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Starlink-1 will mark SpaceX's first attempted drone ship landing in more than five months. Starlink-1 will mark SpaceX's first attempted drone ship landing in more than five months.

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SpaceX gives infrared glimpse of Falcon 9 landing after successful Dragon launch

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SpaceX has successfully launched a flight-proven Cargo Dragon spacecraft on its way to the International Space Station (ISS), confirmed just a few minutes after Falcon 9 booster B1056 performed a flawless landing on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY).

Carrying ~2500 kg (5500 lb) of cargo, Dragon will now spend around 48 hours rendezvousing with the ISS and is scheduled to begin berthing operations early Monday morning, May 6th. Safely landed aboard OCISLY, SpaceX’s recovery fleet should be able to return B1056 to Port Canaveral as few as 6-12 hours from now, depending on sea states and the booster’s condition.

https://twitter.com/_TomCross_/status/1124583514593275904

Just a minute or so after B1056 touched down, Falcon 9’s MVac upper stage engine shut down and Cargo Dragon capsule C113 – outfitted with a fresh trunk section – safely separated. The spacecraft then began its own series of on-orbit checkouts, deployed its solar arrays, and armed its 12 Draco maneuvering thrusters.

The CRS-17 spacecraft departed Falcon 9’s upper stage at the crack of orbital dawn and offered a well-lit view of two large payloads in its trunk. (SpaceX)
Cargo Dragon’s solar arrays glow, backlit by orbital sunrise. (SpaceX)

Dragon will spend two days in the rendezvous phase, slightly boosting and tweaking its own orbit until its trajectory more or less intersects the Space Station’s. NASA will offer live coverage of the spacecraft’s ISS arrival, beginning several hours beforehand and tracking through approach, capture, and berthing. Once Dragon is safely attached, ISS’s crew of astronauts can begin unloading the several thousand pounds of internal cargo and prepare to withdraw unpressurized payloads (OCO-3 and STP-H6) from the spacecraft’s trunk.

The first of many

Meanwhile, SpaceX has finally managed to recover one of its Falcon 9 Block 5 boosters after an exceptionally gentle Earth reentry and landing. Soon after its launch debut, B1056 separated from S2 and Dragon and began its boost back to shore at a downright relaxing ~1.6 km/s (Mach 4.7) and an altitude of 65 km (40 mi). For context, SpaceX’s most extreme Falcon booster recovery yet saw Falcon Heavy center core B1055 separate at almost twice the speed of B1056, traveling nearly 3 km/s (Mach 8.7) at an altitude of almost 100 km (62 mi).

SpaceX included a live infrared view of B1056’s landing. Note the extra cold LOX tank and extra hot interstage and landing legs.
B1056 begins its landing burn approximately 30 seconds before touchdown. (SpaceX)
Closer… (SpaceX)
A few seconds prior to touchdown. (SpaceX)

After such a gentle reentry, the Block 5 booster should be in exceptionally good shape and may require just a few weeks of actual refurbishment before its effectively ready for a second launch. Forced to land aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) after a Crew Dragon explosion littered LZ-1 and 2 with debris critical to the failure investigation, B1056 is now just a few dozen kilometers away from Port Canaveral, 10-20x closer than most drone ship recoveries. Assuming a quick and painless stage safing and securing process, the SpaceX fleet could return the Falcon 9 booster to Port Canaveral just hours from now, minimizing exposure to the marine environment and permitting a uniquely speedy recovery from start to finish.

If B1056 looks to be in good shape, the likeliest candidate for its next launch is Cargo Dragon’s CRS-18 mission, scheduled for no earlier than (NET) mid-July. If events do play out as described, B1056 would become the first flight-proven Block 5 booster to fly a NASA mission, an important step in the process of certifying reused rockets for future NASA launches. Ironically, barring significant delays, the US Air Force will actually beat NASA to the punch to become the first US government entity to fly a payload on a flight-proven Block 5 rocket. NET June 22, the USAF STP-2 mission is scheduled to use not one but both of Falcon Heavy Flight 2’s Block 5 side boosters after their successful April 11th launch debut.

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla Semi expands pilot program to Texas logistics firm: here’s what they said

Mone said the Tesla Semi it put into its fleet for this test recorded 1.64 kWh per mile efficiency, beating Tesla’s official 1.7 kWh per mile target and delivering a massive leap over conventional diesel trucks.

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Credit: Mone Transport

Tesla has expanded its Semi pilot program to a new region, as it has made it to Texas to be tested by logistics from Mone Transport. With the Semi entering production this year, Tesla is getting even more valuable data regarding the vehicle and its efficiency, which will help companies cut expenditures.

Mone Transport operates in Texas and on the Southern border, and it specializes in cross-border U.S.-Mexico freight operations. After completing some rigorous testing, Mone shared public results, which stand out when compared to efficiency metrics offered by diesel vehicles.

“Mone Transport recently had the opportunity to put the Tesla Semi to the test, and we’re thrilled with the results! Over 4,700 miles of operations at 1.64 kWh/mile in our Texas operation. We’re committed to providing zero-emission transportation to our customers!” the company said in a post on X.

Mone said the Tesla Semi it put into its fleet for this test recorded 1.64 kWh per mile efficiency, beating Tesla’s official 1.7 kWh per mile target and delivering a massive leap over conventional diesel trucks.

Comparable Class 8 diesel semis, typically achieving 6-7 miles per gallon, consume roughly 5.5 kWh per mile in energy-equivalent terms, meaning the Semi uses three to four times less energy while also producing zero tailpipe emissions.

Tesla Semi undergoes major redesign as dedicated factory preps for deliveries

The performance of the Tesla Semi in Mone Transport’s testing aligns with data from other participants in the pilot program. ArcBest’s ABF Freight Division logged 4,494 miles over three weeks in 2025, averaging 1.55 kWh per mile across varied routes, including a grueling 7,200-foot Donner Pass climb. The truck “generally matched the performance of its diesel counterparts,” the carrier said.

PepsiCo, which operates the largest known Semi fleet, recorded 1.7 kWh per mile in North American Council for Freight Efficiency testing. Additional pilots showed similar gains: DHL hit 1.72 kWh per mile, and Saia achieved 1.73 kWh per mile.

These metrics underscore the Semi’s ability to slash operating costs through superior efficiency, lower maintenance, and zero-emission operation. As charging infrastructure scales and production ramps toward 2026 targets, participants like Mone Transport are proving electric semis can seamlessly integrate into freight networks, accelerating the industry’s shift to sustainable, high-performance trucking.

Tesla continues to prep for a more widespread presence of the Semi in the coming months as it recently launched the first public Semi Megacharger site in Los Angeles. It is working on building out infrastructure for regional runs on the West Coast initially, with plans to expand this to the other end of the country in the coming years.

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SpaceX weighs Nasdaq listing as company explores early index entry: report

The company is reportedly seeking early inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index.

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Credit: SpaceX/X

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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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Credit: The Boring Company/X

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.

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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. 

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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.

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