SpaceX
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Block 5 launch debut moved to April 10 to skip storms
SpaceX has decided to move Falcon Heavy’s commercial launch debut 24 hours to the right – from April 9 to 10 – to account for minor processing delays and dodge an unusually severe weather system currently active on the East Coast.
The giant rocket – flying for the first time in its Block 5 configuration – is now scheduled to lift off no earlier than (NET) 6:35 pm EDT (22:35 UTC) on Wednesday, April 10th. This minor delay has been more or less expected by close observers since Falcon Heavy Flight 2’s static fire test was pushed from March 31st to April 5th and is not a cause for concern. Instead, these fairly routine minor slips indicate that the rocket is flowing surprisingly smoothly towards its first commercial launch. In fact, launching on April 10th – five days after a static fire on April 5th – would be routine for Falcon 9, let alone a rocket with three Falcon 9 boosters.
In other words, these minor slips indicate that SpaceX has already managed to more or less transfer its growing experience and confidence with Falcon 9 Block 5 into its brand new Falcon Heavy Block 5 variant. Despite the fact that Falcon Heavy effectively has twice as many major components (three boosters and an upper stage vs. one booster and an upper stage) and uses a center core that is in many ways an entirely different rocket from Falcon 9, the Block 5 rocket’s first launch flow is proceeding as smoothly as SpaceX’s average Falcon 9 flow.
Those average flows typically take 24-48 hours to roll out to the pad and conduct a static fire, followed by an additional 24 or so hours before returning to the hangar. Excluding a few outliers, Falcon 9 Block 5 has typically required four to five days of processing between static fire and the first launch attempt, while the best and worst flows range from 3-10 days. If an observer was unaware that Falcon Heavy was launching, the rocket’s Flight 2 flow would thus be hard to distinguish from its far simpler brethren, suggesting that SpaceX learned a great deal from Falcon Heavy Flight 1 and has been able to communication almost all of the benefits of Block 5 to the triple-booster rocket.
SpaceX can thus retain its exceptionally efficient rocket processing backend, requiring minimal disruption to the rest of its Falcon 9 launch infrastructure and only minor modifications to dual-use hardware and facilities like Pad 39A’s transporter/erector (T/E) and main hangar. In fact, a single-core Falcon 9 booster – B1051 from Crew Dragon’s launch debut – can be seen in the background of Falcon Heavy’s processing, simultaneously undergoing refurbishment and checkouts before it ships West to Vandenberg Air Force Base.
It’s a small detail – both literally and figuratively – but it illustrates that Falcon Heavy integration is already routine enough that there is no need to suspend unrelated activities happening quite literally in the same room. As SpaceX continues to somewhat regularly launch Falcon Heavy, this routinization is likely to continually improve, particularly once the company begins to reuse Falcon Heavy boosters. The first Falcon Heavy-specific booster reuse is scheduled to occur as few as two months after the launch of Arabsat 6A for a USAF mission known as Space Test Program 2 (STP-2).
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Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Elon Musk
NASA watchdog says Starship development delays could affect Artemis timeline
The report noted that several technical milestones still need to be completed before Starship can serve as a crewed lunar lander.
A NASA watchdog report stated that continued development work on SpaceX’s Starship could affect the timeline for the agency’s planned Artemis moon missions. The report noted that several technical milestones still need to be completed before the spacecraft can serve as a crewed lunar lander.
The findings were detailed in a report from NASA’s Office of Inspector General, as noted in a report from Reuters.
NASA selected SpaceX’s Starship in 2021 to serve as the Human Landing System (HLS) for its Artemis lunar program. The vehicle is intended to transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back as part of future Artemis missions.
According to the watchdog report, Starship’s development has experienced roughly two years of schedule delays compared to earlier expectations. Still, NASA is targeting 2028 for the first crewed lunar landing using the Starship lander.
One of the most significant technical milestones for Starship’s lunar missions is in-space refueling.
To support a crewed lunar landing, multiple Starship launches will be required to deliver propellant to orbit. Tanker versions of Starship will transfer fuel to a storage depot spacecraft, which will then refuel the lunar lander.
The report noted that this approach could require more than 10 Starship launches to fully refuel the spacecraft needed for a single lunar landing mission.
NASA officials indicated that demonstrating cryogenic propellant transfer in orbit remains one of the most important technical steps before Starship can be certified for lunar missions.
SpaceX has conducted 11 Starship test flights since 2023 as the company continues developing the fully reusable launch system. A 12th test flight, this time featuring Starship V3, is expected to be held in early April.
Elon Musk
SpaceX weighs Nasdaq listing as company explores early index entry: report
The company is reportedly seeking early inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index.
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.
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.
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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