News
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft recovery ship gets a helipad prior to launch debut
SpaceX’s primary Crew Dragon recovery vessel GO Searcher is undergoing a number of modifications in preparation for inaugural demonstrations flights of the company’s first human-rated spacecraft.
Most notably, GO Searcher is being fitted with a helipad that will be used to rapidly transfer astronauts from Crew Dragon to Cape Canaveral, where they will go through a number of medical evaluations and debriefings after a six-month stay in orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
- GO Searcher’s new helipad has been rapidly constructed over the last two months. (Tom Cross – 08/12/18)
- A construction worker helps provide a sense of scale for the new pad. (Tom Cross – 08/12/18)
Over the last year or so, the long-time member of SpaceX’s East Coast rocket recovery fleet has been gradually receiving upgrades and conducting sea trials and mockup Dragon recovery tests, performed in concert with the US Air Force and NASA. Once Commercial Crew missions start launching in earnest, GO Searcher will be SpaceX’s sole Crew Dragon spacecraft and astronaut recovery vessel, a new mission that required a number of visible modifications.
Three of those upgrades are especially obvious. First, a large helipad (pictured above) is being constructed on GO Searcher’s deck. That helipad is a critical addition that will enable the rapid transport of astronauts, recovery experts, technicians, doctors, and more (perhaps even press) to or from the ship, which will be at most a few hundred kilometers east of the Florida Coast during Dragon recovery operations, and likely closer to a few tens of kilometers.
.@SpaceX's East Coast #Dragon space capsule recovery vessel, GO Searcher, has finally reemerged after being off-grid past 10-days. Appears to be sporting new hardware. #SpaceXArmada #CrewedDragon 📷: St John's Ship Yard, Palatka FL pic.twitter.com/CPR3P6DoWB
— Cowboy Dan (@CowboyDanPaasch) July 4, 2018
The next most obvious change to GO Searcher is a massive dome, likely dedicated to radar, Crew Dragon communications, or both. That dome and communications/radar array were installed over a several-week maintenance period spent at an East Coast drydocks facility, wrapping up with an early-July return to SpaceX’s Port Canaveral dock space.
Last but not least is the large metal structure at GO Searcher’s rear, a custom-built hydraulic lift designed specifically to lift Crew Dragon onto the recovery vessel’s deck. SpaceX has been extensively testing Dragon recovery operations with that particular rig throughout 2018, working with Commerical Crew astronauts, US Air Force representatives, and NASA officials to ensure that the orchestration of those Dragon and crew recovery operations are down to reflex by the time technicians are called upon to perform the same tasks with real humans and hardware.
- SpaceX has rolled its completed Crew Dragon Access Arm into position and is just days away from installing the sleek arm. 08/16/18 (Tom Cross)
- SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule C203 – then assigned DM-2 – is seen here in August 2018. (Pauline Acalin)
- The first spaceworthy Crew Dragon capsule is already in Florida, preparing for its November 2018 launch debut. The same capsule will be refurbished and reflown as few as three months after recovery. (SpaceX)
- On February 28, SpaceX completed a demonstration of their ability to recover the crew and capsule after a nominal water splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of Florida. (SpaceX)
- Dragon recovery technicians wrap up a busy day of demonstrations aboard GO Searcher, March 2018. (SpaceX)
SpaceX’s first uncrewed demonstration launch of Crew Dragon is scheduled for no earlier than November 2018, a date President and COO Gwynne Shotwell expressed considerable confidence in earlier this month. That spacecraft may end up landing on a giant inflatable cushion in order to ease refurbishment, as the same capsule will be reflown just a few months later for SpaceX’s in-flight abort test, designed to ensure that astronauts can be safely pulled away from a failing rocket at all points during launch.
Pending a successful uncrewed demo and in-flight abort test, SpaceX could become the first private company in history to launch humans into Earth orbit as early as April 2019.
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
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.






