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SpaceX to squeeze in Falcon 9 Starlink launch before NASA’s Moon rocket debut

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4 years ago

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SpaceX is preparing for at least one more Falcon 9 launch between now and the debut of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Moon rocket, a milestone that could arrive as early as August 29th.

Depending on where the cards ultimately fall, Falcon 9 could launch up to three times between now and NASA’s last firm SLS launch window (September 5th). Multiple sources report that SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 launch – Starlink 4-23 – could occur as early as 10:22 pm EDT, Saturday, August 27th (02:22 UTC 28 August).

On August 23rd, SpaceX decided to transfer the mission from its NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) LC-39A pad to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s (CCASF) LC-40, likely in part because the latter pad is a few extra miles away from LC-39B, where NASA’s first SLS rocket is preparing for flight.

That late change may have been a simple consequence of one pad being more ready than the other was expected to be, but it could have also been driven by an abundance of caution on behalf of SpaceX, NASA, or both. At LC-40, a catastrophic Falcon 9 failure – however unlikely – would be less likely to harm the SLS rocket or Pad 39B than a similar failure at Pad 39A.

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The odds of such a failure have arguably never been lower. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 workhorse recently completed its 143rd consecutively successful launch. By most reasonable measures, that string of successes likely makes Falcon 9 the most statistically reliable US rocket ever flown. SpaceX has also successfully launched 26 astronauts into orbit and returned them to Earth over the last two years. Nevertheless, given the almost $50 billion NASA will have spent on SLS and its Orion spacecraft and launch pad by the time the rocket finally lifts off, even the most extreme attempts to maximize caution could be considered reasonable.

NASA’s SLS rocket rolls to Pad 39B for (hopefully) the third and final time. (Richard Angle)
Starlink 4-23 will be Falcon 9 booster B1069’s second launch. (SpaceX)

If SLS manages to lift off during its first window, which stretches from 8:33 am to 10:33 am EDT (12:33-14:33 UTC) on August 29th, the Moon launch could find itself sandwiched between SpaceX ‘sStarlink 4-23 mission on August 27th and Starlink 3-4 on August 31st. In addition to Starlink 4-23 and 3-4, SpaceX is preparing to launch Starlink 4-20 and at least one rideshare payload no earlier than September 4th. If the first SLS launch somehow misses its first two windows on August 29th and September 2nd, the rocket’s next window of opportunity opens on September 5th.

Emphasizing the potential power of distributed launches once a high launch cadence is achieved, SpaceX’s much smaller Falcon 9 rockets have launched hundreds of tons over the last 12 months – several times more payload than the 95 tons (~210,000 lb) the multi-billion-dollar SLS is designed to launch to low Earth orbit (LEO) in one go. In fact, after Starlink 4-23, SpaceX’s fleet of partially reusable Falcon 9 rockets will have launched around 95 tons of Starlink satellites to LEO (and one South Korean spacecraft to the Moon) in less than six weeks.

Assuming it launches last, Starlink 4-20 (NET Sept 4) will be Falcon 9’s 146th consecutively successful launch and 52nd launch in 52.3 weeks, more or less achieving a 12-month running average of one Falcon 9 launch per week.

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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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Investor's Corner

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

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6 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: Lucid

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.

Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”

Twork said:

Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.

Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.

Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.

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Tesla owner attempts resale of Model S Signature Edition for over $260k

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9 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: Tesla

A Tesla owner who purchased a Model S Signature Edition, one of the final 250 units of the all-electric flagship vehicle that the company discontinued earlier this year, is attempting to sell the car despite a no-resale clause that prohibits reselling for the first year.

The car is being sold by J&S Autohaus in Ewing, New Jersey, and is priced at $260,490, well above the $159,420 that Tesla sold it for earlier this year.

To those who do not know, the Model S Signature was a highly exclusive, limited-run farewell variant of the Model S Plaid that was produced this year to mark the end of production of both the Model S and Model X, Tesla’s two flagship vehicles.

Limited to just 250 units with invite-only sales, it serves as a collector’s item celebrating the legacy of the Model S, which helped pioneer Tesla’s electric vehicle success since its 2012 launch.

It bundles top-tier performance with bespoke cosmetic and luxury upgrades, plus Tesla’s Luxe Package. Here’s what the Model S Signature has over the typical Model S Plaid:

  • Exclusive Exterior – Unique Garnet Red Paint, matching door handles, gold Tesla “T” badges upfront, gold Plaid and Signature badging at the rear.
  • Premium Interior – White Alcantara upholstery with gold piping/accents, gold Plaid seat badges, Signature-marked door sills, individually numbered dashboard plaque, gold puddle lights, special interior lighting sequence, and a custom Signature key fob.
  • Performance Upgrades – Carbon-ceramic brakes with gold calipers
  • Bundled Luxe Package – Full Self-Driving (Supervised), four years of Premium Connectivity, free lifetime Supercharging
  • Performance Metrics – ~1,020 horsepower, sub-2-second 0-60 MPH, ~390-mile range

Tesla quickly introduced a No Resale Agreement for the Signature Editions of the Model S and Model X, which would penalize the seller for “the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater.”

The company continues:

“If you sell or otherwise transfer the ownership of your Model S or Model X, the remainder of the Recommended Maintenance, Wheel and Tire Protection Plan, and Windshield Protection Plan will transfer automatically to the buyer. The Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity will not transfer with the vehicle and will terminate once the ownership of the Model S or Model X is transferred.”

Tesla will likely come after the seller, especially as it has been about two months since Tesla launched deliveries.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Early Impressions: new features and early performance

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13 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.3.5 yesterday, and about fifty miles of driving on the new version has given me enough time to highlight what seems to be strong about the release and what is not.

Additionally, Tesla has added a few new features with this specific update, which we’ll highlight as well.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Performance

The new update is business as usual. Things seem to be running completely normal and necessary, but there are a few things that we’ve seemed to pick up on based on our own experience with v14.3.5, as well as what other users are seeing.

Initially, it seems to be more aware of its surroundings, making moves that are incredibly courteous to other drives and operating just a tad more reserved than what the suite might have done previously.

We had two instances where it showed this, the first being FSD needing to pass a Flagger Force vehicle that was placing down signage for the day. Their work truck was right at the front corner of a right-hand turn; typically where most cars travel when they take that turn.

FSD v14.3.5 recognized this, slowed down, and took the turn wide with no issues:

Additionally, v14.3.5 backed up for a semi truck that was making a wide turn onto a road my car was on. This is not new, but it seemed to be backing up for courtesy; it didn’t seem completely necessary, but it might have put some peace of mind in the truck driver’s head:

X user Mike P, also a Pennsylvania native like myself, shared three clips of his Tesla running v14.3.5 performing similar maneuvers. He said:

“FSD turns right into a small alley that only fits one car at a time, sees oncoming car, reverses out of alley to make space, realizes oncoming car is actually parking, re-enters alley.”
Check it out here:

It seems like Speed Profiles are still in need of some tweaking; I am adjusting what Speed Profile I’m in frequently, constantly changing it to get it to travel at the correct speed. This was an issue for me on v14.3.4. It seems like they’re just a little inconsistent.

Terrible Parking

Parking attempts on v14.3.5 were not good. There are quite a few people who have said this:

David Moss, the Tesla owner who has taken multiple coast-to-coast drives without any interventions, also has had some issues with parking early on with v14.3.5:

New Features

Tesla has added the ability to open Camera Preview at any time. Previously, it was only available in Park. Here’s what that feature looks like in action:

Check back later this week for a longer review of what we’ve noticed on Full Self-Driving v14.3.5.

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