SpaceX
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk hints at new Falcon fairing reuse plan after Mr. Steven misses catch
Ninety minutes after a flawless Falcon 9 launch, landing, and payload deployment, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to provide an update on the status of Mr. Steven’s latest payload fairing catch attempt.
While sadly unsuccessful on the catch front, Musk noted that both fairing halves successfully performed gentle touchdowns on the ocean surface. Far more importantly, the CEO implied that – counter to past ocean surface recoveries – SpaceX fairing engineers and technicians would instead attempt to dry and clean these particular fairing halves well enough that they can be reused on a future launch.
Falcon fairing halves missed the net, but touched down softly in the water. Mr Steven is picking them up. Plan is to dry them out & launch again. Nothing wrong with a little swim.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 3, 2018
Intriguingly, this is almost a 180-degree shift in SpaceX’s long-publicized attitude towards fairing recovery, where the implication was that fairing halves would wind up being unreusable if they could not be prevented from landing directly on the ocean surface. To some extent, this was a reasonable argument – thanks to the highly sensitive satellites they enclose, payload fairings must be able to support an internal atmosphere equivalent to a reasonably high-performance clean room while still weighing next to nothing. Falcon 9’s fairing halves weigh approximately 800 kg apiece and are large enough to enclose an entire school bus with plenty of room to spare.
However, this narrative has not exactly been mirrored by prospective competitors, especially international technology manufacturer RUAG, which produces payload fairings and other composite assemblies for both ULA (United Launch Alliance) and Arianespace, SpaceX’s only serious commercial competitors. In a study released earlier this year, a RUAG-funded cost-benefit analysis concluded that the simplest, cheapest, and easiest route to fairing reuse would be simply finding ways to effectively waterproof and clean them after soft ocean landings.
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- A RUAG study concluded that waterproofing and cleaning fairings was the best possible route to reuse. (RUAG)
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- Close. (SpaceX)
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- Hans Koenigsmann was extremely excited about the condition of this particular fairing half, and included this photo in his IAC 2018 keynote. (SpaceX)
In a very literal sense, SpaceX has solved the hardest part of fairing recovery, essentially recovering fairing halves at all without catastrophic or irreparable structural damage in the process of reentering and landing. SpaceX already has a veritable fleet of soiled but wholly intact Falcon fairings, recovery by simply lifting them off the ocean surface after a gentle landing beneath each half’s guided parafoil. Much to its engineers’ chagrin, what SpaceX has yet to solve is the presumably extraordinarily challenging problem of guiding those parasailing fairings with extreme accuracy into Mr. Steven’s net, essentially the bullseye to end all bullseyes.
While it would be both extremely exciting to see Mr. Steven’s visually and technically fascinating net assembly be put to good use and equally disappointing to see his capabilities no longer be needed, Musk’s comment after today’s launch as nothing short of a complete change in his attitude towards fairing recovery, suggesting that SpaceX’s engineers have been working on waterproofing and thorough cleaning as a backup to Mr. Steven’s admittedly Rube Goldberg-esque fairing recovery mechanism.
Mr. Steven is stationed in the Pacific, as SpaceX will attempt to catch and recover the fairing this mission. pic.twitter.com/A7aBSJoFfc
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 3, 2018
Regardless of the avenue SpaceX takes, a reusable fairing is a still a reusable fairing, regardless of the gritty details of how that reusability is achieved. As Musk once rather hilariously noted, payload fairings are akin to a pallet of $5M plummeting through the air, a pallet that SpaceX would certainly like to recover. Perhaps, rather than catching that pallet of cash in a net, SpaceX can instead waterproof the bills and pick them up.
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!
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship gets FAA nod for ninth test flight
The FAA has given the green light for Starship’s ninth test flight.
SpaceX has received FAA approval for the ninth test flight of the Starship rocket. The approval was delayed due to the federal agency finishing its comprehensive safety review of the eighth flight earlier this year.
The FAA said in a statement that it has determined that SpaceX has “satisfactorily addressed the causes of the mishap, and therefore, the Starship vehicle can return to flight.”
The eighth test flight occurred back on March 6. SpaceX completed a successful liftoff of Starship and the Super Heavy Booster, before the two entered stage separation a few minutes after launch.
Starship Flight 8: SpaceX nails Super Heavy booster catch but loses upper stage
The booster returned and was caught by the chopsticks on the launch pad, completing the second successful booster catch in the program’s history. However, SpaceX lost contact with Starship in the upper atmosphere.
The ship broke up and reentered the atmosphere over Florida and the Bahamas.
The debris situation caused the FAA to initiate a mishap investigation:
Starship Flight 8’s Ship 34 provided some beautiful fireworks in the sky during its rapid unscheduled disassembly. Beautiful but unfortunate.
Hopefully, Flight 9 would no longer have any RUD incidents. pic.twitter.com/p4qAToDXOM
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 7, 2025
The FAA said it will verify that SpaceX implements all the corrective actions on Flight 9 that it discovered during the mishap investigation.
There is no current confirmed launch window, but the earliest it could take off from Starbase is Tuesday, May 27, at 6:30 p.m. local time.
To prevent any injuries and potentially limit any damage, the FAA has stayed in contact with various countries that could be impacted if another loss of vehicle occurs:
“The FAA is in close contact and collaboration with the United Kingdom, Turks & Caicos Islands, Bahamas, Mexico, and Cuba as the agency continues to monitor SpaceX’s compliance with all public safety and other regulatory requirements.”
The agency has also stated that the Aircraft Hazard Area (AHA) is approximately 1,600 nautical miles and extends eastward from the Starbase, Texas, launch site through the Straits of Florida, including the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos.
For flight 8, the AHA was just 885 nautical miles.
News
Starship Flight 9 nears as SpaceX’s Starbase becomes a Texan City
SpaceX’s launch site is officially incorporated as Starbase, TX. Starship Flight 9 could launch on May 27, 2025.
SpaceX’s Starbase is officially incorporated as a city in Texas, aligning with preparations for Starship Flight 9. The newly formed city in Cameron County serves as the heart of SpaceX’s Starship program.
Starbase City spans 1.5 square miles, encompassing SpaceX’s launch facility and company-owned land. A near-unanimous vote by residents, who were mostly SpaceX employees, led to its incorporation. SpaceX’s Vice President of Test and Launch, Bobby Peden, was elected mayor of Starbase. The new Texas city also has two SpaceX employees as commissioners. All Starbase officials will serve two-year terms unless extended to four by voters.
As the new city takes shape, SpaceX is preparing for the Starship Flight 9 launch, which is tentatively scheduled for May 27, 2025, at 6:30 PM CDT from Starbase, Texas.
SpaceX secured Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for up to 25 annual Starship and Super Heavy launches from the site. However, the FAA emphasized that “there are other licensing requirements still to be completed,” including policy, safety, and environmental reviews.
On May 15, the FAA noted SpaceX updated its launch license for Flight 9, but added: “SpaceX may not launch until the FAA either closes the Starship Flight 8 mishap investigation or makes a return to flight determination. The FAA is reviewing the mishap report SpaceX submitted on May 14.”
Proposed Texas legislation could empower Starbase officials to close local highways and restrict Boca Chica Beach access during launches. Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Jr., opposes the Texas legislation, insisting beach access remain under county control. This tension highlights the balance between SpaceX’s ambitions and local interests.
Starbase’s incorporation strengthens SpaceX’s operational base as it gears up for Starship Flight 9, a critical step in its mission to revolutionize space travel. With growing infrastructure and regulatory hurdles in focus, Starbase is poised to become a cornerstone of SpaceX’s vision, blending community development with cutting-edge aerospace innovation.
News
United Airlines debuts Starlink Wi-Fi on Detroit flight
United’s first passenger flight with Starlink Wi-Fi just landed in Detroit. Mainline flights to follow by year-end.
United Airlines debuted Starlink Wi-Fi on its first passenger flight to Detroit, marking a milestone in in-flight connectivity with SpaceX’s satellite internet.
On Thursday, the morning flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport introduced high-speed, gate-to-gate Starlink internet for United Airlines passengers. The Starlink-equipped United Embraer E-175, tail number UA5717, departed at 7:35 a.m. for Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
United announced the rollout on X, stating, “That lightning-fast Wi-Fi we told you about? It’s here. Our first customers just found out what it’s like to break the Wi-Fi barrier and stream, scroll, shop, and game just like at home with Starlink. And it’s FREE for MileagePlus members. Rolling out across our fleet now.”
The service leverages Starlink’s 7,000+ low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to deliver broadband globally, including in remote areas. United is the only major U.S. airline currently offering Starlink. The airline plans to expand the service across its two-cabin regional fleet and introduce it on mainline flights by year-end.
Sean Cudahy from The Points Guy tested Starlink’s Wi-Fi pre-launch, praising its ease and reliability. “I ran a speed test, and it clocked the Wi-Fi at 217 Mbps of download speed, and 26.8 Mbps of upload speed,” Cudahy shared, noting its suitability for long flights.
Beyond aviation, SpaceX is pitching Starlink as a GPS alternative, emphasizing its potential for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services. This dual capability underscores Starlink’s versatility.
In a letter to the FCC, SpaceX wrote, “One opportunity stands out as a particularly ripe, low-hanging fruit: facilitating the rapid deployment of next-generation low-Earth orbit (‘LEO’) satellite constellations that can deliver PNT as a service alongside high-speed, low-latency broadband and ubiquitous mobile connectivity.”
As SpaceX expands Starlink’s applications, from aviation to navigation, United’s adoption signals a broader shift toward satellite-driven connectivity on long flights. With plans to equip more aircraft, United and Starlink are redefining in-flight internet, promising seamless digital access at 30,000 feet.
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