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SpaceX fires up Falcon 9 rocket for fifth Starlink launch in four weeks
SpaceX has static-fired a flight-proven Falcon 9 booster for what will be the company’s fifth Starlink launch in four weeks.
Set to be the company’s 28th operational launch of Starlink v1.0 satellites and 30th Starlink launch overall, the mission – known as Starlink L28 or Starlink-28 – is scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) 2:59 pm EDT (18:59 UTC) on Wednesday, May 26th, less than 11 days after Starlink-26. The mission will be SpaceX’s fifth Starlink launch in 29 days and sixth launch in less than five weeks – not including Starship SN15’s successful suborbital launch and landing on May 5th.
As previously discussed on Teslarati, Starlink-28’s successful launch would leave SpaceX just two flights away from a truly remarkable feat of sustained launch cadence.
“If the weather, space station, and SpaceX’s rockets, spacecraft, and pad facilities cooperate, the completion of those three upcoming missions would mark eight successful Falcon 9 launches – carrying two Dragon spacecraft, four astronauts, and almost 300 satellites to orbit – in less than six weeks (41 days). If SpaceX manages that feat and averages one launch every five days, the company will have completed ~45% of its 2021 launches in ~26% of the year to date – a clear pattern of acceleration.”
Teslarati.com – 16 May 2021
Starlink-28 is set to reuse Falcon 9 B1063 after the booster debuted on SpaceX’s West Coast Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) launch site. Some degree of processing was completed at the pad’s facilities before the once-flown rocket was shipped from California to Florida in March 2021. When B1063 arrived, it appeared to be missing several of its Merlin 1D engines, which helps to explain why SpaceX chose to perform an increasingly rare static fire test with a flight-proven booster.
The unusual six-month gap between B1063’s first and second flights can likely be explained by the fact that the booster was at one point expected to stay in California to launch another mission for NASA as early as July 2021. In February 2021, NASA announced that the Double Asteroid Redirect Test – DART – mission’s launch had been delayed by spacecraft issues to a secondary window beginning in late November, which is likely why B1063 headed to Florida a few weeks later.
According to comments made by SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell just last month, Starlink-28’s successful completion could leave the company with enough satellites for “full [global] connectivity.” Around a third of those Starlink satellites will still need to boost themselves into operational orbits before that (mostly) uninterrupted global coverage can be realized, but it will just be a matter of time once the spacecraft are already in orbit. True global coverage will require a number of dedicated polar launches, but those West Coast Starlink missions could begin as soon as this summer.
Following Starlink-28, SpaceX has two more launches scheduled within eight days of the mission – an SXM-8 radio satellite mission on June 1st and Cargo Dragon 2’s second space station resupply run on June 3rd. Beyond those three launches, SpaceX has at least two or three more missions nominally scheduled in June.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk highlights one of Tesla FSD Supervised’s most underrated features
In his post on X, Musk wrote, “Tesla self-driving now recognizes hand signals.”
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is able to recognize and respond to hand signals, as highlighted recently by CEO Elon Musk.
In his post on X, Musk wrote, “Tesla self-driving now recognizes hand signals.”
Musk shared the update in a quote reply to a video posted by Tesla Europe, which showed a vehicle operating with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) navigating a tight lane in the Netherlands while responding to hand gestures from a person directing traffic.
Hand signal recognition is an important capability for advanced driver-assistance and autonomous systems. In real-world driving, pedestrians, construction workers, parking attendants, and other drivers frequently use hand gestures to direct traffic, yield right of way, or indicate when it is safe to proceed. For a self-driving system operating in mixed environments, interpreting these non-verbal cues is critical.
Musk’s post comes as Tesla owners have surpassed 8 billion cumulative miles driven with FSD (Supervised) engaged. “Tesla owners have now driven >8 billion miles on FSD Supervised,” the company wrote in a post on X.
Annual FSD (Supervised) miles have increased sharply over the past five years. Roughly 6 million miles were logged in 2021, followed by 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and 4.25 billion in 2025.
In the first 50 days of 2026 alone, Tesla owners logged another 1 billion miles. At the current pace, the fleet is trending toward approximately 10 billion FSD (Supervised) miles this year.
Tesla’s latest North America safety data, covering all road types over a 12-month period, also indicates that vehicles operating with FSD (Supervised) were recorded one major collision every 5,300,676 miles. By comparison, the U.S. average during the same period was one major collision every 660,164 miles.
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Tesla hiring for Commercial Charging role hints at Semi push in Europe
The job opening was highlighted by David Forer, Senior Project Developer for Charging at Tesla, on LinkedIn.
Tesla appears to be expanding its Commercial Charging efforts in Central Europe. The job opening was highlighted by David Forer, Senior Project Developer for Charging at Tesla, on LinkedIn.
In a post on LinkedIn, Forer stated that Tesla is looking for a “high-energy executer to own Commercial Charging Sales in Central Europe.” He added that the role will involve closing commercial deals across Tesla’s “entire product range (Supercharging & Megacharging).”
The job listing specifies that the hire will lead the sale of Tesla’s high-power charging products, including Supercharger and Heavy Duty Charging, to major partners such as charge point operators, real estate owners, and retail companies. The role requires fluency in German and English and is based onsite in Munich.
Tesla already operates more than 75,000 Superchargers globally, though the Semi’s Megacharger network is still in its early stages. The inclusion of Heavy Duty Charging in the job description is notable, then, as it aligns with Tesla’s Megacharger infrastructure, which is designed to support the Tesla Semi.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently confirmed that the Tesla Semi is moving into high-volume production this 2026. In a post on X, Musk noted that “Tesla Semi starts high volume production this year.”
Aerial footage of the Tesla Semi Factory near Giga Nevada also shows that the facility looks nearly complete, with work now underway inside the facility.
Tesla has also refreshed the Semi lineup on its official website, listing two variants: Standard and Long Range. The Standard trim offers up to 325 miles of range with an energy consumption rating of 1.7 kWh per mile, while the Long Range version provides up to 500 miles.
Both variants support fast charging and can recover up to 60% of range in 30 minutes using compatible infrastructure such as the Megacharger Network.
The presence of Heavy Duty Charging in a Central Europe-focused sales role could indicate that Tesla is preparing charging infrastructure ahead of wider Semi deployment in the region. While Tesla has not formally announced a European launch timeline for the Semi, the vehicle, particularly its range, makes it an ideal fit for the area.
Tesla Full Self-Driving is set to get an awesome new feature in the near future, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X.
Full Self-Driving is the company’s semi-autonomous driving program, which is among the best available to the general public. It still relies on the driver to ultimately remain in control and pay attention, but it truly does make traveling less stressful and easier.
However, Tesla still continuously refines the software through Over-the-Air updates, which are meant to resolve shortcomings in the performance of the FSD suite. Generally, Tesla does a great job of this, but some updates are definitely regressions, at least with some of the features.
Tesla Cybertruck owner credits FSD for saving life after freeway medical emergency
Tesla and Musk are always trying to improve the suite’s performance by fixing features that are presently available, but they also try to add new things that would be beneficial to owners. One of those things, which is coming soon, is giving the driver the ability to prompt FSD with voice demands.
For example, asking the car to park close to the front door of your destination, or further away in an empty portion of the parking lot, would be an extremely beneficial feature. Adjusting navigation is possible through Grok integration, but it is not always effective.
Musk confirmed that voice prompts for FSD would be possible:
Coming
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2026
Tesla Full Self-Driving is a really great thing, but it definitely has its shortcomings. Navigation is among the biggest complaints that owners have, and it is easily my biggest frustration with using it. Some of the routes it chooses to take are truly mind-boggling.
Another thing it has had issues with is being situated in the correct lane at confusing intersections or even managing to properly navigate through local traffic signs. For example, in Pennsylvania, there are a lot of stop signs with “Except Right Turn” signs directly under.
This gives those turning right at a stop sign the opportunity to travel through it. FSD has had issues with this on several occasions.
Parking preferences would be highly beneficial and something that could be resolved with this voice prompt program. Grocery stores are full of carts not taken back by customers, and many people choose to park far away. Advising FSD of this preference would be a great advantage to owners.
Elon Musk highlights one of Tesla FSD Supervised’s most underrated features
Tesla hiring for Commercial Charging role hints at Semi push in Europe
