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SpaceX fires up Falcon 9 rockets hours apart for back to back launches

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SpaceX has fired up two separate Falcon 9 rockets at two separate Florida launch pads in less than 16 hours ahead of back to back launches for Starlink and the US military.

Around 6:30 pm local on June 24th, SpaceX successfully static fired Falcon 9 B1051 as one of the last steps before the booster’s fifth launch, making it the third SpaceX rocket to reach that five-flight milestone in just three months. B1051.4 just narrowly missed SpaceX’s booster turnaround record, falling just a few days short of the current 62-day record after some minor delays. Originally scheduled to launch as early as June 22nd, the ninth batch of Starlink v1.0 satellites (Starlink V1 L9 or Starlink-9) is now scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) 4:18 pm EDT (20:18 UTC) on Friday, June 26th.

A little over fifteen hours after B1051’s – apparently – successful static fire (there was no SpaceX tweet confirmation for the first time ever) at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (Pad 39A), new Falcon 9 booster B1060 performed its own ignition test at SpaceX’s separate Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) LC-40 pad. SpaceX confirmed that that static fire was successful, putting the new Falcon 9 rocket on track to launch the US military’s third upgraded GPS satellite (GPS III SV03) no earlier than (NET) 3:56 pm EDT (19:56 UTC) on Tuesday, June 30th.

If successful, Starlink-9 will be Falcon 9 booster B1051’s third launch in just five months. (Richard Angle)
If successful, B1060’s first launch and landing should set it up for a long and productive life of launches. (SpaceX)

If SpaceX manages to complete both the Starlink-9 and GPS III SV03 missions on schedule, June 2020 will be the company’s first four-launch month ever. Even if the latter US military mission is delayed to July 3rd or 4th, SpaceX will still have technically completed four launches in a month’s worth of days (30-31). Normally, the odds of the second in a pair of back-to-back launches being delayed would be quite high, given that any delay to the first mission would inherently roll over onto the follow-up. For SpaceX, that likelihood is more than doubled because of the need for drone ship availability for booster recovery.

(SpaceX)
SpaceX recently completed two East Coast launches in just four days, launching Crew Dragon’s first astronaut mission and Starlink-8 on May 30th and June 4th. (Richard Angle)

However, SpaceX debuted a second East Coast drone ship – Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) on June 3rd, complimenting drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) to double the company’s sea recovery capacity on the East Coast. Formerly stationed at Port of Los Angeles to support SpaceX launches out of California, the West Coast manifest rapidly dried up and made drone ship JRTI’s move East all but inevitable.

On top of having a second drone ship available for booster recoveries just days or even hours apart, SpaceX also recently began pushing the limits of its East Coast launch capacity by performing launches just days apart from its two separate Florida pads. While the occasional back-to-back launch from LC-40 and Pad 39A isn’t unprecedented, SpaceX appears to be intent on sustaining launches from each pad every 10-20 days, give or take. As such, SpaceX’s Starlink-9 and GPS III SV03 missions will launch from separate pads and land on separate drone ships.

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Starlink-8 was SpaceX’s first internal rideshare mission. (SpaceX)

Cadence ambitions aside, Starlink-9 and GPS III SV03 are also significant missions for their own reasons. Up first, Starlink-9 will hopefully follow on the heels of SpaceX’s successful June 13th Starlink-8 launch to become the second Starlink rideshare mission, sending two BlackSky imaging satellites into orbit along with 57 Starlink v1.0 satellites. The fact that booster B1051 has nearly broken SpaceX’s rocket reuse turnaround record also suggests that the company is already confident in the flightworthiness of Falcon 9 boosters heading into their fifth launches.

Meanwhile, GPS III SV03 is special because – unlike SpaceX’s first GPS III SV01 launch in December 2018 – the US Air (Space) Force will allow Falcon 9 booster B1060 to attempt a drone ship landing. On SpaceX’s first GPS III launch, the USAF more or less arbitrarily limited Falcon 9’s available performance to leave extreme safety margins in the apparent event of one or more booster engines failing during launch. As a result, Falcon 9 B1054 became the first highly-reusable Block 5 booster to intentionally launch just once. For B1060, the booster will thankfully have a shot at recovery and a long and productive life of 5-10+ more launches. A successful landing could also give the US military its first shot at certifying and reusing a Falcon 9 booster on an operational military satellite launch.

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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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Elon Musk: Tesla could be first to build AGI in humanoid form

Musk’s statement was shared in a post on social media platform X.  

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Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk predicted that Tesla could become one of the developers of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) in humanoid form. Musk’s statement was shared in a post on social media platform X.  

In his post, Musk stated that “Tesla will be one of the companies to make AGI and probably the first to make it in humanoid/atom-shaping form.”

The comment comes as Tesla expands development of its Optimus humanoid robot.

During Tesla’s Q4 earnings report, Elon Musk stated that production of the Model S and Model X would be phased out at its Fremont, California, facility. The vehicles’ production line will then be converted to a pilot line for Optimus. Tesla is looking to produce 1 million units of the humanoid robots annually to start.

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Musk has previously stated that Optimus could eventually function as a von Neumann probe. The concept, proposed by mathematician John von Neumann, describes a machine capable of replicating itself using planetary resources and sending those replicas to other worlds.

Optimus would likely only be able to achieve this potential if it manages to achieve Artificial General Intelligence.

Other leaders in the AI sector have also expressed strong expectations about AGI’s potential. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, recently spoke about the technology at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, as noted in a Benzinga report.

“It’s going to be something like ten times the impact of the Industrial Revolution, but happening at ten times the speed,” Hassabis said.

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Elon Musk’s recent comments about Tesla producing a product with AGI could hint at further collaboration among his companies. So far, Tesla is actively pursuing autonomous driving, but it is xAI that is pursuing AGI with its Grok program.

Considering that Elon Musk mentioned a Tesla humanoid product with AGI, it appears that an Optimus robot running xAI’s AI models could become a reality.

xAI had recently merged with SpaceX, though reports suggest that Elon Musk is also considering an even bigger merger for all his companies, including Tesla.

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Tesla influencers argue company’s polarizing Full Self-Driving transfer decision

Tesla maintains it will honor transfers for orders with initial delivery windows before the deadline and offers full deposit refunds otherwise, citing longstanding fine print that the program is “subject to change at any time.”

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Tesla’s decision to tighten its Full Self-Driving (FSD) transfer promotion has ignited fierce debate among owners and enthusiasts.

The company quietly updated its terms in late February 2026, changing the eligibility from “order by March 31, 2026” to “take delivery by March 31, 2026.”

What began as a flexible incentive to boost sales, allowing buyers to transfer their paid FSD (Supervised) to a new vehicle, now excludes many, particularly Cybertruck owners facing delivery delays into summer or later.

Tesla maintains it will honor transfers for orders with initial delivery windows before the deadline and offers full deposit refunds otherwise, citing longstanding fine print that the program is “subject to change at any time.”

The reversal has polarized the Tesla community, with accusations of a “bait-and-switch” clashing against defenses of corporate pragmatism. Many owners who placed orders under the original wording feel betrayed, especially as production backlogs and new unsupervised FSD rollout complicate timelines.

However, Tesla has allowed them to cancel their orders and receive a refund.

Critics of the decision argue that the change disadvantages loyal customers who helped fund FSD development, calling it poor communication and a revenue grab as Tesla pivots toward subscriptions.

Popular influencers have amplified the divide. Whole Mars Catalog struck a measured but firm tone, acknowledging the original “order by” language but emphasizing Tesla’s right to adjust terms. He has continued to defend Tesla in this particular issue:

He criticized extreme backlash as “dramatization” and “spoiled kids,” noting the unsupervised FSD era and broader sales challenges make blanket transfers financially risky. Whole Mars advocated for polite outreach to CEO Elon Musk over the issue.

In a contrasting perspective, Dirty TesLA voiced sharper frustration, posting that blocking transfers feels “crazy” and distancing himself from “people that want to worship a corporation and say they can do no wrong.” His stance resonated with owners who view the policy flip as disrespectful to early adopters.

Popular Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt captured the frustration felt by thousands. In a widely shared thread viewed over 700,000 times, Merritt detailed how pre-change Cybertruck orders now risk losing FSD eligibility unless their initial delivery window falls before March 31.

The controversy underscores deeper tensions—between Tesla’s need for revenue discipline and owners’ expectations of goodwill. As FSD evolves toward unsupervised capability, the community remains split: some see the change as necessary business, others as a broken promise. Whether Tesla reconsiders under pressure or holds firm remains to be seen, but it does not appear they are planning to budge.

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Tesla Semi’s latest adoptee will likely encourage more of the same

Public visibility matters. When shoppers see a trusted name like Ralph’s running clean, high-tech trucks on public roads, skepticism fades. Competitors such as Albertsons, which pre-ordered Semis years ago, and other chains chasing ESG targets now have proof that electric autonomy works in real-world grocery fleets.

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Credit: X | ChargePozitive

The latest adoptee of the Tesla Semi will likely encourage more businesses in the same realm to adopt the all-electric Class 8 truck, as a new company utilizing the Semi has been spotted in Southern California.

A sleek, futuristic Tesla Semi truck branded for Ralph’s Supermarkets was spotted cruising a Los Angeles highway in a viral 13-second dashcam video posted March 2, by X user ChargePozitive.

This sighting confirms Kroger’s March 2025 partnership with Tesla to deploy up to 500 autonomous electric Semis.

While the initial announcement targeted Midwest supply chains, the California appearance under the Ralph’s banner shows the program expanding to Kroger’s West Coast operations. Ralph’s, a staple for millions of Southern California shoppers, is now hauling groceries with the Semi, which has zero tailpipe emissions and claims up to 500 miles of range per charge.

Tesla Semi pricing revealed after company uncovers trim levels

The timing could not be better for sustainable logistics. Traditional trucking accounts for a massive share of retail emissions, but Tesla’s Semi slashes fuel and maintenance costs while leveraging full autonomy to ease driver shortages and improve safety.

Tesla’s expanding Megacharger network, including new sites along major freight corridors and partnerships like the recently-announced one with Pilot Travel Centers, is removing range anxiety and making nationwide scaling realistic. There’s still a long way to go, but things are moving in the right direction.

Public visibility matters. When shoppers see a trusted name like Ralph’s running clean, high-tech trucks on public roads, skepticism fades. Competitors such as Albertsons, which pre-ordered Semis years ago, and other chains chasing ESG targets now have proof that electric autonomy works in real-world grocery fleets.

PepsiCo’s successful pilots already demonstrated viability, and Ralph’s sighting adds retail credibility.

As Tesla ramps high-volume Semi production through 2026, this isn’t an isolated curiosity. Instead, it’s a catalyst. More grocers adopting the platform will accelerate industry-wide decarbonization, cut operating expenses, and deliver tangible environmental wins.

The future of sustainable supply chains is already on the highway, and Ralph’s just made it impossible to ignore.

Moving forward, Tesla hopes to expand the Semi program into other regions, including Europe, which CEO Elon Musk recently said is a total possibility next year.

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