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(Update: delayed) SpaceX fires up Falcon 9 for second Starlink launch this month
Update: SpaceX has delayed Falcon 9’s Starlink-20 to no earlier than (NET) 3:13 am EST (08:13 UTC) on Thursday, March 11th to allow “additional time for pre-launch checks.”
SpaceX is on track to launch its second Starlink mission this month after successfully completing an increasingly rare Falcon 9 static fire test at the launch pad.
B1058, the flight-proven Falcon 9 booster assigned to the mission, famously became the first privately-developed rocket to launch astronauts back in May 2020 and has completed another four commercial launches in the nine months since. Likely motivated by an abundance of caution after a Falcon 9 booster lost an engine mid-flight and subsequently failed its landing attempt last month, SpaceX chose to perform a static fire test prior to Falcon 9 B1058’s sixth launch, loading the rocket with liquid kerosene and oxygen and briefly igniting all nine of its engines.
Completed without apparent issue and putting on an exceptional show in the process, that static fire has allowed SpaceX to clear the Falcon 9 rocket and 20th batch of Starlink v1.0 satellites (Starlink-20) for a launch attempt at 9:58 pm EST (UTC-5) on Tuesday, March 9th.
Finally out from under the looming spectre of Starlink-17, possibly the most repeatedly delayed launch in SpaceX history, the company is clearly eager to get back to work and make up for a (relatively) slow two-launch February. According to CEO Elon Musk, SpaceX is chasing an ambitious target of 48 launches in 2021, requiring an average of four launches per month.
A bit less than ten weeks into the new year, SpaceX has completed six launches – nothing to scoff at but still a third short of the nine launches the company would need to have averaged. To still hit that 48-flight target by the end of the year, SpaceX will now need to launch at least once per week for the next 42 weeks.
On the plus side, SpaceX’s 48-launch target firmly puts the company in the “shoot for the Moon, land among the stars” range. Even if it has a few rough months, “falling short” could still equate to an annual launch cadence in the high 30s to low 40s – still an extraordinarily feat and major improvement over SpaceX’s already impressive 26-launch record.
Not long after Falcon 9 B1058’s March 9th Starlink-20 mission, SpaceX has already scheduled a third Starlink launch – Starlink-21 – no earlier than (NET) March 13th, and at least two additional batches of spacecraft are ready to launch in the second half of the month pending launch pad and rocket availability.
Tune in below around 9:40 pm EST (02:40 UTC) to catch the seventh orbital SpaceX launch of the year live.
Elon Musk
Starlink achieves major milestones in 2025 progress report
Starlink wrapped up 2025 with impressive growth, adding more than 4.6 million new active customers and expanding service to 35 additional countries, territories, and markets.
Starlink wrapped up 2025 with impressive growth, adding more than 4.6 million new active customers and expanding service to 35 additional countries, territories, and markets. The company also completed deployment of its first-generation Direct to Cell constellation, launching over 650 satellites in just 18 months to enable cellular connectivity.
SpaceX highlighted Starlink’s impressive 2025 progress in an extensive report.
Key achievements from Starlink’s 2025 Progress
Starlink connected over 4.6 million new customers with high-speed internet while bringing service to 35 more regions worldwide in 2025. Starlink is now connecting 9.2 million people worldwide. The service achieved this just weeks after hitting its 8 million customer milestone.
Starlink is now available in 155 markets, including areas that are unreachable by traditional ISPs. As per SpaceX, Starlink has also provided over 21 million airline passengers and 20 million cruise passengers with reliable high-speed internet connectivity during their travels.
Starlink Direct to Cell
Starlink’s Direct to Cell constellation, more than 650 satellites strong, has already connected over 12 million people at least once, marking a breakthrough in global mobile coverage.
Starlink Direct to Cell is currently rolled out to 22 countries and 6 continents, with over 6 million monthly customers. Starlink Direct to Cell also has 27 MNO partners to date.
“This year, SpaceX completed deployment of the first generation of the Starlink Direct to Cell constellation, with more than 650 satellites launched to low-Earth orbit in just 18 months. Starlink Direct to Cell has connected more than 12 million people, and counting, at least once, providing life-saving connectivity when people need it most,” SpaceX wrote.
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Tesla Giga Nevada celebrates production of 6 millionth drive unit
To celebrate the milestone, the Giga Nevada team gathered for a celebratory group photo.
Tesla’s Giga Nevada has reached an impressive milestone, producing its 6 millionth drive unit as 2925 came to a close.
To celebrate the milestone, the Giga Nevada team gathered for a celebratory group photo.
6 million drive units
The achievement was shared by the official Tesla Manufacturing account on social media platform X. “Congratulations to the Giga Nevada team for producing their 6 millionth Drive Unit!” Tesla wrote.
The photo showed numerous factory workers assembled on the production floor, proudly holding golden balloons that spelled out “6000000″ in front of drive unit assembly stations. Elon Musk gave credit to the Giga Nevada team, writing, “Congrats on 6M drive units!” in a post on X.
Giga Nevada’s essential role
Giga Nevada produces drive units, battery packs, and energy products. The facility has been a cornerstone of Tesla’s scaling since opening, and it was the crucial facility that ultimately enabled Tesla to ramp the Model 3 and Model Y. Even today, it serves as Tesla’s core hub for battery and drivetrain components for vehicles that are produced in the United States.
Giga Nevada is expected to support Tesla’s ambitious 2026 targets, including the launch of vehicles like the Tesla Semi and the Cybercab. Tesla will have a very busy 2026, and based on Giga Nevada’s activities so far, it appears that the facility will be equally busy as well.
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Tesla Supercharger network delivers record 6.7 TWh in 2025
The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network had its biggest year ever in 2025, delivering a record 6.7 TWh of electricity to vehicles worldwide.
To celebrate its busy year, the official @TeslaCharging account shared an infographic showing the Supercharger Network’s growth from near-zero in 2012 to this year’s impressive milestone.
Record 6.7 TWh delivered in 2025
The bar chart shows steady Supercharger energy delivery increases since 2012. Based on the graphic, the Supercharger Network started small in the mid-2010s and accelerated sharply after 2019, when the Model 3 was going mainstream.
Each year from 2020 onward showed significantly more energy delivery, with 2025’s four quarters combining for the highest total yet at 6.7 TWh.
This energy powered millions of charging sessions across Tesla’s growing fleet of vehicles worldwide. The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets. This makes the Supercharger Network loved not just by Tesla owners but EV drivers as a whole.
Resilience after Supercharger team changes
2025’s record energy delivery comes despite earlier 2024 layoffs on the Supercharger team, which sparked concerns about the system’s expansion pace. Max de Zegher, Tesla Director of Charging North America, also highlighted that “Outside China, Superchargers delivered more energy than all other fast chargers combined.”
Longtime Tesla owner and FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog noted the achievement as proof of continued momentum post-layoffs. At the time of the Supercharger team’s layoffs in 2024, numerous critics were claiming that Elon Musk was halting the network’s expansion altogether, and that the team only remained because the adults in the room convinced the juvenile CEO to relent.
Such a scenario, at least based on the graphic posted by the Tesla Charging team on X, seems highly implausible.
Starlink achieves major milestones in 2025 progress report
Tesla Giga Nevada celebrates production of 6 millionth drive unit
