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SpaceX launches 3000th Starlink satellite
SpaceX has successfully launched its 3000th Starlink satellite as part of Falcon 9’s 54th dedicated mission for the low Earth orbit (LEO) internet constellation.
After high upper-level winds forced SpaceX to call off a launch attempt three hours prior, Falcon 9 lifted off from NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex 39A at 10:14 pm EDT (02:14 UTC), carrying another 52 new Starlink V1.5 satellites inside the rocket’s flight-proven payload fairing. Like the fairing halves, both of which had already supported two orbital-class launches, the Falcon 9 booster (B1073) SpaceX assigned to the mission was also flying for the third time.
For the most part, Falcon 9 performed nominally. The booster lifted an expendable upper stage and the enclosed payload most of the way out of Earth’s atmosphere before separating and heading back to Earth. Falcon 9’s upper stage was as perfect as ever, boosting the Starlink stack the rest of the way into a low and elliptical parking orbit, where it eventually spun itself end over end and deployed all 52 satellites at once.
Falcon 9 booster B1073 made it through its reentry and landing burns without issue and safely touched down on drone ship A Shortfall Of Gravitas (ASOG) about nine minutes after liftoff. While that landing was ultimately a success, B1073’s accuracy was not exactly flawless and the booster came to a halt with two of its four legs unusually close to the edge of the drone ship’s deck. Had the booster missed the bullseye by just 5-10 more feet, it could have easily landed with one or two feet off the deck and tipped into the Atlantic.
Nonetheless, the landing was successful and SpaceX should have no issue recovering the booster. In any other context, it would barely be worth noting, but flawless Starlink launches with near-bullseye landings have become such a frequent and routine occurrence that any departure from that norm has become interesting.
Starlink 4-26 (referring to the 26th batch of Group or Shell 4 satellites) was SpaceX’s 54th dedicated Starlink launch overall and 21st Starlink launch in 2022 alone. The mission also carried SpaceX’s 3000th Starlink satellite into orbit, a milestone so far removed from the next largest satellite constellation that it’s now more reasonable to compare Starlink to every other satellite currently in orbit. Of the 3009 Starlink satellites SpaceX has now successfully launched since 2018, 2750 are still in orbit. Assuming all 52 Starlink 4-26 satellites are healthy, astrophysicist and space object tracker Jonathan McDowell estimates that SpaceX has 2714 working satellites in orbit.
Excluding 75 prototype satellites launched over the years, all but 5 of which have since deorbited, 92.3% of all operational Starlink satellites launched by SpaceX since November 2019 are still working in orbit. While Starlink V1.0’s 7.7% satellite failure rate is far from desirable, SpaceX has made clear progress with its V1.5 design, which began launching in September 2021. Excluding 38 satellites that were lost when a solar storm caused Earth’s atmosphere to expand, unexpectedly increasing drag to uncontrollable levels, only 10 of the 1218 Starlink V1.5 satellites SpaceX has launched have failed and prematurely reentered for technical reasons – a failure rate of 0.9%.
If SpaceX’s V1.5 satellites continue to demonstrate excellent reliability as they reach ages similar to their V1.0 predecessors, it will bode well for the sustainability and predictability of current and future Starlink constellations. Meanwhile, the roughly 2270 Starlink satellites that are currently operational continue to deliver internet services to hundreds of thousands of customers in countries around the world, improving the lives of countless people.
According to Next Spaceflight, SpaceX has up to five more Starlink launches scheduled this month as it continues to relentlessly pursue a record-breaking launch cadence with its Falcon 9 rocket. Up next, Starlink 3-3 could launch from California as early as August 12th. Photographer Ben Cooper reports that another East Coast Starlink mission is working towards a “mid-August” launch soon after.
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Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025.
The Tesla Model Y recorded the highest overall safety score of any vehicle tested by ANCAP in 2025. The Tesla Model 3 also delivered strong results, reinforcing the automaker’s safety leadership in Australia and New Zealand.
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025. ANCAP’s 2025 tests evaluated vehicles across four key pillars: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist technologies.
The Model Y posted consistently strong results in all four categories, distinguishing itself through a system-based safety approach that combines structural crash protection with advanced driver-assistance features such as autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring.
This marked the second time the Model Y has topped ANCAP’s annual safety rankings. The Model Y’s previous version was also ANCAP’s top performer in 2022.
The Tesla Model 3 also delivered a strong performance in ANCAP’s 2025 tests, contributing to Tesla’s broader safety presence across segments. Similar to the Model Y, the Model 3 also earned impressive scores across the ANCAP’s four pillars. This made the vehicle the top performer in the Medium Car category.
ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg stated that the results highlight a growing industry shift toward integrated safety design, with improvements in technologies such as autonomous emergency braking and lane support translating into meaningful real-world protection.
“ANCAP’s testing continues to reinforce a clear message: the safest vehicles are those designed with safety as a system, not a checklist. The top performers this year delivered consistent results across physical crash protection, crash avoidance and vulnerable road user safety, rather than relying on strength in a single area.
“We are also seeing increasing alignment between ANCAP’s test requirements and the safety technologies that genuinely matter on Australian and New Zealand roads. Improvements in autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring systems are translating into more robust protection,” Hoorweg said.
News
Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade
Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery.
Tesla Sweden has successfully launched a new Supercharger station despite an ongoing blockade by Swedish unions, using on-site Megapack batteries instead of traditional grid connections. The workaround has allowed the Supercharger to operate without direct access to Sweden’s electricity network, which has been effectively frozen by labor action.
Tesla has experienced notable challenges connecting its new charging stations to Sweden’s power grid due to industrial action led by Seko, a major Swedish trade union, which has blocked all new electrical connections for new Superchargers. On paper, this made the opening of new Supercharger sites almost impossible.
Despite the blockade, Tesla has continued to bring stations online. In Malmö and Södertälje, new Supercharger locations opened after grid operators E.ON and Telge Nät activated the sites. The operators later stated that the connections had been made in error.
More recently, however, Tesla adopted a different strategy altogether. Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery, as noted in a Dagens Arbete (DA) report.
Because the Supercharger station does not rely on a permanent grid connection, Tesla was able to bypass the blocked application process, as noted by Swedish car journalist and YouTuber Peter Esse. He noted that the Arlandastad Supercharger is likely dependent on nearby companies to recharge the batteries, likely through private arrangements.
Eight new charging stalls have been launched in the Arlandastad site so far, which is a fraction of the originally planned 40 chargers for the location. Still, the fact that Tesla Sweden was able to work around the unions’ efforts once more is impressive, especially since Superchargers are used even by non-Tesla EVs.
Esse noted that Tesla’s Megapack workaround is not as easily replicated in other locations. Arlandastad is unique because neighboring operators already have access to grid power, making it possible for Tesla to source electricity indirectly. Still, Esse noted that the unions’ blockades have not affected sales as much.
“Many want Tesla to lose sales due to the union blockades. But you have to remember that sales are falling from 2024, when Tesla sold a record number of cars in Sweden. That year, the unions also had blockades against Tesla. So for Tesla as a charging operator, it is devastating. But for Tesla as a car company, it does not matter in terms of sales volumes. People charge their cars where there is an opportunity, usually at home,” Esse noted.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s X goes down as users report major outage Friday morning
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Elon Musk’s X experienced an outage Friday morning, leaving large numbers of users unable to access the social media platform.
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Downdetector reports
Users attempting to open X were met with messages such as “Something went wrong. Try reloading,” often followed by an endless spinning icon that prevented access, according to a report from Variety. Downdetector data showed that reports of problems surged rapidly throughout the morning.
As of 10:52 a.m. ET, more than 100,000 users had reported issues with X. The data indicated that 56% of complaints were tied to the mobile app, while 33% were related to the website and roughly 10% cited server connection problems. The disruption appeared to begin around 10:10 a.m. ET, briefly eased around 10:35 a.m., and then returned minutes later.
Previous disruptions
Friday’s outage was not an isolated incident. X has experienced multiple high-profile service interruptions over the past two years. In November, tens of thousands of users reported widespread errors, including “Internal server error / Error code 500” messages. Cloudflare-related error messages were also reported.
In March 2025, the platform endured several brief outages spanning roughly 45 minutes, with more than 21,000 reports in the U.S. and 10,800 in the U.K., according to Downdetector. Earlier disruptions included an outage in August 2024 and impairments to key platform features in July 2023.
Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade
