News
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 could launch multiple private Moon landers in the 2020s
NASA has announced awards worth $253M for three commercial Moon landers, scheduled to attempt their first lunar missions as early as 2020 or 2021. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets is reportedly scheduled to launch at least two of the three spacecraft.
Known as the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), the NASA program was created in 2018 to both take advantage of and expand a small undercurrent of commercial lunar spacecraft development. Including NASA’s latest awards, more than half a dozen companies are now seriously pursuing the production of commercial or partially commercial Moon-bound spacecraft, all with launch debuts sometime in the early 2020s. For the majority of those companies, the mixture of performance and affordability offered by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is a critical enabler.
A waxing Moon
Although the practical motivations are unclear (if not nonexistent), a moderately organized return to the Moon is undeniably in the political air thanks to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) interest in a “Moon Village” and NASA’s own crewed “Artemis” program. Both are chronically conceptual, underfunded, over-ambitious, and to be preceded by far more realistic public-private partnerships that aim to land maybe 10-100 kg of usable payload on the Moon in the next 2-5 years.
Launched as a Falcon 9 rideshare passenger, a partnership between Israel’s IAI and SpaceIL became the first commercial team to orbit the Moon with its Beresheet spacecraft but fell just shy of a successful landing due to a fairly minor software issue. SpaceIL/IAI have already begun planning a follow-up attempt.
| Company | Spacecraft | Launch Vehicle | Launch Date |
| OrbitBeyond | Z-01 | Falcon 9 | Q3 2020 |
| iSpace | HAKUTO-R | Falcon 9 | mid-2020 |
| Intuitive Machines | Nova-C | Falcon 9 | Q3 2021 |
| Astrobotic | Peregrine | Atlas V? | Q3 2021 |
| SpaceIL/IAI | Beresheet 2 | TBD | TDD |
| PTScientists | ALINA | Falcon 9? | TBD |
| Moon Express | MX-1 | TBD | TBD |
Thanks to SpaceX, Spaceflight, and SpaceIL’s successful demonstration of rideshare launch services as a viable method of sending spacecraft to the Moon, Falcon 9 (and perhaps Falcon Heavy) have been set up as excellent choices for any future commercial Moon landers. Given that 3 or 4 of the 5 landers with known launch vehicles are at least tentatively manifested on Falcon 9s, it’s clear that the industry is also aware of this fact.
Although most of the above companies have more ambitious (and thus larger) next-generation vehicles planned, it’s likely that all of the above launch debuts will be light enough to ride as copassengers on rockets like Falcon 9, Atlas V/Vulcan, or Ariane 5/6. At least for some of the companies aiming for the Moon, technical success could be quickly followed by commercial services that would offer regular launches to the lunar surface. Several companies have hinted at payload costs as low as $1-2M per kilogram delivered, an understandable premium that could actually transform commercial lunar transport services into a viable business.
Whether that market develops, the first burst of commercial landing attempts is set to make 2020 and 2021 an exciting time for both public and private space exploration.
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Elon Musk
SpaceX weighs Nasdaq listing as company explores early index entry: report
The company is reportedly seeking early inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is reportedly leaning toward listing its shares on the Nasdaq for a potential initial public offering (IPO) that could become the largest in history.
As per a recent report, the company is reportedly seeking early inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index. The update was reported by Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the publication, SpaceX is considering Nasdaq as the venue for its eventual IPO, though the New York Stock Exchange is also competing for the listing. Neither exchange has reportedly been informed of a final decision.
Reuters has previously reported that SpaceX could pursue an IPO as early as June, though the company’s plans could still change.
One of the publication’s sources also suggested that SpaceX is targeting a valuation of about $1.75 trillion for its IPO. At that level, the company would rank among the largest publicly traded firms in the United States by market capitalization.
Nasdaq has proposed a rule change that could accelerate the inclusion of newly listed megacap companies into the Nasdaq-100 index.
Under the proposed “Fast Entry” rule, a newly listed company could qualify for the index in less than a month if its market capitalization ranks among the top 40 companies already included in the Nasdaq-100.
If SpaceX is successful in achieving its target valuation of $1.75 trillion, it would become the sixth-largest company by market value in the United States, at least based on recent share prices.
Newly listed companies typically have to wait up to a year before becoming eligible for major indexes such as the Nasdaq-100 or S&P 500.
Inclusion in a major index can significantly broaden a company’s shareholder base because many institutional investors purchase shares through index-tracking funds.
According to Reuters, Nasdaq’s proposed fast-track rule is partly intended to attract highly valued private companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic to list on the exchange.
Elon Musk
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-2 emerges after completing new Vegas Loop tunnel
The new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.
The Boring Company announced that its Prufrock-2 tunnel boring machine (TBM) has completed another Vegas Loop tunnel in Las Vegas. The company shared the update in a post on social media platform X.
According to The Boring Company’s post, the new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.
The new tunnel marks the fourth tunnel constructed near Westgate Las Vegas as the Vegas Loop network continues expanding across the city.
The Boring Company also noted that the new tunnel surpassed its previous internal record of 2.26 miles for a single Vegas Loop segment.
Construction of the tunnel involved moving roughly 68,000 cubic yards of dirt. The excavation process also used about 4.8 miles of continuous conveyor belt, powered by six motors totaling 825 horsepower.
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-series all-electric tunnel boring machines are designed to support the rapid expansion of company’s underground transportation projects, including the growing Vegas Loop network. Prufrock machines are designed for reusability, thanks in no small part to their capability to be deployed and retrieved easily through their “porposing” feature.
The Vegas Loop, specifically the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) Loop segment, has already been used during major events. Most recently, the LVCC Loop supported the 2026 CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction trade show, which was held from March 3-7, 2026.
As per The Boring Company, the LVCC Loop transported roughly 82,000 passengers across the convention center campus during the event’s duration.
CONEXPO-CON/AGG is one of the largest construction trade shows in North America, drawing more than 140,000 construction professionals from 128 countries this year.
The LVCC Loop forms the initial segment of the broader Vegas Loop network, which remains under active development as The Boring Company continues building new tunnels throughout the city.
News
Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas
Images and video of the Cybercab fleet were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Tesla appears to be assembling a growing number of Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas as preparations continue for the vehicle’s mass production. Recent footage shared online has shown over 30 Cybercabs being transported by trucks or staged near testing areas at the facility.
The images and video were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Interestingly enough, Tegtmeyer noted that many of the Cybercabs being loaded onto transport trucks were still equipped with steering wheels. This suggests that the vehicles are likely testing units rather than the final driverless configuration expected for the company’s Robotaxi service.
The vehicles could potentially be headed to testing sites across the United States as Tesla prepares to expand its Robotaxi fleet.
Additional footage captured at Gigafactory Texas also showed the Cybercab’s side and rear camera washer system operating as vehicles were being loaded onto transport trucks.
The growing number of Cybercabs at Giga Texas comes amidst the company’s announcement that the first production Cybercab has been produced at the facility. Full Cybercab production is expected to begin in April.
The vehicle is expected to play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions as the company looks to expand autonomous ride-hailing operations beyond its early deployments using Model Y vehicles.
Tesla has also linked Cybercab production to its proposed Unboxed manufacturing process, which assembles large vehicle modules separately before integrating them. The approach is intended to reduce production costs and accelerate output.
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab’s ramp will likely begin slowly due to the number of new components and manufacturing steps involved. However, he stated that once the process matures, Cybercab production could scale quickly.
SpaceX weighs Nasdaq listing as company explores early index entry: report
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-2 emerges after completing new Vegas Loop tunnel
