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SpaceX fires up rocket for second NASA spacecraft launch in two weeks

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SpaceX says it has successfully static fired Falcon 9 ahead of the company’s second scientific NASA spacecraft launch in just two weeks.

On November 24th, SpaceX successfully launched the small Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft, marking Falcon 9’s first direct interplanetary launch and the rocket’s first flight-proven mission for NASA’s Launch Service Program (LSP). Now, as early as 1am EST (06:00 UTC) on Thursday, December 9th, SpaceX is on track to launch an even tinier NASA spacecraft known as the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer or IXPE. A telescope designed to survey some of the most extreme environments in the known universe, IXPE was originally meant to launch on the small but expensive and oft-delayed Pegasus XL rocket and weighs about 325 kilograms (720 lb) as a result.

Instead, in mid-2019, SpaceX effectively stole NASA’s IXPE launch contract out from under Orbital ATK in the midst of chronic delays of a different Pegasus XL NASA mission, bidding just over $50 million to launch the smallsat on Falcon 9. Some two years behind schedule when it finally completed the mission, Pegasus XL ultimately launched NASA’s similarly small ICON spacecraft in October 2019 for the equivalent of ~$66 million in 2021

In other words, SpaceX is charging NASA less than Orbital ATK charged to launch ICON on a rocket capable of delivering 600 kg (~1300 lb) to low Earth orbit (LEO) to launch IXPE on a rocket capable of launching about 16,000 kg (~35,000 lb) to the same orbit. Even then, despite Falcon 9’s comparatively dirt-cheap pricing relative to the performance it offers, the IXPE launch should still be profitable for SpaceX. In the recent past, CEO Elon Musk and a few other executives have indicated that the cost to SpaceX to launch a flight-proven Falcon 9 is between $15 million and $28 million depending on how costs are measured.

That is to say that even at $50M, SpaceX has plenty of breathing room to drop launch costs even further if it ever runs into actual competitive pressure. Since the first booster recovery in December 2015 and the first booster reuse in March 2017, Falcon 9 is still the world’s only reusable orbital-class rocket. IXPE is the latest in a line of NASA missions to benefit from SpaceX’s unprecedented private expertise and the company has assigned Falcon 9 booster B1061 to launch the ~$140M spacecraft.

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B1061 narrowly made it back to port after a rough and slippery landing on its first launch, Crew-1. (Richard Angle)

The booster has currently launched eight astronauts, three Dragons, and one large geostationary communications satellite in its four-launch, 13-month career and IXPE will be the booster’s fifth spaceflight and orbital-class launch since November 2020. It will also be the smallest dedicated payload a Falcon 9 rocket has ever launched by a large margin, making for a very empty payload fairing at liftoff.

On December 4th, SpaceX successfully performed a launch rehearsal, fully fueling Falcon 9 B1061 and a new upper stage and briefly firing up the booster’s nine Merlin 1D engines to verify that the vehicle is ready for flight. The company has since brought Falcon 9 horizontal and rolled it back into Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Pad 39A’s main hangar, where the rocket’s payload fairing – containing IXPE – will be attached to the rest of the stack. IXPE will be SpaceX’s 28th launch in 2021 (a new record) and is the second of four or five East Coast Falcon 9 launches planned this December.

Read more about the IXPE spacecraft and its mission to observe black holes, dead stars, and other bizarre phenomena here.

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla Supercharger access has proven to be a challenge for one company

Interestingly, it seems to be the Volkswagen brand specifically that is having issues with compatibility with Tesla Superchargers. Other brands under the VW umbrella, like Audi and Porsche, have already gained access to the charging network.

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Credit: MarcoRP | X

Tesla Supercharger access has proven to be quite the challenge for one company, as it continues to delay the date that it will enable its owners to charge at the most expansive network in the world.

Tesla Superchargers have been opening up to other brands for well over a year, and many car companies that are manufacturing electric vehicles now have access to the vast network that has over 70,000 locations worldwide.

Tesla to launch Supercharger access for VW owners later this year

However, one brand has experienced some issues with what it is calling “technical challenges,” specifically failing to enable cross-compatibility between its vehicles and Tesla Superchargers.

Volkswagen has had to delay its ability to enable customers to charge at Superchargers because there have been some difficulties getting things to run smoothly. A report from PCMag cites a quote from a Volkswagen spokesperson who said there are still plans to deliver this year, but there have been some delays:

“Volkswagen looks forward to making it possible for ID. Buzz and ID.4 vehicle owners to gain access to the Tesla NACS Partner Superchargers. The timeline has been delayed by technical challenges, and we ask for customers’ patience. We still expect to deliver access this year.”

Interestingly, it seems to be the Volkswagen brand specifically that is having issues with compatibility with Tesla Superchargers. Other brands under the VW umbrella, like Audi and Porsche, have already gained access to the charging network.

Volkswagen EV owners will need to use an official VW adapter to access the Tesla Supercharger Network once the issues are resolved. It still plans to launch access to its owners later this year, but its spokesperson did not announce any planned timeline.

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Tesla Giga Berlin makes big move amid strong sales and demand

“We currently have very good sales figures and have therefore revised our production plans for the third and fourth quarters upwards.”

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Credit: Tesla Manufacturing

Tesla is making a big move at its factory in Germany, known as Giga Berlin, as managers at the plant have indicated the company plans to increase its production rate for the remainder of the year.

Giga Berlin is responsible for manufacturing Model Y vehicles for several markets worldwide, including those outside of Europe. It was opened in March 2022, and it recently built its 500,000th Model Y in March and its 100,000th new Model Y just three weeks ago.

Due to some encouraging sales figures in the markets it provides vehicles for, Tesla said it is planning to increase production at the factory for the remainder of the year.

Andrè Thierig, plant manager at Giga Berlin, said to German news outlet DPA on Sunday that market data has encouraged a move to be made regarding the production at the factory:

“We currently have very good sales figures and have therefore revised our production plans for the third and fourth quarters upwards.”

It is interesting to see this kind of narrative from Thierig, especially as data has shown Tesla has struggled in various markets, including Germany, this year.

Sales drops have been reported, but other markets are holding strong, especially those in Northern Europe, such as Norway, where the Model Y saw a nearly 39 percent increase in sales in August compared to the same month the previous year.

Tesla Model Y leads sales rush in Norway in August 2025

Gigafactory Berlin supplies vehicles for other markets, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which are strategically important to avoid tariffs. It also builds cars for the Middle East.

Thierig reiterated this point during the interview with DPA:

“We supply well over 30 markets and definitely see a positive trend there.”

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Tesla analyst says Musk stock buy should send this signal to investors

“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish.”

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased roughly $1 billion in Tesla shares on Friday, and analysts are now breaking down the move as the stock is headed upward.

One of them is William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who said in a new note to investors on Monday that Musk’s move should send a signal of confidence to stock buyers, especially considering the company’s numerous catalysts that currently exist.

Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever

Dorsheimer said in the note:

“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish. This purchase is Musk’s first buy since 2020. To us, this sends a strong signal of confidence in the most important part of Tesla’s future business, robotaxi.”

Musk putting an additional $1 billion back into the company in the form of more stock ownership is obviously a huge vote of confidence.

He knows more than anyone about the progress Tesla has made and is making on the Robotaxi platform, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to solve vehicle autonomy. If he’s buying stock, it is more than likely a good sign.

Tesla has continued to expand its Robotaxi platform in a number of ways. The project has gotten bigger in terms of service area, vehicle fleet, and testing population. Tesla has also recently received a permit to test in Nevada, unlocking the potential to expand into a brand-new state for the company.

In the note, Dorsheimer also touched on Musk’s recent pay package, revealing that William Blair recently met with Tesla’s Board of Directors, who gave the firm some more color on the situation:

“We recently participated in a meeting with Tesla’s board of directors to discuss the details of Musk’s performance package. The board is confident of its position in the Delaware case and anticipates a verdict by end of year. It does not expect a similar situation to occur under new Texas jurisdiction. Musk has the board’s full support, and we expect he’ll get more than enough shareholder support for this to pass with flying colors.”

Tesla stock is up over 6 percent so far today, trading at $421.50 at the time of publication.

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