News
SpaceX lands rocket for the first time after US military satellite launch
SpaceX has successfully landed a Falcon 9 booster for the first time after a dedicated satellite launch for the US military, marking a small but significant step towards broader acceptance of reusable rockets.
Despite high upper-level winds pushing Falcon 9 to the end of its 15 minute launch window, the rocket successfully lifted off with the US Air Force (Space Force) GPS III SV03 navigation satellite at 4:10 pm EDT on June 30th. Exactly on schedule, new booster B1060 performed exactly as expected, sending an expendable upper stage, a payload fairing, and the US military spacecraft well on their way to orbit.
A brisk 8.5 minutes after liftoff, SpaceX’s newest flight-proven orbital-class booster landed ~630 km (~390 mi) off the coast of Florida on drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) – the ship’s second East Coast recovery since its relocation from California. Aside from bolstering SpaceX’s unusually small fleet of four (now five) available Falcon 9 boosters, the landing should also help the US military gradually become more comfortable with the prospect of flying on flight-proven SpaceX hardware, although that is far from guaranteed.


Technically, the US Air Force has already allowed SpaceX to fly two flight-proven Falcon boosters on a single mission when Falcon Heavy lifted off for the third time with the military branch’s Space Test Program 2 (STP-2) mission in June 2019. Both Falcon Heavy side boosters (B1052 and B1053) had successfully supported the rocket’s commercial launch debut a little more than two months prior,

For vague reasons, the US military is still somehow the only major customer on Earth that remains hesitant about flying on flight-proven SpaceX rockets after 60 consecutively successful launches and almost 50 booster landings overall. Aside from essentially every commercial entity on the market for launch services, even NASA has already purchased several flight-proven Falcon 9 launches to send cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and test a Crew Dragon abort mode.
More significantly, the space agency recently revealed that it will allow SpaceX to launch astronauts with flight-proven Falcon 9 boosters and spacecraft as early as H1 2021. It’s hard to imagine a stronger endorsement for the reliability of flight-proven SpaceX rockets.
Nevertheless, the US military recently took the biggest step yet towards a positive reception of reusable rockets, revealing that it is actively considering flight-proven SpaceX rockets for future national security space launches (NSSL) – albeit no time soon. For SpaceX, that likely means that Falcon 9 booster B1060 will be immediately turned around to support one or several future Starlink or commercial launches later this year. Either way, GPS III SV03’s successful launch is a major win for SpaceX.
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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
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-2 emerges after completing new Vegas Loop tunnel
The new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.
The Boring Company announced that its Prufrock-2 tunnel boring machine (TBM) has completed another Vegas Loop tunnel in Las Vegas. The company shared the update in a post on social media platform X.
According to The Boring Company’s post, the new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.
The new tunnel marks the fourth tunnel constructed near Westgate Las Vegas as the Vegas Loop network continues expanding across the city.
The Boring Company also noted that the new tunnel surpassed its previous internal record of 2.26 miles for a single Vegas Loop segment.
Construction of the tunnel involved moving roughly 68,000 cubic yards of dirt. The excavation process also used about 4.8 miles of continuous conveyor belt, powered by six motors totaling 825 horsepower.
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-series all-electric tunnel boring machines are designed to support the rapid expansion of company’s underground transportation projects, including the growing Vegas Loop network. Prufrock machines are designed for reusability, thanks in no small part to their capability to be deployed and retrieved easily through their “porposing” feature.
The Vegas Loop, specifically the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) Loop segment, has already been used during major events. Most recently, the LVCC Loop supported the 2026 CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction trade show, which was held from March 3-7, 2026.
As per The Boring Company, the LVCC Loop transported roughly 82,000 passengers across the convention center campus during the event’s duration.
CONEXPO-CON/AGG is one of the largest construction trade shows in North America, drawing more than 140,000 construction professionals from 128 countries this year.
The LVCC Loop forms the initial segment of the broader Vegas Loop network, which remains under active development as The Boring Company continues building new tunnels throughout the city.
News
Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas
Images and video of the Cybercab fleet were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Tesla appears to be assembling a growing number of Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas as preparations continue for the vehicle’s mass production. Recent footage shared online has shown over 30 Cybercabs being transported by trucks or staged near testing areas at the facility.
The images and video were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Interestingly enough, Tegtmeyer noted that many of the Cybercabs being loaded onto transport trucks were still equipped with steering wheels. This suggests that the vehicles are likely testing units rather than the final driverless configuration expected for the company’s Robotaxi service.
The vehicles could potentially be headed to testing sites across the United States as Tesla prepares to expand its Robotaxi fleet.
Additional footage captured at Gigafactory Texas also showed the Cybercab’s side and rear camera washer system operating as vehicles were being loaded onto transport trucks.
The growing number of Cybercabs at Giga Texas comes amidst the company’s announcement that the first production Cybercab has been produced at the facility. Full Cybercab production is expected to begin in April.
The vehicle is expected to play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions as the company looks to expand autonomous ride-hailing operations beyond its early deployments using Model Y vehicles.
Tesla has also linked Cybercab production to its proposed Unboxed manufacturing process, which assembles large vehicle modules separately before integrating them. The approach is intended to reduce production costs and accelerate output.
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab’s ramp will likely begin slowly due to the number of new components and manufacturing steps involved. However, he stated that once the process matures, Cybercab production could scale quickly.