News
SpaceX recovers another Falcon 9 Block 5 booster as reusable rocket fleet grows
Following the upgraded rocket family’s fifth successful launch since its May 2018 debut, SpaceX has returned another Falcon 9 Block 5 booster to land after a drone ship recovery.
Falcon 9 B1049 is now the fourth flight-proven Block 5 booster in SpaceX’s flightworthy rocket fleet, all of which can be expected to fly numerous orbital-class missions before being retired or expended. Despite a relatively slow September and October ahead of SpaceX’s launch manifest, the final two months of 2018 could be quite busy, and will in part rely on the reusability of SpaceX’s Block 5 rockets.
https://twitter.com/_TomCross_/status/1039906864341966848
Thankfully, Falcon 9 Block 5’s reusability prospects are looking extremely positive according to September 11 comments from SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell, who stated that the rockets (like B1049 today) were returning from launch in even better condition than was initially expected. As a result, it should be imminently possible for SpaceX to refly the same Falcon 9 Block 5 booster after as few as four weeks of refurbishment, with the goal to eventually cut the required maintenance so much that a given booster can refly in ~24 hours.
Shotwell: Falcon 9 first stages come back in much better shape than anticipated. Have refurbishment time down to four weeks; goal is still a one-day turnaround next year. #WSBW
— Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) September 11, 2018
Still, thanks to the higher-energy geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) missions all Block 5 boosters have thus flown on, reentry and recovery conditions wind up being far less forgiving, suggesting that what Shotwell, Musk, and SpaceX are really referring to when discussing 24-hour reusability is the rapid reuse of Block 5 boosters after low-energy launches to orbits far lower than GTO and lighter payloads in tow.
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In particular, Falcon 9 Block 5 launches like Cargo Dragon resupply missions and other miscellaneous smaller satellites should not only leave the boosters in exceptionally pristine condition, but they will also intrinsically leave the rocket just a handful of miles (at most) away from the launch pad, a clear advantage to any truly rapid reuse. Drone ship-recovery Falcon 9s like B1049’s, on the other hand, require at least several days to be towed back to port, fundamentally limiting booster turnaround time for high-energy launches like Telstar 18V, Telstar 19V, Telkom 4, Iridium-7, and Bangabandhu-1.
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- Falcon 9 Block 5 booster B1049 returned to Port Canaveral today, ~60 hours after launch. (Tom Cross)
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- Falcon 9 Block 5 booster B1049 returned to Port Canaveral today, ~60 hours after launch. Falcon 9 is dramatically cheaper than the aging Delta II. (Tom Cross)
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- SpaceX’s most recent Florida launch was in early September. (Tom Cross)
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- Falcon 9 B1049’s Merlin engines and octaweb. (Tom Cross)
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- Recovery robot Octagrabber seen attached to B1049. (Tom Cross)
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- A sense of scale. (Tom Cross)
SpaceX’s next launch – Argentinian Earth observation satellite SAOCOM-1A, NET October 7 – will feature a number of critical milestones, including the second reuse of a Falcon 9 Block 5 booster, the first truly light and low-energy launch for the upgraded rocket, the first Landing Zone recovery for Block 5, and the inaugural debut of a dedicated Californian rocket landing zone scarcely a few thousand feet from SpaceX’s Vandenberg launch pad.
Although SAOCOM-1A is likely to be the only SpaceX launch in October, November may very well feature the first launch of Crew Dragon, an uncrewed demonstration mission that will see the spacecraft dock with the International Space Station to ensure that it’s ready for astronauts. SpaceX’s 19th Cargo Dragon launch is also expected to occur as early as December 1st.
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!
Tesla is building its largest East Coast Supercharger in New York City, planning to bring a 64- to 68-stall station to Queens, New York.
It will end up being tied for the largest Supercharger on the East Coast with this number of stalls. The largest on the Eastern Seaboard is located in Halifax, North Carolina, and is also 68 stalls.
Tesla is currently building a new 64-stall Supercharger station in Queens, New York. This will be the biggest Supercharger station on the East Coast of the U.S.
It will also have two pull-through stalls for EVs with trailers. Thx for the pics @LetsCleanNYC. pic.twitter.com/CCo0dIoHin
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 16, 2026
The location is also set to be fitted with two pull-through stalls for EVs with trailers. We’ve seen Tesla implement these types of parking spots at newer locations as EV ownership continues to expand to those who do more than simply drive their cars.
There are plenty of Superchargers in the New York City metro, but they are mostly located in boroughs outside of Manhattan. There are five Superchargers in various neighborhoods of Manhattan, but there are limited plugs; usually only four per location. There are plenty of Destination Chargers in the Big Apple, though.
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Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn have become popular locations for companies to build out charging infrastructure for those who live in the highly populated boroughs. There is simply much more real estate to build effective EV charging stations.
The Supercharger will be located in Maspeth, Queens, at 48-26 54th Road. Maspeth has I-495 running through it, so this will be a great location for Tesla owners to hop off the highway on their way to Long Island or to Manhattan to charge up before continuing their journey.
Tesla has done a really great job of expanding its charging footprint throughout the past several years, especially by building large-scale projects that cater to areas that have a high volume of traffic and are main routes of travel to major areas. Tesla is making an effort to make charging less stressful and more widely available in these concentrated regions.
News
SpaceX just launched a secret payload from California
SpaceX launched a classified Space Force mission from Vandenberg, revealing almost nothing about its payload.
SpaceX launched a classified Falcon 9 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Saturday night, and the government released almost nothing about what was on board. The mission, designated USSF-366, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E with a window that opened at 9:52 p.m. ET and ran into the early hours of Sunday, according to SpaceX’s own mission page, which described the payload only as classified. SpaceX confirmed the launch on its X account and pointed viewers to a livestream that began roughly ten minutes before liftoff.
Watch Falcon 9 launch the USSF-366 mission from pad 4E in California https://t.co/FFEzeYOds1
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 16, 2026
The lack of detail did not stop analysts from filling in the blanks. Independent tracking of the rocket’s stage drop zones matched the pattern SpaceX has used on previous Starlink Group 15 missions, according to reporting from Outer Space Today, which pointed to Starshield as the likely payload rather than a one off government satellite. Starshield is SpaceX’s national security product, a version of the Starlink satellite bus built to Pentagon specifications for earth observation, communications and hosted payloads. Unlike consumer Starlink, government agencies do not have to disclose what Starshield satellites are actually doing once they reach orbit.
USSF-366 is the latest entry in a steady flow of classified and semi classified work between SpaceX and the Space Force. The company picked up a $178.5 million task order in April to launch missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency, as Teslarati reported at the time, and followed that in July with a $1.6 billion award covering 18 more Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg through the end of 2027, also detailed by Teslarati. Add those contracts up and SpaceX’s Pentagon business for 2026 alone tops $8 billion.
SpaceX scores another massive Pentagon deal to support military satellites
The Falcon 9 that flew Saturday landed back near the launch site, producing the sonic booms that have become routine for residents near Vandenberg. What is less routine is how little the public will likely ever learn about what the rocket carried. SpaceX and the Space Force have not confirmed the Starshield connection, and government satellite programs built on commercial buses rarely get identified beyond a mission number and a general orbit. For a company that live streams almost everything else it does, from Starship test flights to Optimus robot demos, USSF-366 is a reminder that some of SpaceX’s busiest work now happens entirely out of public view.
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On Friday, Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter that enabled Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) energy transfer, meaning owners could essentially utilize their cars as a power source for things like laptops, electric grills, or string lights.
However, even owners of some of the newest builds of the Model Y are finding out that their cars are not compatible with the new $80 accessory, stirring up a new complaint among members of the community.
Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.
Upon the release of the Outlet Adapter on Friday, I signed into my Tesla account to order the accessory. However, I was met with the dreaded “This product is not compatible with your 2026 Model Y” message at the bottom of the screen.
Some said their accounts also displayed the same message, but they ordered anyway. However, they might be surprised to find that this is no mistake; some of the newest Model Ys do not have the appropriate Power Conversion System (PCS). Mine, which was ordered on this day last year and delivered on August 31, has the old 48A, single-phase PCS.
Vehicles with the new, two-piece PCS are able to utilize V2L features on their cars:
🚨 Looks like you can hit the Parts Catalog and enter your VIN and check to see if your Model Y will be able to use the adapter for V2L.https://t.co/QA9zRk7n2k
h/t to @SawyerMerritt for finding this out.
-I am sad but this isn’t a huge loss. https://t.co/AYpI12QVV9 pic.twitter.com/LRFSrtRywo
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 16, 2026
Obviously, it’s disappointing. Many owners have taken delivery this year and still can not utilize the Outlet Adapter because their cars feature the old PCS:
Took delivery in February of 2026. I have the older one, so not going to work for me pic.twitter.com/RcOVq8gvvT
— Russell (@QuietTesla) August 16, 2026
It looks like if you have one of these older PCS units, you can upgrade, but the parts alone are $1,750, and that’s before Tesla adds labor for installing. It is honestly more logical to get some kind of portable power supply or power station at that point.
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It is great that Tesla has enabled V2L for Model Y vehicles, but it is also unfortunate that vehicles that are less than one year old are not able to take advantage of this awesome new feature.
With that being said, it truly is a first-world problem; can you really complain when Full Self-Driving is available, maintenance is incredibly inexpensive, and the car has been so good through a year of ownership?
Tesla is building its largest Supercharger on the East Coast in New York City
SpaceX just launched a secret payload from California
