News
SpaceX on track to launch four rockets next month despite Falcon Heavy delays
Despite the intense focus on SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy launch attempt and the testing preceding it, SpaceX is still a functioning business, and that business lies in launching payloads into Earth orbit. While it appears that January is unlikely to see any additional SpaceX launches, particularly Falcon Heavy, the launch company’s February manifest appears to be rapidly firming up.
Perhaps most significantly, two geostationary communications satellites completed their long journeys to Cape Canaveral, Florida within the last week or so, and a third payload on the West Coast is presumed to be at Vandenberg Air Force Base, all preparing for February launches. Meanwhile, although it is unclear how close Falcon Heavy is to launching, a date in mid to late February appears realistic at this point. As such, SpaceX has at least three and maybe four missions concretely planned for February – concrete in the sense that three of them were given specific launch dates within the last week.
Falcon Heavy is now targeting Friday, January 19 for its first static fire test. (Tom Cross/Teslarati)
A return to stride
Following a halcyon year of 18 launches, SpaceX appears to be ready to tackle its manifest headfirst after a relatively relaxed start to 2018. January saw a single SpaceX launch, Zuma, as well as the ongoing series of tests of the first completed Falcon Heavy launch vehicle, although the big rocket’s launch date has likely already slipped into February at the earliest. Still, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 workhorse rocket is rearing for additional launches, and options abound.
GovSat-1 (SES-16) – NET late January 2018
First on the docket is the launch of GovSat-1/SES-16, a public-private partnership between Luxembourg’s government and the renowned Lux.-based satellite manufacturer and operator, SES. Similar to Hispasat, GovSat-1 is a geostationary communications satellite weighing around 4000 kg that will be placed in a geostationary transfer orbit by Falcon 9. If it flies before Falcon Heavy, something I’d place at around 99% likely, the launch of PAZ will mark SpaceX’s first reused flight of 2018, with many, many more to come. This particular launch will use Core 1032 from the secretive NROL-76 mission back in May 2017. 1032 is an older booster, and thus a recovery attempt is unlikely – Block 3 Falcon 9s were never designed to be reused more than once or twice, especially not after toasty high-energy recoveries necessitated by geostationary launches.
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- After launching NROL-76 in May 2017, B1032 returned to Landing Zone-1 for a successful landing. (SpaceX)
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- SES and GovSats’ first partnered satellite, GovSat-1/SES-16. (SES)
PAZ – Starlink prototype co-passengers – NET February 10 2018, 6:52am PST
Up next, PAZ is a commercial imaging satellite designed to return high-resolution photos of Earth from a relatively low polar orbit of approximately 500 km. It’s believed that this mission will be launched aboard a flight-proven Falcon 9 booster, Core 1038, previously tasked with the launch of the small Formosat-5 imaging satellite in August 2017. The mission will be the second 2018 launch of a flight proven booster for SpaceX, following on the heels of GovSat-1. Perhaps more important than reuse (but secondary to the customer’s payload insertion), however, is the probable presence of two of SpaceX’s first prototype broadband satellites, a constellation now known to be called Starlink.
This will be a major achievement for SpaceX’s satellite constellation efforts, as the several hundred employees SpaceX has stationed in Washington State and outside of Hawthorne, CA will finally be able to operationally test the fruit of many months of hard but silent work. Given the presence of two satellites, it’s assumed that these test satellites, Microsat 2A and 2B, have been designed to test all of the main components SpaceX has been developing, particularly the optical (LASER) on orbit communications system. By allowing each satellite to communicate at incredibly high bandwidths with each other, SpaceX’s ultimate goal is to create a mesh network of connectivity covering the entire Earth.
As such, fingers crossed that SpaceX begins to discuss Starlink in more detail as 2018 progresses and PAZ and its Microsat co-passengers reach orbit in February. Sadly, although the combined payload is small and the planned orbit low, the twice-flight-proven booster may meet its ultimate fate in the Pacific Ocean – a recovery attempt is no longer guaranteed for older, reused Falcon 9s. However, while not officially confirmed, this launch could see the debut of SpaceX’s Western landing pad, currently known as SLC-4 West (SLC-4W). Rather than attempting recovery aboard the drone ship Just Read The Instructions, Falcon 9 1038 would instead flip around and return to a landing area less than a kilometer away from its VAFB launch pad. Expect official confirmation as the launch date approaches.
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- The Spanish company Hisdesat’s PAZ imaging satellite. (Hisdesat)
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- Falcon 9 1038 aboard Just Read The Instructions after the launch of Formosat-5. (SpaceX)
Hispasat 30W-6 (1F) – No Earlier Than (NET) mid-February 2018
Finally, Hispasat is a relatively hefty 6000 kg commercial communications satellite slated for launch aboard what is believed to be a new Falcon 9 rocket. With SpaceX aiming to place the satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit, this will almost certainly preclude any attempts at recovering the first stage – the booster will need to expend most of its fuel to accomplish the job, leaving no reserve to conduct landing burns at sea. Hispasat’s Falcon 9 will thus likely be the first new booster to be expended intentionally by SpaceX in 2018.
Spain's @Hispasat: 30W-6 telecom sat arrives at Cape Canaveral from builder @sslmda to prepare for Feb launch on @SpaceX Falcon 9. Sat carries Ku-, C- & Ka-band payload for Americas/trans-Atlantic. pic.twitter.com/Zfhi1cE5vx
— Peter B. de Selding (@pbdes) January 16, 2018
Another busy year?
If February is to be representative of SpaceX’s 2018 launch cadence, the year is going to be a crazy one for the rocket company. As of IAC 2017, Elon Musk showed an estimated 30 launches as the company’s goal this year, compared to 20 in 2017 (SpaceX was only two launches short of that). While Falcon Heavy may be understandably stealing the buzz and then some from those interested in spaceflight and technology, it is an absolute necessity that SpaceX remains a viable and reliable launch company if they hope to pursue more aspirational technologies like Falcon Heavy, BFR, and more. Here’s to hoping that SpaceX manages to make 2018 equally or even more successful than 2017.
Follow along live as launch photographer Tom Cross and I cover these exciting proceedings as close to live as possible.
Teslarati – Instagram – Twitter
Tom Cross – Instagram
Eric Ralph – Twitter
News
Tesla adds a new feature to Navigation in preparation for a new vehicle
After CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this week that the Semi’s mass production processes were scheduled for later this year, the company has been making various preparations as it nears manufacturing.
Tesla has added a new feature to its Navigation and Supercharger Map in preparation for a new vehicle to hit the road: the Semi.
After CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this week that the Semi’s mass production processes were scheduled for later this year, the company has been making various preparations as it nears manufacturing.
Elon Musk confirms Tesla Semi will enter high-volume production this year
One of those changes has been the newly-released information regarding trim levels, as well as reports that Tesla has started to reach out to customers regarding pricing information for those trims.
Now, Tesla has made an additional bit of information available to the public in the form of locations of Megachargers, the infrastructure that will be responsible for charging the Semi and other all-electric Class 8 vehicles that hit the road.
Tesla made the announcement on the social media platform X:
We put Semi Megachargers on the map
→ https://t.co/Jb6p7OPXMi pic.twitter.com/stwYwtDVSB
— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) February 10, 2026
Although it is a minor development, it is a major indication that Tesla is preparing for the Semi to head toward mass production, something the company has been hinting at for several years.
Nevertheless, this, along with the other information that was released this week, points toward a significant stride in Tesla’s progress in the Semi project.
Now that the company has also worked toward completion of the dedicated manufacturing plant in Sparks, Nevada, there are more signs than ever that the vehicle is finally ready to be built and delivered to customers outside of the pilot program that has been in operation for several years.
For now, the Megachargers are going to be situated on the West Coast, with a heavy emphasis on routes like I-5 and I-10. This strategy prioritizes major highways and logistics hubs where freight traffic is heaviest, ensuring coverage for both cross-country and regional hauls.
California and Texas are slated to have the most initially, with 17 and 19 sites, respectively. As the program continues to grow, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Washington, New York, and Nevada will have Megacharger locations as well.
For now, the Megachargers are available in Lathrop, California, and Sparks, Nevada, both of which have ties to Tesla. The former is the location of the Megafactory, and Sparks is where both the Tesla Gigafactory and Semifactory are located.
Elon Musk
Tesla stock gets latest synopsis from Jim Cramer: ‘It’s actually a robotics company’
“Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session,” Cramer said.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) got its latest synopsis from Wall Street analyst Jim Cramer, who finally realized something that many fans of the company have known all along: it’s not a car company. Instead, it’s a robotics company.
In a recent note that was released after Tesla reported Earnings in late January, Cramer seemed to recognize that the underwhelming financials and overall performance of the automotive division were not representative of the current state of affairs.
Instead, we’re seeing a company transition itself away from its early identity, essentially evolving like a caterpillar into a butterfly.
The narrative of the Earnings Call was simple: We’re not a car company, at least not from a birds-eye view. We’re an AI and Robotics company, and we are transitioning to this quicker than most people realize.
Tesla stock gets another analysis from Jim Cramer, and investors will like it
Tesla’s Q4 Earnings Call featured plenty of analysis from CEO Elon Musk and others, and some of the more minor details of the call were even indicative of a company that is moving toward AI instead of its cars. For example, the Model S and Model X will be no more after Q2, as Musk said that they serve relatively no purpose for the future.
Instead, Tesla is shifting its focus to the vehicles catered for autonomy and its Robotaxi and self-driving efforts.
Cramer recognizes this:
“…we got results from Tesla, which actually beat numbers, but nobody cares about the numbers here, as electric vehicles are the past. And according to CEO Elon Musk, the future of this company comes down to Cybercabs and humanoid robots. Stock fell more than 3% the next day. That may be because their capital expenditures budget was higher than expected, or maybe people wanted more details from the new businesses. At this point, I think Musk acolytes might be more excited about SpaceX, which is planning to come public later this year.”
He continued, highlighting the company’s true transition away from vehicles to its Cybercab, Optimus, and AI ambitions:
“I know it’s hard to believe how quickly this market can change its attitude. Last night, I heard a disastrous car company speak. Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session. I didn’t like it as a car company. Boy, I love it as a Cybercab and humanoid robot juggernaut. Call me a buyer and give me five robots while I’m at it.”
Cramer’s narrative seems to fit that of the most bullish Tesla investors. Anyone who is labeled a “permabull” has been echoing a similar sentiment over the past several years: Tesla is not a car company any longer.
Instead, the true focus is on the future and the potential that AI and Robotics bring to the company. It is truly difficult to put Tesla shares in the same group as companies like Ford, General Motors, and others.
Tesla shares are down less than half a percent at the time of publishing, trading at $423.69.
Elon Musk
SpaceX secures win as US labor board drops oversight case
The NLRB confirmed that it no longer has jurisdiction over SpaceX.
SpaceX scored a legal victory after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided to dismiss a case which accused the company of terminating engineers who were involved in an open letter against founder Elon Musk.
The NLRB confirmed that it no longer has jurisdiction over SpaceX. The update was initially shared by Bloomberg News, which cited a letter about the matter it reportedly reviewed.
In a letter to the former employees’ lawyers, the labor board stated that the affected employees were under the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board (NMB), not the NLRB. As a result, the labor board stated that it was dismissing the case.
As per Danielle Pierce, a regional director of the agency, “the National Labor Relations Board lacks jurisdiction over the Employer and, therefore, I am dismissing your charge.”
The NMB typically oversees airlines and railroads. The NLRB, on the other hand, covers most private-sector employers, as well as manufacturers such as Boeing.
The former SpaceX engineers have argued that the private space company did not belong under the NMB’s jurisdiction because SpaceX only offers services to “hand-picked customers.”
In an opinion, however, the NMB stated that SpaceX was under its jurisdiction because “space transport includes air travel” to get to outer space. The mediation board also noted that anyone can contact SpaceX to secure its services.
SpaceX had previously challenged the NLRB’s authority in court, arguing that the agency’s structure was unconstitutional. Jennifer Abruzzo, the NLRB general counsel under former United States President Joe Biden, rejected SpaceX’s claims. Following Abruzzo’s termination under the Trump administration, however, SpaceX asked the labor board to reconsider its arguments.
SpaceX is not the only company that has challenged the constitutionality of the NLRB. Since SpaceX filed its legal challenge against the agency in 2024, other high-profile companies have followed suit. These include Amazon, which has filed similar cases that are now pending.
Tesla adds a new feature to Navigation in preparation for a new vehicle
Tesla stock gets latest synopsis from Jim Cramer: ‘It’s actually a robotics company’
