink 4-7. Falcon 9 booster B1061 completed its sixth spaceflight and orbital-class launch without issue, successfully sending an expendable Falcon upper stage and Starlink payload on their way to orbit and touching down on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG) about nine minutes after liftoff.
While one of the rocket’s two fairing (nosecone) halves flew for the fourth time, the other half completed its sixth launch – a new record for fairing reusability approximately 27 months after SpaceX’s first fairing reuse. The record-breaking half likely last supported Starlink V1 L28 in May 2021. A separate half also flew for the fifth time and was recovered in January 2022. In comparison, it took SpaceX 32 months after the first Falcon booster reuse (March 2017) to launch the same booster for the fourth time and 41 months for the sixth time, highlighting both SpaceX’s growing expertise and how much easier reusing a fairing is relative to a rocket’s entire first stage.
With any luck, both Starlink 4-7 fairing halves will have successfully reentered Earth’s atmosphere, deployed GPS-guided parafoils, gently splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, and been fished out of the water by a SpaceX recovery ship. SpaceX has never discussed its fairing reusability goals, so it’s unknown how many flights each half is nominally designed to support.
Inside that record-breaking fairing was the latest batch of 49 Starlink V1.5 satellites, which weigh about 30-40 kg (65-90 lb) heavier than Starlink V1 satellites and are mainly set apart by the addition of several laser links. Once enough laser-linked satellites are launched, SpaceX will be able to route user communications through space, precluding the need for a ground station to always be within line of sight of each satellite node. Aside from allowing Starlink to serve exceptionally remote users, laser links will also allow Starlink to break into the multi-billion-dollar aviation and maritime communications markets.
With Starlink 4-7, SpaceX has now launched 351 Starlink V1.5 satellites, 349 of which are likely functional and about 50 of which have already reached operational orbits. The mission also included the 2000th operational Starlink satellite launched by SpaceX since November 2019, likely raising the number of working Starlink satellites in orbit to just shy of 1900 (of 2016 total).
Starlink 4-7 was SpaceX’s sixth launch of 2022 less than five weeks into the year and the third successful Falcon 9 launch in 67 hours – a feat of launch cadence that only one other rocket family in history (Russia’s R-7 family) has achieved. SpaceX may have as many as 46 more Falcon launches planned this year.
Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
