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
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.
Elon Musk
Starbase after dark: Musk’s latest photo captures a Spaceport on the brink of history
SpaceX’s Starbase city in Boca Chica, Texas is rapidly transforming the southern tip of the Lone Star State into one of the most ambitious launch complexes in history.
A striking nighttime photograph of SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, shared recently by Elon Musk on X, offers a dramatic glimpse of an operation that is rapidly transforming the southern tip of the Lone Star State into one of the most ambitious launch complexes in history.
The most immediately visible change in the photo is the presence of two fully erected Starship launch towers dominating the coastal skyline. The second orbital launch pad, known as Pad B, now features its fully erected tower, OLIT-3, which stands approximately 474 feet tall and incorporates an integrated water-cooled flame trench designed to minimize damage and reduce turnaround time between launches. The dual-tower silhouette against the night sky signals a decisive shift from experimental testing facility to high-cadence launch operations.
Grok Image concept of Elon Musk’s latest Starbase photo via X
Back at Starbase, Pad 2 is approaching hardware completion, with upgraded chopstick arms, a new chilldown vent system, and all 20 hold-down arms now fitted with protective doors to shield them from the intense exhaust of up to 33 Raptor 3 engines, according to a deeper dive by NASASpaceFlight.
SpaceX has also received approval to nearly double the footprint of the Starbase launch site, with groundwork already underway to add LNG liquefaction plants, expanded propellant storage, and additional ground support infrastructure.
The photo also carries a milestone civic dimension. Starbase officially became a Texas city in May 2025 after a community vote, with SpaceX employees elected as mayor and commissioners of the newly incorporated municipality. That legal status streamlines launch approvals and gives SpaceX direct control over local infrastructure decisions.
The FAA has approved an increase in launches from Starbase in Texas from five to twenty-five per year, clearing the runway for the kind of flight frequency needed to fulfill Starship’s ultimate mission of ferrying cargo and crew to the Moon, servicing the Department of Defense, deploying next-generation Starlink satellites, and eventually establishing Elon Musk’s long sought after goal of a self-sustaining human presence on Mars.
Seen from above in the dark, Starbase looks less like a test site and more like a spaceport.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk shares updated Starship V3 maiden launch target date
The comment was posted on Musk’s official account on social media platform X.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared a brief Starship V3 update in a post on social media platform X, stating the next launch attempt of the spacecraft could take place in about four weeks.
The comment was posted on Musk’s official account on social media platform X.
Musk’s update suggests that Starship Flight 12 could target a launch around early April, though the schedule will depend on several remaining milestones at SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility in Texas.
Among the key steps is testing and certification of the site’s new launch tower, launch mount, and tank farm systems. These upgrades will support the next generation of Starship vehicles.
Booster 19 is expected to roll to the launch site and be placed on the launch mount before returning to the production facility to receive its 33 Raptor engines. The booster would then return for a static fire test, which could mark the first time a Super Heavy booster equipped with Raptor V3 engines is fired on the pad.
Ship 39 is expected to undergo a similar preparation process. The vehicle will likely return to the production site to receive its six engines before heading to Massey’s test site for static fire testing.
Once both stages are prepared, the booster and ship will roll out to the launch site for the first full stack of a V3 Super Heavy and V3 Starship. A full wet dress rehearsal is expected to follow before any launch attempt.
Elon Musk has previously shared how SpaceX plans to eventually recover Starship’s upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms. Musk noted that the company will only attempt to catch the Starship spacecraft after two successful soft landings in the ocean. The approach is intended to reduce risk before attempting a recovery over land.
“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 wrote in a post on X.
Such a milestone would represent a major step toward the full reuse of the Starship system, which remains a central goal for SpaceX’s long-term launch strategy.
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