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SpaceX set for second Falcon 9 launch in 60 hours

Two boosters, two drone ships, three days - round #2. (Richard Angle)

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Update: After successfully docking Cargo Dragon to the ISS on June 5th, SpaceX is on track to complete its second Falcon 9 launch from the East Coast – this time carrying a commercial geostationary communications satellite – in less than 60 hours.

SiriusXM radio satellite SXM-8 is scheduled to liftoff on a Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than 12:26 am EDT (04:26 UTC) on Sunday, June 6. SpaceX’s official webcast will begin around 15 minutes prior.

For the third time ever, both of SpaceX’s East Coast drone ships have departed Port Canaveral to support two Falcon 9 launches and landings scheduled just a few days apart.

Originally scheduled to launch on June 1st and June 3rd, SpaceX’s SiriusXM SXM-8 and CRS-22 Cargo Dragon missions recently swapped positions after unknown issues delayed SiriusXM’s newest geostationary radio satellite. SpaceX’s second upgraded Cargo Dragon spacecraft is now scheduled to launch more than 3300 kg (7300 lb) of cargo – including new solar arrays – to the International Space Station (ISS) no earlier than (NET) 1:29 pm EDT (17:29 UTC) on Thursday, June 3rd.

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If all goes to plan, another Falcon 9 rocket will then launch SiriusXM’s seven-ton (~15,500 lb) SXM-8 communications satellite at 12:26 am EDT (04:26 UTC) on Sunday, June 6th.

SpaceX drone ships Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) and Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) departed Port Canaveral four days apart on May 29th and June 2nd for the back-to-back launches and booster recoveries. CRS-22 and SXM-8 will be the fourth time ever that two SpaceX drone ships have needed to depart Port Canaveral less than four days apart.

After a nine-month journey of canal-crossing, inspections, and upgrades, drone ship JRTI joined OCISLY in Florida and supported its first East Coast recovery in June 2020. It took SpaceX around half a year to find its pace but the company used both drone ships for near-simultaneously launches and landings for the first time in January 2021, recovering two Falcon 9 boosters at sea in a little over four days.

(Richard Angle)

The same process was repeated in March when SpaceX launched two batches of 60 Starlink satellites in the space of 74 hours, recovering both boosters without issue. That particular success also marked the first time that two recovered Falcon 9 boosters simultaneously stood vertical in Port Canaveral. Barring launch delays or an extremely quick turnaround for CRS-22 booster B1067, CRS-22 and SXM-8 could easily precipitate the second appearance of two vertical SpaceX rockets in port.

Beyond the spectacle of simultaneous recoveries and their demonstration of just how aggressively SpaceX is pursuing its ambitious launch cadence goals in 2021, CRS-22 and SXM-8 will also set a new record for time between two SpaceX launches from the East Coast. If they fly on time, the missions will launch less than 59 hours – two and a half days – apart, beating the previous 74-hour record by 25%.

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla arson suspect pleads guilty, faces up to 70 years in prison

The update was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.

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Credit: Tesla China

A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty to federal arson charges tied to a March 2025 attack on a Tesla Collision Center in Nevada.

The update was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.

According to court documents, on March 18, 2025, Paul Hyon Kim spray-painted the word “RESIST” on the front entrance of the Tesla Collision Center before damaging the facility and multiple vehicles.

Federal prosecutors stated that Kim used a PA-15 multi-caliber firearm equipped with a .300 BLACKOUT upper receiver and a 7.62mm silencer to shoot out surveillance cameras. He then fired multiple rounds into Tesla vehicles on the property.

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Authorities stated that Kim later threw three Molotov cocktails into three separate Tesla vehicles. Two of the devices exploded and ignited the vehicles, while a third did not detonate. In total, five Tesla vehicles were damaged in the incident.

Kim pleaded guilty to two counts of arson of property used in interstate commerce, one count of attempted arson of property used in interstate commerce, and one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm classified as a destructive device.

The mandatory minimum sentence for the charges is five years in federal prison, though the total maximum statutory penalty is 70 years, as per a release from the United States Attorney’s Office of the District of Nevada. 

Sentencing is scheduled for May 27, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey. A federal judge will determine the final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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The case was investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, with assistance from the Clark County Fire Department.

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SpaceX pursues 5G-level connectivity with Starlink Mobile V2 expansion

SpaceX noted that the upcoming Starlink V2 satellites will deliver up to 100 times the data density of the current first-generation system.

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX has previewed a major upgrade to Starlink Mobile, outlining next-generation satellites that aim to deliver significantly higher capacity and full 5G-level connectivity directly to mobile phones.

The update comes as Starlink rebrands its Direct-to-Cell service to Starlink Mobile, positioning the platform as a scalable satellite-to-mobile solution that’s integrated with global telecom partners.

SpaceX noted that the upcoming Starlink V2 satellites will deliver up to 100 times the data density of the current first-generation system. The company also noted that the new V2 satellites are designed to provide significantly higher throughput capability compared to its current iteration.

“The next generation of Starlink Mobile satellites – V2 – will deliver full cellular coverage to places never thought possible via the highest performing satellite-to-mobile network ever built. 

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“Driven by custom SpaceX-designed silicon and phased array antennas, the satellites will support thousands of spatial beams and higher bandwidth capability, enabling around 20x the throughput capability as compared to a first-generation satellite,” SpaceX wrote in its official Starlink Mobile page. 

Thanks to the higher bandwidth of Starlink Mobile, users should be able to stream, browse the internet, use high-speed apps, and enjoy voice services comparable to terrestrial cellular networks. 

In most environments, Starlink says the upgraded system will enable full 5G cellular connectivity with a user experience similar to existing ground-based networks.

The satellites function as “cell towers in space,” using advanced phased-array antennas and laser interlinks to integrate with terrestrial infrastructure in a roaming-like architecture. 

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“Starlink Mobile works with existing LTE phones wherever you can see the sky. The satellites have an antenna that acts like a cellphone tower in space, the most advanced phased array antennas in the world that connect seamlessly over lasers to any point in the globe, allowing network integration similar to a standard roaming partner,” SpaceX wrote.

Starlink Mobile currently operates with approximately 650 satellites in low-Earth orbit and is active across more than 32 countries, representing over 1.7 billion people through partnerships with mobile network operators. Starlink Mobile’s current partnerships span North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, allowing reciprocal access across participating nations.

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Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles

The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles.

The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.

Tesla has long emphasized that large-scale real-world data is central to improving its neural network-based approach to autonomy. Each mile driven with FSD (Supervised) engaged contributes additional edge cases and scenario training for the system.

Credit: Tesla

The milestone also brings Tesla closer to a benchmark previously outlined by CEO Elon Musk. Musk has stated that roughly 10 billion miles of training data may be needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving at scale, citing the “long tail” of rare but complex driving situations that must be learned through experience.

The growth curve of FSD Supervised’s cumulative miles over the past five years has been notable. 

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As noted in data shared by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt, annual FSD (Supervised) miles have increased from roughly 6 million in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and 4.25 billion in 2025. In just the first 50 days of 2026, Tesla owners logged another 1 billion miles.

At the current pace, the fleet is trending towards hitting about 10 billion FSD Supervised miles this year. The increase has been driven by Tesla’s growing vehicle fleet, periodic free trials, and expanding Robotaxi operations, among others.

With the fleet now past 8.4 billion cumulative miles, Tesla’s supervised system is approaching that threshold, even as regulatory approval for fully unsupervised deployment remains subject to further validation and oversight.

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