News
SpaceX to test last old-gen Falcon 9’s orbital upper stage lifespan tonight
SpaceX Falcon 9 B1045 is just hours away from completing its second and final mission, a launch that will also signify a swan-song for the reusable rocket company’s Block 4 and older boosters. Not one to let an opportunity go to waste, Elon Musk’s space company intends to do a long coast demonstration of the orbital upper stage once the reused Cargo Dragon spacecraft separates.
Jessica Jensen, SpaceX’s Director of Dragon Mission Management, spoke among a panel of CRS-15 stakeholders on the morning of June 28 and spoke evident pride and confidence in the company’s progress up to this point, with respect to both the mission at hand and SpaceX’s achievements more generally. CRS-15, the third flight-proven Dragon and Falcon 9 launch, is a fitting mission for SpaceX to bring to a close their H1 launch manifest (the 12th of 2018), mainly due to the impressive fact that more than two-thirds of the boosters launched this year have been flight-proven.

Falcon 9 B1045 before its first launch, carrying NASA’s TESS exoplanet observatory, in April 2018. (Tom Cross)
As Jensen rightfully noted, SpaceX completed its first-ever reuse of a recovered Falcon 9 booster scarcely 15 months ago in March 2017, a period in which SpaceX has since completed 26 missions, recovered 16 Falcon 9 and Heavy boosters, and successfully launched 12 flight-proven rocket boosters. At the current rate of launch, SpaceX is likely to smash its previous annual cadence record – 18 in 2017 – with anywhere from 24 to 28 launches this year, with CRS-15 marking a dozen missions in the first half of the year, if successful. As such, simply the launch frequency in the first six months would bring SpaceX to 24 completed missions this year. A slight uptick, perhaps as a result of the rapid reusability of new Block 5 boosters, might allow SpaceX to squeeze in several additional missions.
Critically, Jensen also noted that B1045’s final launch will be significant for a reason other than the fact that it nearly halved the previous record for Falcon 9 booster refurbishment, an accomplishment she ceded to the skill and growing experience of SpaceX’s rocket refurbishment teams of engineers and technicians. Aside from that growing expertise, she stated that
“[CRS-15] will also be the final Block 4 configuration of a Falcon 9 booster that SpaceX flies, so all the boosters from here on out will be the Block 5 version.”
Barring unforeseen design flaws, Falcon 9 Block 5 has the potential to be a game-changer, perhaps allowing SpaceX to finally realize a long-term goal of dramatically lowering the cost of access to orbit with new reliable, reusable rockets. Reported by NASASpaceflight.com to be flying aboard a Block 4 booster, something also confirmed to Teslarati through a separate source, it’s not 100% clear if Jensen’s blanket statement included the upcoming in-flight Crew Dragon abort test, scheduled sometime after the upgraded Dragon’s first launch in late 2018. Regardless, she is fully correct in the sense that all future commercial SpaceX launches after CRS-15 will quite definitively fly aboard Falcon 9 and Heavy Block 5 rockets.
- The first Block 5 Falcon 9 lifts off on May 4, 2018. (Tom Cross)
- After CRS-15, all orbital launches will be use Block 5 boosters and upper stages. The upgraded rocket’s next launch is NET July 20. (Tom Cross)
Flight-proven Cargo Dragons a new norm for SpaceX
Meanwhile, the specifics of CRS-15 mirror SpaceX’s two most recent International Space Station resupply missions, both of which simultaneously flew flight-proven orbital Cargo Dragon spacecraft and flight-proven Falcon 9 boosters, leaving just the second stage and Cargo Dragon trunk to be expended. As a taste of the future SpaceX fully intends to realize, the spectacle of these CRS missions is not only undeniable but demonstrates a newfound confidence in commercial reusable rockets growing within NASA, an agency that SpaceX would quite simply not be here today without.
https://twitter.com/_TomCross_/status/1012490324646748163
After CRS-15, SpaceX has another five flight-proven Cargo Dragon missions left on their CRS-1 contract, after which the updated CRS-2 contract will take over, replacing the old Cargo Dragon with an upgraded cargo version of SpaceX Crew Dragon, also known as Dragon 2. CRS-2 launches are currently scheduled to begin sometime in 2020.
Finally, reminiscent of Falcon Heavy’s spectacular debut launch, Falcon 9’s upper stage “will be doing a long coast demonstration [after Cargo Dragon separates from the rocket]”. Jensen was unable to go into more detail here, but it can be safely presumed that the S2 coast test is either related testing for upper stage reusability or is being used as an opportunity to further demonstrate on-orbit coast capabilities to the US Air Force and/or NASA, a feature that is necessary for certain national security and interplanetary missions.
- An overview of Crew Dragon’s main features, all of which can be seen in the real-life photos. The Cargo Dragon version will likely remove seats and windows. (SpaceX)
- The DM-1 Crew Dragon testing inside SpaceX’s anechoic chamber, May 2018. (SpaceX)
- SpaceX’s Demo Mission-1 Crew Dragon seen preparing for vacuum tests at a NASA-run facility, June 2018. (SpaceX)
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Investor's Corner
Tesla opens the Q&A for its biggest earnings call yet
Tesla opens its Q3 earnings Q&A, and Cybercab, Robotaxi, Optimus and regulators loom over October 21.
Tesla has opened its shareholder question portal for the Q3 2026 earnings call, with the Say Q&A page already listing questions. Investors have until 4:00 p.m. EDT on October 20 to submit and vote on what management should answer.
The call is set for Wednesday, October 21. Tesla will post results after the market closes, with a live webcast at 4:30 p.m. CT, or 5:30 p.m. ET, through its investor relations site.
Say ranks questions by the number of shares behind the votes, which gives institutional holders extra weight over the retail crowd.
Ahead of Q2, retail investors asked why Robotaxi growth had stalled, when Cybercab would start customer rides, and where the Optimus Gen 3 ramp stood, while an institutional holder asked how Tesla and SpaceX would split Terafab duties. Cybercab has since answered one of those. Tesla said last week it has 300 plus Cybercabs serving Austin, up eightfold in 30 days, with Dallas named as the next city. The questions now are likely to move from when to how fast.
There is also a regulatory question hanging over the call. NHTSA has demanded sworn answers on how the pedal free Cybercab was certified against federal safety standards, with responses due October 30, nine days after the call. Whether an analyst raises it live is unknown, but it is the kind of exposure that tends to find its way into a Q&A.
The numbers will not be the main draw. Tesla already reported 486,532 deliveries and 13.7 GWh of storage for the quarter. Consensus sits around 43 to 45 cents per share on roughly $27.8 billion in revenue, according to Zacks, after a Q2 report that missed on EPS. Goldman Sachs, which holds a Neutral rating and a $360 target, argues the outlook for Robotaxi, FSD and Optimus will matter more to the stock than the quarter itself.
The call also lands six days after the rescheduled Roadster event, which Tesla will stream on X on Thursday, October 15, at 7:55 p.m. CT. If the Roadster shows up with a production date or a SpaceX thruster package, expect it to climb the voting list before the deadline.
Elon Musk
Ukraine says Starlink is cutting out its military drones as Poland calls out Elon Musk
Ukrainian officials allege SpaceX limited military Starlink speeds, disrupting drone missions; SpaceX has not commented.
Ukrainian officials are accusing SpaceX of placing a speed limit on the military version of Starlink that their forces use to fly drones, but SpaceX has not confirmed that any change was made. Presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said in a Telegram post on Wednesday that Starshield terminals have begun losing service when they move faster than about 100 miles per hour, according to a Reuters report. “Our defense forces did not receive a warning about this limitation, and this led to the disruption of several missions,” he wrote.
Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Reaction Corps told Reuters that connections dropped for 10 to 20 seconds at just 68 to 75 mph, which made the drones harder to control. Volunteer Serhiy Sternenko, citing military reports, said the dropouts are now starting at 37 to 43 mph. These accounts come from Ukrainian officials and military sources and have not been independently verified. Regular civilian terminals were reportedly not affected, according to EUalive.
.@POTUS: We told Zelensky, ‘You can do whatever you want to Russia, but don’t hit the refineries because that’s a world problem.’ And what does he do? He goes and hits the diesel fuel. He better damn well stop. https://t.co/CdRlMcPlKr
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 10, 2026
SpaceX has not publicly commented or explained what, if anything, changed. Beskrestnov and other Ukrainian officials believe the issue is intentional and point to the timing. Washington has been pressing Kyiv to stop long range strikes on Russian oil refineries after President Trump called for an “energy ceasefire,” and Musk posted on Saturday that “Zelensky has gone too far.” EUalive noted that neither Ukrainian nor Polish officials have presented evidence that the limit was ordered by Washington or by SpaceX, so the link to politics remains an allegation. Other explanations, such as a technical or policy change affecting fast moving terminals, have not been ruled out.
Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, responded on X by quote tweeting a Kyiv Independent report and writing: “Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you.” Poland is the largest funder of Ukraine’s Starlink service, having supplied more than 29,000 terminals and covering operating costs Sikorski has put at roughly $50 million a year. The wording echoes their 2025 clash, when Musk told Sikorski to “be quiet, small man.” At the time of writing, neither Musk nor SpaceX had responded to the claims.
Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again?
As your European customers, we are watching you.— Radosław Sikorski 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@sikorskiradek) October 14, 2026
The dispute sits on top of a long history. Musk confirmed in February 2022 that Starlink was active in Ukraine after a request from a Ukrainian minister. That October, SpaceX asked the Pentagon to share the bill and Musk said the cost was approaching $20 million a month, before he reversed course and said SpaceX would keep paying. In December 2024 the Pentagon moved some of those terminals onto the Starshield service, the government version now at the center of the complaints.
SpaceX has also changed how its network treats certain terminals in Ukraine before, and that time it was with Kyiv’s cooperation. In February, Ukrainian officials confirmed that terminals believed to be used by Russian troops were disabled after coordination with SpaceX, a step that Ukrainian commanders later said hurt Russian assaults. Whether anything similar is behind the latest reports is unclear, which is why Kyiv is asking for answers.
Ukraine is already looking at backups. Defense tech company Stetman is developing its own satellite system, UASAT-NANO, and officials in Europe have discussed alternatives to Starlink since early 2025, though none match its scale yet.
Elon Musk
FAA kicks off review of SpaceX’s bid to fly Starship nearly every day
FAA is reviewing SpaceX’s plan for 456 Starship launches a year, up from 25 today.
The FAA said Tuesday that it will prepare an environmental impact statement on SpaceX’s proposal to run as many as 456 Starship launches and 912 landings a year from Starbase, Texas. SpaceX is currently authorized for 25 launches and 50 landings annually, which makes the request roughly 18 times the existing ceiling. The notice of intent is set to publish in the Federal Register on Wednesday.
The plan comes in two phases. Phase 1 would allow up to 100 launches and 200 landings a year, on any day and at any hour. Phase 2, which the FAA says could arrive within several years, would raise the limit to the full 456 launches, still at any hour but only on weekdays. The agency noted that 912 landings is the upper limit for the Texas facility no matter where a given mission begins, and that Starship and Super Heavy could come down at the launch site or in the Gulf and open ocean.
A draft statement will be released for public comment at a later date, and the FAA has not said when. According to the Federal Registar, written comments are due November 30 on regulations.gov under docket FAA-2026-12808, with in person scoping meetings on November 17 in Brownsville and November 19 in Port Isabel, plus a virtual session on November 18. The review will weigh air quality, wildlife, coastal resources, water, noise, and aviation, and the FAA said any increase beyond this proposal would need its own separate review.
The numbers look large next to what Starbase has actually done. Starship has flown three times from Texas this year, including Flight 14 on September 28, the first orbital flight, which deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. Bloomberg reported that Starbase has never launched more than five times in a calendar year. The current cap of 25 comes from an FAA approval in May 2025. In February, the agency also approved up to 44 Starship launches a year from Launch Complex 39A in Florida, so Phase 1 in Texas alone would more than double that allowance.
Musk has said Starship could eventually fly more than once per hour within less than a decade, per Bloomberg. The nearer term target is Flight 15. Musk said on October 10 that it is hopefully four to six weeks away and will try to catch the ship with the tower, as Teslarati covered. That flight still runs under the existing 25 launch limit, and so would every Starbase launch for as long as the new review takes.
As of mid morning Pacific time on Tuesday, SpaceX had not posted about the filing on its own account.





