SpaceX
SpaceX’s third Falcon Heavy launch is just one month away
SpaceX is exactly one month away from Falcon Heavy’s next scheduled launch, an important mission for the US Air Force known as Space Test Program 2 (STP-2). Carrying 24 satellites of various sizes, Falcon Heavy is scheduled to lift off for the third time as early as June 22nd.
In support of the mission, SpaceX will need to completely integrate Falcon Heavy and prepare the rocket for a routine static fire test approximately one week prior to launch, sometime in mid-June. STP-2 will be critical to both SpaceX and the USAF for a number of reasons, ranging from rocket reusability to the future of US military launch procurement.
ICYMI: LightSail 2 is set to launch next month aboard a #SpaceX Falcon Heavy! Our citizen-funded solar sail is officially scheduled to lift off on 22 June 2019: https://t.co/J2AC5JQ1Kr pic.twitter.com/lC1MJoeh3C— Planetary Society (@exploreplanets) May 21, 2019
Rapid Falcon Heavy reuse
From a technological standpoint, Falcon Heavy Flight 3 will be a milestone in large part due to its reuse of two Falcon Heavy side boosters, previously flown on April 11th as part of Falcon Heavy’s Arabsat 6A commercial launch debut. Around eight minutes after launching the ~6450 kg (14,200 lb) satellite on its way to an exceptionally high transfer orbit of 90,000 km (56,000 mi), side boosters B1052 and B1053 completed flawless landings at LZ-1 and LZ-2.
Both boosters were quickly ‘broken over’ (brought horizontal) and transported to Pad 39A’s main hangar for inspection and refurbishment. Relative to almost all other Block 5 boosters, Falcon Heavy Flight 2’s side boosters were subjected to a uniquely gentle reentry thanks to a lower velocity stage separation. As such, they should be easier to turn around than most, but given that the boosters are also acting as partial pathfinders for the reuse of actual Falcon Heavy hardware, they are unlikely to break any records.
Sadly, the first Falcon Heavy Block 5 center core – B1055 – was toppled in high seas while still aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY), cutting short any possibility of future reuses of the thoroughly scorched booster. For unknown reasons, be it an unrelated USAF requirement or SpaceX simply choosing caution, plans already accounted for a new center core flying on STP-2, although both Arabsat 6A side boosters were to be reused. Believed to be B1057, that new Falcon Heavy center core completed its Texas acceptance testing in late April and shipped to Cape Canaveral, Florida soon after.
An Air Force first
Aside from offering a chance for SpaceX to tie its 72-day Falcon 9 turnaround record twice, STP-2 has unexpectedly become a keystone of the US military’s interest in certifying flight-proven rockets for military launches. The USAF has described the reuse of Falcon Heavy boosters on STP-2 as a step forward for all future reusable launch vehicles, but the reality is that SpaceX is and will remain the only player in town until 2022 at the earliest. The next closest entrant – Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket – is unlikely to be ready for its launch debut before late ’21 or early ’22. ULA’s “SMART” reuse of Vulcan rocket engine sections is unlikely to be ready before the mid-2020s, likely 2024-2026.
SpaceX, however, has already reused Falcon 9 boosters more than 20 times on orbital-class missions, and the frequency of reuse is only likely to increase with the introduction of the final major Falcon 9 and Heavy upgrade, known as Block 5. Designed with a nominal lifespan of 10+ launches, each booster can support a huge number of missions and also offers the potential to dramatically reduce launch costs down the road. Additionally, as noted by VP of Launch Reliability Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX firmly believes that reliability will come hand in hand with routine reuse, as each recovered booster can serve as a treasure trove of data. Thanks to reusability, SpaceX can fill recoverable boosters to the brim with cameras and gather full-resolution telemetry otherwise inaccessible for an expendable rocket.
The matter of launch costs is not a particularly significant concern of the US military, mainly a consequence of the incredibly disproportionate relationship between the cost of launch and the cost the military satellite payloads. An excellent example of this disparity can be found in SpaceX’s December 2018 launch of the USAF’s first GPS III satellite: SpaceX’s launch contract cost $82M, while the Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft aboard cost no less than ~$600M.
However, reusable rockets are quite plainly the future of space launch, evidenced by SpaceX’s meteoric rise and rapid cannibalization of the global commercial launch market. As a partial result, the survival of ULA – a Lockheed Martin-Boeing cooperative that builds the Delta IV and Atlas V rockets – is almost completely dependent upon military development and launch contracts. Blue Origin, however, is now offering the promise of an independently stable launch provider thanks to continual funding from owner Jeff Bezos, and reusability will be an absolute necessity if its massive New Glenn rocket is to succeed.
In short, the USAF is faced with a simple proposition: get behind reusable rockets or risk falling behind. SpaceX is more than happy to ease the conservative military branch into the new era, and Falcon Heavy’s STP-2 launch will be a major step in the right direction. Thanks to its reuse of two side boosters, Air Force officials will be able to observe the process of rapid refurbishment firsthand, providing information they will then use to develop certification requirements for flight-proven rockets. More generally, STP-2 will also act as a dedicated demonstration that SpaceX and the USAF will use to fully certify Falcon Heavy for military launches, hopefully ending Delta IV Heavy’s decade-long monopoly over military heavy lift.
Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.
News
SpaceX’s triple-rocket that launched a Tesla into space is back on a mission
SpaceX Falcon Heavy returns after 18 months away to deliver a satellite that only it could carry.
After an 18-month absence, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is returning to mission on Monday morning when it’s scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 10:21 a.m. EDT.
The mission is called ViaSat-3 F3, and the heavy satellite payload needs to reach geostationary orbit, sitting 22,236 miles above Earth where its speed matches the planet’s rotation. Getting a satellite that heavy to that altitude demands more thrust than a single-core Falcon 9 can deliver.
This marks the Falcon Heavy’s 12th flight overall since its debut in February 2018, and its first since NASA’s Europa Clipper mission in October 2024.
Arguably, the most exciting element for spectators will be watching the booster recoveries in action when the two side boosters, B1072 and B1075, will attempt simultaneous landings at Landing Zone 2 and the newer Landing Zone 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, while the center core will be expended over the ocean.
SpaceX wins its first MARS contract but it comes with a catch
Following satellite deployment, expected roughly five hours after launch, ViaSat-3 F3 will spend several months traveling to its final orbital slot before undergoing in-orbit testing, with service entry expected by late summer 2026
As Teslarati reported, NASA awarded SpaceX a $175.7 million contract on April 16, 2026 to launch the ESA Rosalind Franklin Mars rover aboard a Falcon Heavy no earlier than late 2028, which would mark the first time SpaceX has ever sent a payload to Mars. That contract came on top of an already deep pipeline that includes the Roman Space Telescope, the Dragonfly Saturn mission, and multiple national security payloads.
SpaceX executed 165 missions in 2025 and now accounts for approximately 85% of all global orbital launches. With Starlink surpassing 10 million subscribers and an IPO targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation still ahead, Monday’s launch is one more data point in a company that has quietly become the backbone of both commercial and government space access worldwide.
Elon Musk
The FCC just said ‘No’ to SpaceX for now
SpaceX is fighting the FCC for spectrum that could put satellites inside every smartphone.
SpaceX was dealt a new setback on April 23, 2006 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after the U.S. government agency dismissed the company’s petition to access a Mobile Satellite Service spectrum that would allow direct-to-device (D2D) capabilities.
The FCC regulates communications by radio, television, wire, and cable, which also includes regulating D2D technology that lets your existing smartphone connect directly to a satellite orbiting Earth, the same way it would connect to a cell tower.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been building toward this through its Starlink Mobile service, formerly called Direct-to-Cell, in partnership with T-Mobile. The service officially launched on July 23, 2025, starting with messaging and expanding to broadband data in October of that year.
T-Mobile Starlink Pricing Announced – Early Adopters Get Exclusive Discount
It’s worth noting that SpaceX is not alone in this race. AT&T and Verizon have their own satellite texting deals with AST SpaceMobile, while Verizon separately offers free satellite texting through Skylo on newer phones.
The regulatory foundation for all of this dates to March 14, 2024, when the FCC adopted the world’s first framework for what it called Supplemental Coverage from Space, allowing satellite operators to lease spectrum from terrestrial carriers and fill gaps in their coverage. On November 26, 2024, the FCC granted SpaceX the first-ever authorization under that framework, approving its partnership with T-Mobile to provide service in specific frequency bands. SpaceX then went further, completing a roughly $17 billion acquisition of wireless spectrum from EchoStar, which gave it the ability to negotiate with global carriers more independently.
Starlink’s EchoStar spectrum deal could bring 5G coverage anywhere
This recent ruling by the FCC blocked SpaceX from going further, protecting incumbent spectrum holders like Globalstar and Iridium. But the market momentum is already in motion. As Teslarati reported, SpaceX is targeting peak speeds of 150 Mbps per user for its next generation Direct-to-Cell service, compared to roughly 4 Mbps today, which would bring satellite connectivity close to standard carrier performance.
With a reported IPO targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation on the horizon, each spectrum fight, carrier deal, and regulatory win or loss now carries weight beyond just connectivity. SpaceX is quietly becoming the infrastructure layer underneath the phones of millions of people, and the FCC’s next move will help determine how much further that reach extends.
FCC Satellite Rule Makings can be found here.
Elon Musk
SpaceX just got pulled into the biggest Weapons Program in U.S. history
SpaceX joins the Golden Dome software group, deepening its role in America’s most expensive defense program.
SpaceX has joined a nine-company group developing the core operating software for the Golden Dome, America’s next-generation missile defense system. According to a Bloomberg report, SpaceX is focused on integrating satellite communications for military operations and is working alongside eight other defense and artificial intelligence companies, including Anduril Industries, Palantir Technologies, and Aalyria Technologies, to build software connecting missile defense capabilities.
The Golden Dome concept dates back to President Trump’s 2024 campaign, and on January 27, 2025, he signed an executive order directing the U.S. Armed Forces to construct the system before the end of his term. The system is planned to employ a constellation of thousands of satellites equipped with interceptors, with data centers in space providing automated control through an AI network.
FCC accepts SpaceX filing for 1 million orbital data center plan
Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, director of the Golden Dome initiative, has described the software layer as a “glue layer” that would enable officers to manage and control radars, sensors, and missile batteries across services. The consortium is aiming to test the platform this summer.
Trump selected a design in May 2025 with a $175 billion price tag, expected to be operational by the end of his term in 2029, though the Congressional Budget Office projected the cost could reach $831 billion over two decades.
The Golden Dome role is only the latest in a string of military wins for SpaceX. As Teslarati reported, the U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX a $178.5 million task order on April 1, 2026 to launch missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency, covering two Falcon 9 launches beginning in Q3 2027. That came on top of more than $22 billion in government contracts held by SpaceX as of 2024, per CEO Gwynne Shotwell, spanning NASA resupply missions, classified intelligence satellites through its Starshield program, and military broadband.
The accumulation of defense contracts, now including a seat at the table on the most expensive weapons program in U.S. history, positions SpaceX as the dominant infrastructure provider for American national security in space. With a SpaceX IPO still on the horizon, each new contract adds weight to what is already one of the most consequential companies in aerospace history, raising real questions about how much of America’s defense architecture will depend on a single private operator before it ever trades publicly.
SpaceX’s triple-rocket that launched a Tesla into space is back on a mission
The FCC just said ‘No’ to SpaceX for now
