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SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink launch eyes two reusability milestones as new satellite details emerge

Falcon 9 B1048, a fresh upper stage, and 60 Starlink satellites went vertical and LC-40 on November 10th. (SpaceX)

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SpaceX is set for Falcon 9’s first orbital launch in more than three months. Known as Starlink-1, the mission will launch the company’s heaviest satellite payload ever and feature an impressive array of Falcon 9 booster and fairing reusability milestones.

Flatsat stack

Prior to Falcon 9 going vertical on the launch pad, SpaceX technicians had to construct and encapsulate a massive stack of 60 Starlink satellites, each weighing more than 260 kg (570 lb) apiece. This is the second time SpaceX has launched sixty of the advanced spacecraft, although the satellites that will launch on Starlink-1 feature a number of upgrades and refinements not present on the Starlink v0.9 satellites that launched in May 2019.

Without an identical angle from the Starlink v0.9 mission to compare against, it’s difficult to immediately point out visual differences between v0.9 and v1.0 spacecraft. Still, there are some clear general changes. Most notably, SpaceX appears to have dramatically reduced the area of shiny, metallic surfaces. Additionally, the small downward-facing dishes just left of center in the above image were not obviously present on Starlink v0.9 satellites or SpaceX’s official renders.

A general overview of Starlink’s bus, launch stack, and solar array. (SpaceX)
60 Starlink v0.9 satellites are prepared for orbital launch debut in May 2019. (SpaceX)

Those new dishes could be traditional dish antennas meant to serve as a more basic telemetry, tracking, and command (TTC) communications link for ground controllers. They could even be a prototype of Starlink’s planned inter-satellite laser data links. Regardless, it’s obvious that SpaceX is continuing its preferred cycle of rapid prototyping, flight-testing, and data-based refinement with Starlink.

SpaceX is also focused on dramatically lowering the albedo (reflectivity) of Starlink satellites and working closely with the astronomy and astrophysics communities to minimize any disruption the spacecraft might cause for scientific observations of the night sky. For any part that will be ground-facing during routine operations, this likely involves replacing shiny surfaces with matte finishes and adding dark or non-reflective coatings/insulation where possible, among other potential tweaks.

The more milestones, the merrier

Beyond the many apparent satellite upgrades Starlink-1 is set to debut, the mission will also mark no less than three (or possibly even four) reusability milestones. Falcon 9 booster B1048 has been selected by SpaceX to support Starlink-1 and has already completed three successful orbital-class missions since it debuted in July 2018. Assuming all goes well, B1048 will thus become the first SpaceX booster to launch (and land) four times, an excellent – if increasingly unsurprising – step forward for Falcon 9’s Block 5 upgrade. Falcon 9 B1048 will attempt its fourth landing – this time on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) – shortly after launch.

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Designed to enable up to 10 reuses of each Falcon booster, the successful completion of Starlink-1 will place Block 5 just one reuse away from the halfway point to proving its 10-reuse design. While Block 5 has yet to materialize any tangible improvements in booster turnaround time, an imminent ramp in Starlink launch cadence will hopefully give SpaceX plenty of opportunities to start making progress on that front.

Starlink-1 is also set to mark the inaugural launch of a flight-proven Falcon 9 fairing, essentially putting a bow on the bulk of SpaceX’s challenging fairing recovery and reusability development. Unintuitively, Starlink-1’s fairing previously supported Falcon Heavy Block 5’s April 209 launch debut, meaning that both halves traveled both faster and higher than any halves that previously attempted recovery.

Simultaneously, both halves splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean with no attempt to catch them, meaning that SpaceX has apparently successfully refurbished the fairings despite the fact that their recovery was more or less the worst-case scenario.

SpaceX’s first-ever flight-proven Falcon fairing sits a thrice-flown Falcon 9 booster on November 10th. (SpaceX)

Last but not least, Starlink-1 will also mark the first time SpaceX’s just-finished fairing recovery ship GO Ms. Chief attempts to catch a Falcon 9 fairing, as well as the first time two fairing recovery ships – Ms. Tree & Ms. Chief – attempt to catch both halves of a Falcon fairing after launch. The twin recovery vessels departed Port Canaveral, Florida a few days ago and arrived at their recovery point ~750 km (460 mi) downrange on November 10th.

Finally, thanks to the fact that Falcon 9’s fairing is flight-proven, Starlink-1 will additionally feature the first attempted recovery (catch or splashdown) of a flight-proven Falcon fairing. SpaceX could scarcely fit in another milestone if it wanted to go out of its way to do so.

GO Ms. Chief departs Port Canaveral on October 23rd for some of her first sea trials after net installation. (Richard Angle)
Greg Scott captured the first-ever view of both SpaceX fairing recovery ships – Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief – departing Port Canaveral for sea trials. (Greg Scott)

Falcon 9 is scheduled to lift off no earlier than 9:56 am ET (14:56 UTC), November 11th. Weather is 80% GO and SpaceX has a backup launch window around the same time on November 12th with a 70%-favorable weather forecast.

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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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Xiaomi CEO congratulates Tesla on first FSD delivery: “We have to continue learning!”

Xiaomi has become one of Tesla’s strongest rivals in China.

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Credit: Tesla/X

Just days after unveiling the Xiaomi YU7, a vehicle that is considered as the Model Y’s strongest competitor yet, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun gave a nod of respect to Tesla and its Full Self-Driving (FSD) program. 

In a post on Weibo, Lei Jun highlighted the remarkable nature of Tesla’s first autonomous delivery. He also acknowledged that Xiaomi still has much to learn in the electric vehicle industry.

Xiaomi CEO’s Nod of Respect

Lei Jun’s comments about Tesla’s FSD delivery were shared as a response to Tesla VP Grace Tao’s post about the recent feat. The Tesla VP shared several key aspects of the delivery, from the fact that there was no driver in the Model Y to the vehicle reaching over 70 mph as it drove to its owner. 

“For the first time in history, the vehicle was delivered to the owner by itself. There was no driver or remote control throughout the journey, and the maximum speed reached 115 kilometers per hour, and it arrived safely at the customer’s door. This is a brand new Model Y. Tesla always surpasses imagination with disruptive innovation. A new era, exciting!” Tao wrote in her post.

In his response, the Xiaomi CEO acknowledged Tesla’s incredible feat. “Tesla is indeed amazing, leading the industry trends in many areas, especially FSD. We still have to continue learning!” he wrote.

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Xiaomi’s Recent Tesla Competitor

The Xiaomi CEO’s comments show that Tesla’s projects and leadership garner a lot of respect in the global electric vehicle sector. While Tesla and Elon Musk tend to be media punching bags in the United States and Europe, the company and its CEO seem to be taken very seriously in China. This was despite China being the world’s most competitive electric vehicle market.

Xiaomi itself has become one of Tesla’s strongest rivals in China, with its first car, the SU7, bringing the fight to the Tesla Model 3. Its most recent vehicle, the YU7, could very well be the Model Y’s most legitimate rival yet, as it is more affordable, bigger, and more feature-laden than Tesla’s best-selling crossover. The YU7 has garnered quite a lot of attention, with Xiaomi receiving 200,000 firm orders for the vehicle within the first three minutes of its launch.

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Tesla silences FSD critics by posting full video of Model Y delivering itself to customer

When Elon Musk posted that the first Tesla had delivered itself to its owner, critics were quick to question his statement.

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Credit: Tesla/X

It is no secret that Tesla still has ardent critics today, many of whom remain convinced that the company and its leadership are lying about Full Self-Driving (FSD) and its capabilities. It was then no surprise that when Elon Musk announced that the first Tesla had successfully delivered itself to its owner, critics were quick to question the CEO’s statement.

Videos of the all-electric crossover’s solo drive to its owner soon silenced Tesla critics and their claims.

Tesla Posts FSD Video Proof—Twice

While Musk’s post on X about a Tesla delivering itself to a consumer was a notable update, his claims were not accompanied by any video. This was taken by some Tesla critics as a hint that the CEO’s claims were false, and that the feat probably did not happen. Musk, for his part, noted that Tesla would soon be posting a video of the self-driving car’s drive to its owner.

The electric vehicle community did not have to wait very long. Tesla later posted a video of its first autonomous vehicle delivery ever on X, much to the shock of social media users. As could be seen in the video, a Tesla Model Y was able to travel about 30 minutes on its own, from the end of Giga Texas’ production line to the home of its owner, several miles away. Tesla even posted the vehicle’s full 30-minute drive on its official X account later on. 

Critics Are Still Skeptical, But It’s Cope at this Point

Of course, Tesla skeptics remained unconvinced that the feat was legitimate, with some pointing out that the Model Y customer seems to have had an X account for years but never posted, at least until his car was delivered. Others also claimed that the whole setup seemed suspicious since the Model Y looked like it had manufacturer plates as it navigated Austin’s streets.

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These concerns, however, do not seem like very strong arguments, especially at this point. Based on the evidence, it seems like Tesla really has figured out autonomous driving, and its cars are now able to operate safely on real-world roads on their own. Many have also become silent in their criticisms of Tesla’s FSD feat, especially after the company posted the full video of the Model Y’s autonomous drive. Overall, Tesla critics may remain doubtful about the company and Musk’s claims, but these concerns seem to have become forced at best.

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Ford CEO favors Waymo’s LiDAR approach over Tesla’s vision-only self-driving

Farley stated that Waymo’s LiDAR-based approach made “more sense.”

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Credit: Jim Farley/X

Ford CEO Jim Farley shared some skepticism about Tesla’s camera-only approach to self-driving during a recent appearance at the Aspen Ideas Festival. When asked to compare Waymo and Tesla’s autonomous driving systems, Farley stated that Waymo’s LiDAR-based approach made “more sense,” citing safety, consumer trust, and the limitations of camera-based models.

Waymo’s LiDAR vs. Tesla’s Vision-Only Approach

Farley was speaking with author Walter Isaacson when he made his comments about Tesla and Waymo’s self-driving systems. As they were conversing about autonomous cars, Isaacson asked Farley which approach to self-driving he preferred.

“To us, Waymo,” Farley said, though he also stated that both Tesla and Waymo have “ made a lot of of progress” on self-driving, as noted in a Fortune report. He also confirmed that he has had conversations about the matter with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Despite this, he said that Ford still considers LiDAR as a pivotal part of autonomous driving. 

“When you have a brand like Ford, when there’s a new technology, you have to be really careful. We really believe that LiDAR is mission critical… Where the camera will be completely blinded, the LiDAR system will see exactly what’s in front of you,” the Ford CEO stated. 

Tesla and Ford’s self-driving plans

Tesla recently launched a limited Robotaxi service in Austin, which uses autonomous cars with safety monitors in the front passenger seat. While controversial, Musk has maintained that Tesla’s vision-only approach will ultimately prove safer and more cost-effective in the long term. Tesla seems to be making headway towards this goal, with Musk stating recently that the first Model Y has been delivered autonomously to a customer in Austin.

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Ford, for his part, is not pursuing its own fully autonomous, urban-driving system anymore. Instead, the company is focusing on “high-speed, eyes-off” experiences like BlueCruise. Ford does plan to partner with a company that has achieved true autonomous driving in the future, as soon as the technology is available.

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