SpaceX
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon flawlessly docks with space station in spectacular orbital debut
Nearly half a decade and millions of hours of work have finally paid off after SpaceX’s Crew Dragon pulled off a flawless orbital debut, launching atop the first crew-rated Falcon 9 and docking with the International Space Station (ISS) a little over 24 hours later.
For what CEO Elon Musk described as a spacecraft with barely a part shared with the company’s already operational Cargo Dragon, such an unremarkable (in terms of surprises) launch debut is a massive achievement that speaks directly to the success of the NASA-SpaceX partnership and the exhaustive design, testing, and optimization directed at Crew Dragon. Having now completed two major trials – launch and docking – for DM-1, the spacecraft’s third and final hurdle will occur on March 8th when it attempts to safely return to Earth.
SpaceX team in Hawthorne control, Dragon docked to Station above pic.twitter.com/JUWkOrWjsH
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2019
Beginning around 3:30 am and lasting til 10:45 am EST (08:30-15:45 UTC), SpaceX and NASA employees hosted live coverage of Crew Dragon’s inaugural visit to the International Space Station (ISS), a process that included multiple demonstrations of the spacecraft’s ability to approach, halt, and reverse. Almost ten minutes ahead of schedule, Crew Dragon successfully docked with the ISS in a first for SpaceX, having previously only conducted berthings with its Cargo Dragon vehicle.
- From render…
- to reality. (SpaceX/NASA)
Having also debuted a previously untested docking adapter (the International Docking Adapter, IDA), the Station’s three astronauts worked to open Dragon’s hatch, a task which they completed an hour or two after “capture”. This was rapidly followed by the astronauts entering SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, another historic first for the crew-rated spacecraft. They were greeted by Ripley (also known as Starwoman) and what Anne McClain described as small Earth, the stuffed globe that was included partially as a joke and a “super high tech zero-g indicator” according to Musk. After determining that Crew Dragon’s atmosphere was non-toxic, the astronauts removed breathing masks and returned to the capsule’s interior to formally welcome it to the ISS as the world’s newest orbital spacecraft, as well as the first commercially-developed vehicle meant to carry humans into orbit.
The dawn of a new era in human spaceflight pic.twitter.com/BHsfg1zYLN
— COL Anne McClain (@AstroAnnimal) March 3, 2019
While it may be unintuitive, the two dozen or so relatively slow and quiet hours that followed Crew Dragon’s launch were and remain far more important, and the spacecraft’s flawless on-orbit performance has thus far retired a huge number of concerns front and center for the first true launch of any spacecraft, let alone one designed specifically to carry astronauts and keep them safe. Thus far, Crew Dragon has done exactly that, approaching the ISS and docking with nary a hiccup, as if the rendezvous was the umpteenth and nothing out of the ordinary.
Technical achievements aside, the live coverage of Crew Dragon’s patient approach was perhaps some of the most spectacular and emotionally compelling content yet provided by SpaceX and NASA. At one point, as orbital sunset neared, a NASA ground controller requested that the spacecraft’s onboard spotlight be enabled to continue the docking approach, to which the SpaceX engineer hosting the webcast remarked on just how incredible and surreal it was to watch Crew Dragon methodically approach the station from less than 100 feet away. In fact, he had apparently spent “months” with that very same LED spotlight array on his desk, working to build, qualify, and test it to ensure that the light system was ready for spaceflight, just one of hundreds or thousands of seemingly minute details that one or several employees spent major portions of their lives working on.
- A live view of the ISS from cameras aboard Crew Dragon. (NASA/SpaceX)
- (NASA)
- (NASA)
- A better view of the solar array half of Crew Dragon’s trunk section. (NASA)
- (NASA)
- (NASA)
Come launch and on-orbit operations, SpaceX and NASA employees across the US hung on this mission’s every step with a singular nervousness, focus, and pride that easily beat even the buzz that surrounded Falcon Heavy’s iconic launch debut. Humanity as a whole may have paid significantly less attention to Crew Dragon’s launch debut, but almost every SpaceX employee appeared readily cognizant of the fact that this mission symbolized something radically more important and more fundamental to the company. Founded to ultimately help humanity take permanent steps beyond Earth orbit, Crew Dragon’s thus far flawless debut brings SpaceX as close as its ever been to shouldering the heavy responsibility of launching humans into space, be they NASA astronauts, paying tourists, or Martian hopefuls.
If all continues to proceed apace, DM-1 will conclude with Crew Dragon’s first orbital-velocity reentry on March 8th. Pending that capsules refurbishment and an equally bug-free in-flight abort test NET April to June, SpaceX and NASA could conduct the first crewed launch of Crew Dragon less than six months from now in July 2019. Much work lies ahead and delays are undeniably possible (if not probably), but – as they say – so far, so good.
Check out Teslarati’s newsletters for prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket launch and recovery processes!
Elon Musk
Elon Musk shares updated Starship V3 maiden launch target date
The comment was posted on Musk’s official account on social media platform X.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared a brief Starship V3 update in a post on social media platform X, stating the next launch attempt of the spacecraft could take place in about four weeks.
The comment was posted on Musk’s official account on social media platform X.
Musk’s update suggests that Starship Flight 12 could target a launch around early April, though the schedule will depend on several remaining milestones at SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility in Texas.
Among the key steps is testing and certification of the site’s new launch tower, launch mount, and tank farm systems. These upgrades will support the next generation of Starship vehicles.
Booster 19 is expected to roll to the launch site and be placed on the launch mount before returning to the production facility to receive its 33 Raptor engines. The booster would then return for a static fire test, which could mark the first time a Super Heavy booster equipped with Raptor V3 engines is fired on the pad.
Ship 39 is expected to undergo a similar preparation process. The vehicle will likely return to the production site to receive its six engines before heading to Massey’s test site for static fire testing.
Once both stages are prepared, the booster and ship will roll out to the launch site for the first full stack of a V3 Super Heavy and V3 Starship. A full wet dress rehearsal is expected to follow before any launch attempt.
Elon Musk has previously shared how SpaceX plans to eventually recover Starship’s upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms. Musk noted that the company will only attempt to catch the Starship spacecraft after two successful soft landings in the ocean. The approach is intended to reduce risk before attempting a recovery over land.
“Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
Such a milestone would represent a major step toward the full reuse of the Starship system, which remains a central goal for SpaceX’s long-term launch strategy.
News
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell details xAI power pledge at White House event
The commitment was announced during an event with United States President Donald Trump.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell stated that xAI will develop 1.2 gigawatts of power at its Memphis-area AI supercomputer site as part of the White House’s new “Ratepayer Protection Pledge.”
The commitment was announced during an event with United States President Donald Trump.
During the White House event, Shotwell stated that xAI’s AI data center near Memphis would include a major energy installation designed to support the facility’s power needs.
“As you know, xAI builds huge supercomputers and data centers and we build them fast. Currently, we’re building one on the Tennessee-Mississippi state line. As part of today’s commitment, we will take extensive additional steps to continue to reduce the costs of electricity for our neighbors…
“xAI will therefore commit to develop 1.2 GW of power as our supercomputer’s primary power source. That will be for every additional data center as well. We will expand what is already the largest global Megapack power installation in the world,” Shotwell said.
She added that the system would provide significant backup power capacity.
“The installation will provide enough backup power to power the city of Memphis, and more than sufficient energy to power the town of Southaven, Mississippi where the data center resides. We will build new substations and invest in electrical infrastructure to provide stability to the area’s grid.”
Shotwell also noted that xAI will be supporting the area’s water supply as well.
“We haven’t talked about it yet, but this is actually quite important. We will build state-of-the-art water recycling plants that will protect approximately 4.7 billion gallons of water from the Memphis aquifer each year. And we will employ thousands of American workers from around the city of Memphis on both sides of the TN-MS border,” she noted.
The Ratepayer Protection Pledge was introduced as part of the federal government’s effort to address concerns about rising electricity costs tied to large AI data centers, as noted in an Insider report. Under the agreement, companies developing major AI infrastructure projects committed to covering their own power generation needs and avoiding additional costs for local ratepayers.
Elon Musk
SpaceX to launch Starlink V2 satellites on Starship starting 2027
The update was shared by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Starlink Vice President Mike Nicolls.
SpaceX is looking to start launching its next-generation Starlink V2 satellites in mid-2027 using Starship.
The update was shared by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Starlink Vice President Mike Nicolls during remarks at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain.
“With Starship, we’ll be able to deploy the constellation very quickly,” Nicolls stated. “Our goal is to deploy a constellation capable of providing global and contiguous coverage within six months, and that’s roughly 1,200 satellites.”
Nicolls added that once Starship is operational, it will be capable of launching approximately 50 of the larger, more powerful Starlink satellites at a time, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
The initial deployment of roughly 1,200 next-generation satellites is intended to establish global and contiguous coverage. After that phase, SpaceX plans to continue expanding the system to reach “truly global coverage, including the polar regions,” Nicolls said.
Currently, all Starlink satellites are launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The next-generation fleet will rely on Starship, which remains in development following a series of test flights in 2025. SpaceX is targeting its next Starship test flight, featuring an upgraded version of the rocket, as soon as this month.
Starlink is currently the largest satellite network in orbit, with nearly 10,000 satellites deployed. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates the business could generate approximately $9 billion in revenue for SpaceX in 2026.
Nicolls also confirmed that SpaceX is rebranding its direct-to-cell service as Starlink Mobile.
The service currently operates with 650 satellites capable of connecting directly to smartphones and has approximately 10 million monthly active users. SpaceX expects that figure to exceed 25 million monthly active users by the end of 2026.







