Connect with us

SpaceX

SpaceX snags second Falcon 9 booster in two weeks after Crew Dragon launch

Falcon 9 B1051 returned to Port Canaveral for the first time aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You on March 5th. (Pauline Acalin)

Published

on

SpaceX and the company’s drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) have successfully wrapped up their second Falcon 9 recovery in less than two weeks, bringing booster B1051 back to Port Canaveral to be broken over and refurbished for a second launch.

Following its support of Crew Dragon’s thus far flawless launch debut, the booster will likely be exceptionally easy to turn around for its next flight. That second launch could occur as early as late April for Cargo Dragon’s 17th mission, a consequence of NASA’s desire to keep its SpaceX missions on boosters that are ‘in family‘ (i.e. only new boosters or flight-proven boosters that have only launched NASA payloads).

https://twitter.com/_TomCross_/status/1102944003358687232

Although B1051’s reentry profile was relatively slow and gentle with main engine cut-off (MECO) and booster separation occurring at ~1.9 km/s (4250 mph) and 85 km (53 mi), its recovery was made intriguingly difficult by high seas at drone ship OCISLY’s Atlantic Ocean station. These bad conditions were readily visible at several points during SpaceX’s DM-1 livestream, with OCISLY heeling several degrees as the Falcon 9 booster’s Merlin 1D engine lit up the surrounding area like a floodlight. In fact, B1051’s post-landing struggle could actually be seen live as the booster clearly slide several meters across the drone ship’s deck almost immediately after touching down.

This issue of boosters sliding about and generally being difficult to deal with is actually one of the leading motivations that lead to SpaceX developing Octagrabber, a tank-like robot used to remotely secure recovery Falcon 9 first stages while minimizing the risk to the recovery team. In a situation like DM-1, with B1051 already sliding around OCISLY’s deck immediately after a night landing, Octagrabber would nominally be remotely activated and controlled, crawling from its garage to grab Falcon 9’s hold-down clamps and secure the stage with its own weight.

It’s actually unclear whether Octagrabber is capable of this sort of remote operation without SpaceX technicians aboard OCISLY, nor if SpaceX – as of late – has even tried to attempt to secure Falcon 9 boosters at night. The process of transferring crew between ships in heavy seas is actually quite dangerous on its own, so it would be less than surprising to hear that SpaceX’s recovery managers have cut down on nighttime operations in bad weather if Octagrabber can only be operated with crew present on OCISLY. For B1051, the drone ship, a tugboat, and crew boat GO Quest remained in the vicinity of the landing target until the following morning (still March 2nd) before beginning the ~500 km (~300 mi) trek back to Port Canaveral. Greeted by moody low-hanging clouds and scattered showers, observers were actually able to capture the rare sight – as pictured above – of Octagrabber being driven back into its blast shield/garage.

Regardless, future Commercial Crew launches – aside, perhaps, from SpaceX’s second demonstration launch (DM-2) later this year – will likely be able perform return-to-launch-site (RTLS) landings at the company’s Florida landing zones, much like Falcon 9 boosters already do after Cargo Dragon (CRS) missions. According to VP of Mission Assurance Hans Koenigsmann, B1051 had to conduct a drone ship (ASDS) recovery at sea due to NASA’s desire for conservative performance reserves to guard against the potential (and extremely unlikely) failure of one or several Merlin engines during the launch’s boost stage. In 2012, Falcon 9 suffered its first and only (known) in-flight Merlin failure, an anomaly which the rocket’s autonomously avionics perfectly dealt with to save the primary mission (Cargo Dragon’s operational debut, CRS-1). A secondary Orbcomm communications satellite sadly failed to make it to its operational orbit, however, classifying the mission as a partial failure. More recently, there have been unconfirmed hints pointing to other potential in-flight Merlin 1D failures, albeit during booster recovery attempts instead of the main boost phase. Whether or not those anomalies actually occurred, NASA is clearly all about extreme conservatism and ‘safety first’ approaches for the Commercial Crew Program (or at least SpaceX’s side of it).

Advertisement

SpaceX’s successful recovery of B1051 marks the company’s third launch and landing of 2019, thus far averaging a relatively slow one mission per month. While schedules can change, it currently appears that Crew Dragon’s DM-1 orbital debut will be the only SpaceX launch in March, barring Falcon Heavy’s own commercial debut occurring in the last few days of the month. According to a SpaceX representative speaking earlier this year, the company is actually aiming to equal or even surpass its 2018 record – 21 launches – in 2019, requiring a minimum average of two launches per month for the remainder of the year.

Numbers aside, SpaceX’s 2019 calendar will undoubtedly aim to surpass the number of major company milestones in a single year, a hard act to follow after 2017 and 2018. Ranging from the first operational Starlink satellite launches and the first SpaceX launch with astronauts aboard to major flight test and developmental milestones for the company’s next-gen Starship spaceship and Super Heavy booster, there are an incredible wealth of events to look forward to.


Check out Teslarati’s newsletters for prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket launch and recovery processes

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.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

SpaceX IPO could push Elon Musk’s net worth past $1 trillion: Polymarket

The estimates were shared by the official Polymarket Money account on social media platform X.

Published

on

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Recent projections have outlined how a potential $1.75 trillion SpaceX IPO could generate historic returns for early investors. The projections suggest the offering would not only become the largest IPO in history but could also result in unprecedented windfalls for some of the company’s key investors.

The estimates were shared by the official Polymarket Money account on social media platform X.

As noted in a Polymarket Money analysis, Elon Musk invested $100 million into SpaceX in 2002 and currently owns approximately 42% of the company. At a $1.75 trillion valuation following SpaceX’s potential $1.75 trillion IPO, that stake would be worth roughly $735 billion.

Such a figure would dramatically expand Musk’s net worth. When combined with his holdings in Tesla Inc. and other ventures, a public debut at that level could position him as the world’s first trillionaire, depending on market conditions at the time of listing.

Advertisement

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index currently lists Elon Musk with a net worth of $666 billion, though a notable portion of this is tied to his TSLA stock. Tesla currently holds a market cap of $1.51 trillion, and Elon Musk’s currently holds about 13% to 15% of the company’s outstanding common stock.

Founders Fund, co-founded by Peter Thiel, invested $20 million in SpaceX in 2008. Polymarket Money estimates the firm owns between 1.5% and 3% of the private space company. At a $1.75 trillion valuation, that range would translate to approximately $26.25 billion to $52.5 billion in value.

That return would represent one of the most significant venture capital outcomes in modern Silicon Valley history, with a growth of 131,150% to 262,400%.

Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, invested $900 million into SpaceX in 2015 and is estimated to hold between 6% and 7% of the private space firm. At the projected IPO valuation, that stake could be worth between $105 billion and $122.5 billion. That’s a growth of 11,566% to 14,455%.

Advertisement

Other major backers highlighted in the post include Fidelity Investments, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, Bank of America, and Andreessen Horowitz, each potentially sitting on multibillion-dollar gains.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

SpaceX considering confidential IPO filing this March: report

The filing could pave the way for a June listing at a valuation that may exceed $1.75 trillion.

Published

on

Credit: SpaceX/X

SpaceX is reportedly preparing to confidentially file for an initial public offering (IPO) as soon as March. The filing could pave the way for a June listing at a valuation that may exceed $1.75 trillion, potentially making it the largest IPO in history.

The update was initially reported by Bloomberg News, which cited information shared by people reportedly familiar with the matter. 

As per the publication, a confidential filing allows a company to receive regulatory feedback before publicly releasing its financials. Bloomberg’s source, however, noted that the timing of SpaceX’s IPO is still under discussion and plans could change.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Advertisement

A March submission would mark the clearest step yet toward bringing Elon Musk’s private space company into public markets. People familiar with the preparations said the offering could raise as much as $50 billion. That would surpass the $29 billion debut of Saudi Aramco in 2019, currently the largest IPO on record.

Major banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America Corp. are reportedly positioned for senior roles in the transaction. SpaceX is also said to be considering a dual-class structure that would allow insiders, including Musk, to retain enhanced voting control.

Satellite communications provider EchoStar Corp., which holds a stake in SpaceX, reportedly saw its shares rise following news of the potential filing.

At a valuation exceeding $1.75 trillion, SpaceX would immediately have a larger market cap than all but five of the companies traded in the S&P 500 index. That figure would place it ahead of Meta Platforms Inc. and Tesla Inc. by market capitalization, trailing only a small group of mega-cap firms such as Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Advertisement

The scale of the proposed valuation reflects SpaceX’s dominance in orbital launch services and its Starlink satellite network, which serves millions of users globally. The company has also outlined long-term expansion plans tied to higher Starship launch cadence, orbital infrastructure, and lunar development initiatives.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt

Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.

Published

on

Credit: SpaceX/X

Elon Musk has clarified when SpaceX will first attempt to catch Starship’s upper stage with its launch tower. The CEO’s update provides the clearest teaser yet for the spacecraft’s recovery roadmap.

Musk shared the details in recent posts on X. In his initial post, Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.

“Starship V3 SN1 headed for ground tests. I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability,” Musk wrote.

In a follow-up post, Musk addressed when SpaceX would attempt to catch the upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms. 

Advertisement

“Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low,” Musk clarified. 

His remarks suggest that SpaceX is deliberately reducing risk before attempting a tower catch of Starship’s upper stage. Such a milestone would mark a major step towards the full reuse of the Starship system.

SpaceX is currently targeting the first Starship V3 flight of 2026 this coming March. The spacecraft’s V3 iteration is widely viewed as a key milestone in SpaceX’s long-term strategy to make Starship fully reusable. 

Starship V3 features a number of key upgrades over its previous iterations. The vehicle is equipped with SpaceX’s Raptor V3 engines, which are designed to deliver significantly higher thrust than earlier versions while reducing cost and weight. 

Advertisement

The V3 design is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability, a critical step if SpaceX intends to scale the spacecraft’s production toward frequent launches for Starlink, lunar missions, and eventually Mars. 

Continue Reading