News
SpaceX Falcon 9 nears NASA’s first flight-proven Block 5 launch after static fire delays
After multiple days of delays, many a finger is crossed that SpaceX will be able to perform a critical static fire test of Falcon 9 booster B1056.1 on Friday morning (July 19th).
Falcon 9 B1056 and a fresh upper stage are scheduled to launch Cargo Dragon mission CRS-18 no earlier than 7:35 pm EDT (23:35 UTC), July 21st. As always, SpaceX requires each Falcon 9 rocket to successfully perform a static fire ignition test prior to declaring launch readiness, and B1056 was originally planned to be loaded with propellant and fire its nine Merin 1D engines on Wednesday, July 16th.
After a solid handful of slips, the test has most recently been rescheduled on Friday morning, a delay of 48 hours. SpaceX has demonstrated a three-day turnaround between static fire and launch with Falcon 9 Block 5, but a static fire delay beyond Friday – perhaps even beyond early Friday afternoon – will almost certainly push CRS-18’s launch back a day or two. If not, SpaceX is certainly cutting it close to make the current July 21st date.
In support of Cargo Dragon Commercial Resupply Mission-17 (CRS-17), Falcon 9 B1056 launched for the first time on May 4th, roughly 11 weeks (76 days) ago and 78 days before its planned return to flight. For both SpaceX and NASA, CRS-18 will be a fairly significant launch for a variety of reasons
Falcon2
First and foremost, Falcon 9 B1056 previously supported a NASA Cargo Dragon mission, as described above. Even before the booster successfully landed and returned to port, plans were already in order to essentially keep the booster “in family”, reusing it for NASA launches only. Discussed on Teslarati immediately after the subject was broached during a post-launch press conference, NASA manager Kenny Todd didn’t split hairs.
“Quite frankly, [NASA] had a vested interest in this particular booster. We were gonna require it – the intent is to [reuse B1056 on SpaceX’s upcoming CRS-18 launch] and – potentially – CRS-19.”
Kenny Todd, ISS Operations and Integration Manager, NASA Johnson
Not only will NASA fly Cargo Dragon’s CRS-18 mission on B1056, but the agency is already actively considering reusing the same Falcon 9 booster – assuming a successful launch and landing next week – on CRS-19, SpaceX’s second-to-last Dragon 1 (i.e. Cargo Dragon) launch. If all goes well with CRS-18, CRS-19 could come as early as December 2019, while CRS-20 – likely Dragon 1’s last launch ever – is scheduled no earlier than March 2020 and could certainly make use of B1056.3 if NASA is interested.
Dragon3
Meanwhile, although neither SpaceX or NASA have confirmed it, the Cargo Dragon capsule flight-proven Falcon 9 B1056 will itself be flight-proven – although that’s nothing shocking after a full half-dozen successful launches of reused capsules. What will be exceptional, however, is the likely event that CRS-18 will mark the first time that SpaceX has launched the same Cargo Dragon capsule on its third orbital mission.
Speaking all the way back in summer 2017, now two years distant, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed that Cargo Dragon (Dragon 1) was designed at the outset to be reused three times. Almost exactly 24 months later, SpaceX is likely to prove that that is the case. Based on a list of known Dragon 1 capsules and their serial numbers, SpaceX has already launch and reused all but one of the last seven capsules built and successfully recovered. Capsule 107 (C107) supported CRS-5 in January 2015 and was successfully recovered one month later.
Aside from CRS-7 capsule C109, destroyed in June 2015 during Falcon 9’s first and only in-flight failure, all other capsules (C108-C113) have been successfully launched, recovered, and relaunched. As such, it seems extremely improbable that CRS-5 capsule C107 will be supporting CRS-18. Instead, one of SpaceX’s six twice-flight-proven orbital spacecraft has likely been refurbished for the final time, preparing to become the first orbital-class commercial spacecraft to be reused twice.
Thy Holy Stripe
Finally, it also appears that CRS-18 will mark the debut some sort of on-orbit Falcon upper stage test, hinted at by a grey ring wrapping what looks like just a portion of its fuel (RP-1/kerosene) tank. The objective of this modification is unclear, although chances are good that either NASASpaceflight.com or SpaceX itself will provide at least a bit more information in the coming days.
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Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI, creator of Grok and Grokipedia, celebrates its third birthday
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has marked its third anniversary. The update was shared in a post from the xAI Memphis account on social media platform X.
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
As per xAI, it has built three massive data centers in the city, launched a coherent cluster of 330,000 GBs, created over 3,000 jobs, and paid over $30 million in taxes to local communities.
xAI’s Memphis operation has become a key part of the company’s infrastructure as the company works to train and deploy its Grok artificial intelligence models. Elon Musk has been quite optimistic about Grok’s potential, noting in the past that the large language model might have a shot at achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI).
xAI’s Memphis’ crown jewel is its Colossus supercomputer cluster. The project was announced in 2024 and has since become the home of one of the world’s largest AI compute facilities. The first phase of Colossus reached its initial 100,000 GPU operational milestone in just 122 days, or just about four months.
Industry figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have praised the facility, noting that projects of similar scale typically take two to four years to complete.
xAI has cited Memphis’ central location, skilled workforce, and industrial infrastructure as key reasons for selecting the city as the home of its AI training operations. The company has also emphasized plans to expand the site further as it scales compute capacity for Grok and future AI models.
News
Tesla Sweden’s Megapack Supercharger near Arlanda continues to aggravate IF Metall union
The charging site, located in Arlandastad outside Stockholm, appears to be operating despite ongoing union blockade measures tied to Tesla’s labor dispute in the country.
Tesla Sweden’s Megapack-powered Supercharger station near Arlanda Airport has continued to aggravate Swedish labor union IF Metall. The charging site, located in Arlandastad outside Stockholm, appears to be operating despite ongoing union blockade measures tied to Tesla’s labor dispute in the country.
Comments about the site were shared by IF Metall representatives in remarks to Swedish publication CarUp.
The Arlandastad location includes eight Tesla Superchargers powered by a Megapack battery system. Unlike traditional charging stations that rely on direct grid connections, the site uses a large battery installation to store electricity and power the chargers.
According to the Swedish publication, the setup allowed the station to come online despite sympathy measures from Sweden’s electricians’ union, which has attempted to prevent companies from cooperating with Tesla as part of the broader labor conflict.
IF Metall press manager Jesper Pettersson indicated that the union was not aware that the Superchargers had already been connected and activated.
“We do not know the details around this. But it is further proof of how Tesla systematically finds loopholes to circumvent the sympathy measures through active strikebreaking. Every time this happens it gives us reason to sharpen our conflict measures,” Pettersson said.
Union representatives also noted that the Megapack appears to be charged using electrical cables routed through nearby terrain, though the exact power source remains under review.
The Megapack-powered site has then prompted questions from Swedish labor unions about how electricity is being supplied to the system.
IF Metall has submitted a report to Sweden’s Energy Market Inspectorate asking the regulator to review whether the electricity supply arrangement complies with national regulations. The Megapack is reportedly charged using electricity from a local company, though the provider has not been publicly identified.
Peter Lydell, an ombudsman at IF Metall, previously stated that Swedish law limits electricity trading to companies with proper authorization.
“The legislation states that only companies that engage in electricity trading may supply electricity to other parties. You may not supply electricity without a permit, then you are engaging in illegal electricity trading. That is why we have reported this…
“This is about a company that helps Tesla circumvent the conflict measures that exist. It is clear that it is troublesome and it can also have consequences,” Lydell said.
IF Metall and Tesla Sweden’s conflict has been going on for over two years now.
Elon Musk
Starbase after dark: Musk’s latest photo captures a Spaceport on the brink of history
SpaceX’s Starbase city in Boca Chica, Texas is rapidly transforming the southern tip of the Lone Star State into one of the most ambitious launch complexes in history.
A striking nighttime photograph of SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, shared recently by Elon Musk on X, offers a dramatic glimpse of an operation that is rapidly transforming the southern tip of the Lone Star State into one of the most ambitious launch complexes in history.
The most immediately visible change in the photo is the presence of two fully erected Starship launch towers dominating the coastal skyline. The second orbital launch pad, known as Pad B, now features its fully erected tower, OLIT-3, which stands approximately 474 feet tall and incorporates an integrated water-cooled flame trench designed to minimize damage and reduce turnaround time between launches. The dual-tower silhouette against the night sky signals a decisive shift from experimental testing facility to high-cadence launch operations.
Grok Image concept of Elon Musk’s latest Starbase photo via X
Back at Starbase, Pad 2 is approaching hardware completion, with upgraded chopstick arms, a new chilldown vent system, and all 20 hold-down arms now fitted with protective doors to shield them from the intense exhaust of up to 33 Raptor 3 engines, according to a deeper dive by NASASpaceFlight.
SpaceX has also received approval to nearly double the footprint of the Starbase launch site, with groundwork already underway to add LNG liquefaction plants, expanded propellant storage, and additional ground support infrastructure.
The photo also carries a milestone civic dimension. Starbase officially became a Texas city in May 2025 after a community vote, with SpaceX employees elected as mayor and commissioners of the newly incorporated municipality. That legal status streamlines launch approvals and gives SpaceX direct control over local infrastructure decisions.
The FAA has approved an increase in launches from Starbase in Texas from five to twenty-five per year, clearing the runway for the kind of flight frequency needed to fulfill Starship’s ultimate mission of ferrying cargo and crew to the Moon, servicing the Department of Defense, deploying next-generation Starlink satellites, and eventually establishing Elon Musk’s long sought after goal of a self-sustaining human presence on Mars.
Seen from above in the dark, Starbase looks less like a test site and more like a spaceport.
Elon Musk’s xAI, creator of Grok and Grokipedia, celebrates its third birthday
Tesla Sweden’s Megapack Supercharger near Arlanda continues to aggravate IF Metall union
