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SpaceX on track for fourth Starlink launch in 16 days [webcast]
Update: SpaceX says a Falcon 9 rocket is on track to launch 48 Starlink 4-10 satellites no earlier than 8:45 am EST (13:45 UTC) on Wednesday, March 9th after a one-day delay from March 8th.
Tune in below around 8:30 am EST to watch the mission – SpaceX’s tenth launch of 2022 and fourth Starlink launch in 16 days – live.
Continuing its relentless cadence, SpaceX appears to be on track to launch its fourth batch of Starlink satellites in just over two weeks.
Know as Starlink 4-10 and scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) 9:06 am EST (14:06 UTC) on Tuesday, March 8th, the mission will also be SpaceX’s 10th launch of 2022 – an average of one launch every 6.6 days. SpaceX appears to be fully on track to more or less continue that pace of orbital launches for at least the next month.
Beginning at the end of an unusual launch drought in November 2021, Starlink 4-10 will also be SpaceX’s 18th launch in four months, representing an average of 54 launches per year if sustained for the rest of 2022. Given that SpaceX has now sustained that cadence for more than a third of a year, it’s entirely plausible that the company will actually achieve its goal of weekly missions (i.e. 52 launches) in 2022.
For Starlink 4-10, drone ship A Shortfall Of Gravitas (ASOG) departed Port Canaveral on March 5th, joining drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) – still at sea after recovering a Falcon 9 booster for Starlink 4-9’s March 3rd launch. It’s unknown which Falcon 9 will support SpaceX’s 10th launch of the year but the company has plenty of options in its fleet of 11 flight-proven boosters, four or five of which are theoretically available for the mission. The best candidates are B1051 – on its record-breaking 12th launch – or B1052, a converted Falcon Heavy booster flying as a Falcon 9 for the second time.
Beyond Starlink 4-10, SpaceX reportedly has two more launches scheduled this month. Another Starlink mission (likely Starlink 4-12) could launch as early as mid-March. Axiom-1, Crew Dragon’s second fully private mission, could launch four private astronauts (including three paying customers) to the International Space Station (ISS) on March 30th. SpaceX then has a substantial number of launches scheduled in April 2022, including its Transporter-4 rideshare mission, Crew-4, NROL-85, and one or two O3B mPOWER satellite launches. A Starlink mission or two will likely fill any gaps.
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Elon Musk shed two new bits of detail on Starship following its 13th test launch, which was an overwhelming success.
SpaceX launched Starship for the 13th time last Friday after two delays: one on Monday when several Raptor engines did not ignite, and another on Thursday due to unfavorable weather conditions in Starbase, Texas.
The launch was overwhelmingly successful. SpaceX was able to complete a necessary test of the heat shield tiles by increasing the acceleration of Starship from launch throughout the flight; 20 Starlink v3 satellites were released with no issue; the Super Heavy Booster landed safely in the Gulf of America, Ship successfully reignited engines while in space; and it also splashed down without incident in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
Nevertheless, more details are coming out about Starship, and Musk is doing the talking.
Starship Will Be Retrieved in the Ocean
Musk revealed on Tuesday night that Starship would be recovered by a ship in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX routinely tries to recover Starship after splashdown in an effort to find out more about the flight by examining the spacecraft afterward.
We’re sending a ship out to recover Starship https://t.co/fUqUZTITO9
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 28, 2026
This helps engineers find out more about why things might have happened, allows them to examine any potential damage or anomalies that might have occurred, and increases the chances of an even more successful flight next time thanks to the additional information recovered.
Ship Could Have Been Caught by Tower Arms, Musk claims
Musk has already indicated that SpaceX will plan to attempt a catch of Starship with the 14th test flight. While this would be a major accomplishment, it would be an expected next step, considering the fact that the Super Heavy Booster has already been caught by the chopsticks on numerous occasions.
The ship landing was precise, meaning that it would have been caught by the tower arms https://t.co/6nbNrRfX9P
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
A ship catch would be a great indication of where SpaceX stands in terms of reusability and launch cadence. A successful catch with relatively no incidents would be a good sign that SpaceX is nearing a more frequent launch of Starship, but also that the reusability of the massive rocket would be something many would expect in the near future.
It is a necessity to make life multiplanetary.
Elon Musk has updated his timeline for when humans will walk on Mars and for when ships will simply get there.
The objective of getting to Mars has been one of Musk’s biggest goals since becoming a serial entrepreneur and realizing that time on Earth is limited. Musk has said several times he hopes to die on Mars, and not by impact.
Musk now believes that people will be on Mars in “roughly 5 to 7 years.” He said that a Mars lander will get there “a few years sooner.”
People on Mars in roughly 5 to 7 years.
Mars lander a few years sooner.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2026
The response from Musk comes after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said that SpaceX’s biggest priority is the Moon and not Mars. Because of this, Isaacman conceded that he believes nuclear power and propulsion investments will provide “potentially the pathway with the fewest miracles required to put four people on Mars in the next 10 to 15 years.”
Of course, this is what NASA can do through taxpayer funding and nuclear investments, he added.
Musk’s grand ambitions are much more optimistic than most, and it is certainly a double-edged sword. This is not the first time timelines for Mars have been somewhat lofty, especially to those normal thinkers like you and me, not super geniuses like Musk.
In fact, the SpaceX and Tesla frontman has said on at least a dozen occasions that we could be on Mars in the coming years. Musk said 2020 would be the big year as early as 2009. In 2020, he was “highly confident” of a landing in 2026, and had even said 2024 in a best-case scenario.
The point is, the range has varied, and it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll get there. This latest adjustment to the timeline is typical of Musk, and while the Moon has seemingly taken priority over Mars, it is still worth mentioning that the ultimate goal is to make life multiplanetary, and it starts potentially with the Red Planet.
SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) got an absolutely crazy price target rating from Raymond James after the company experienced a tough first few weeks following its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Despite the tumultuous start, SpaceX has plenty of believers, and the company’s massively successful Starship launch last Friday, its 13th test flight of the massive rocket, went so smoothly that Raymond James analysts pushed its price target on the company to roughly 7 times its current trading level.
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
The firm officially put a “Strong Buy” rating and an $800 price target on the stock. It currently trades at around $113. Its all-time high is $225.64, reaching this trading level shortly after shares first went public.
Raymond James’ price target is tied to the firm’s confidence after Starship’s 13th test flight. Analysts at the firm said it was an incremental step that reduces engineering risks, citing the widely successful heat shield test that CEO Elon Musk recently detailed, the smooth deployment of Starlink V3 satellites, and a successful in-space engine relight.
SpaceX also managed to see Starship splash down safely in the Indian Ocean, while the Super Heavy Booster fell down to the Gulf of America with no incidents.
It is interesting to see these launches have such a tremendous impact on the stock and what investors think of it. After SpaceX initially delayed the Starship launch last week, shares fell tremendously. Most probably did not realize that the stand-down is a standard practice, especially if everything is not perfect.
The mission was initially aborted due to an issue with Raptor engines. This was resolved, and Starship launched last Friday after another delay on Thursday, which was caused by weather.
Now that analysts have seen what SpaceX launches are capable of and how impressive the feat is, firms are adjusting their price targets accordingly, making it known that they have high expectations for the space exploration company.
Elon Musk sheds two new bits of detail on Starship after 13th test launch
Elon Musk updates the SpaceX timeline for Mars
