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SpaceX breaks pad turnaround record with two Falcon 9 launches in six days
SpaceX has completed its 43rd launch of 2022 and 62nd dedicated Starlink launch overall, breaking a launch pad turnaround record in the process.
That pad – Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) – is the single most important cog in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch machine, significantly increasing the significance of what might otherwise be ‘just’ another broken record for a company that is famous for never settling.
Following several delays linked to another weather-plagued Starlink launch (4-34) that flew out of the same pad, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from LC-40 on SpaceX’s Starlink 4-35 mission at 7:32 pm EDT (23:32 UTC), Saturday, September 24th. As usual, the mission used a flight-proven Falcon 9 booster (B1073), two flight-proven payload fairing halves, and an expendable second stage. As usual, all four components performed flawlessly, and a new batch of 52 Starlink V1.5 satellites was deployed about 15 minutes after liftoff.
Just the latest of dozens completed since May 2019, SpaceX’s Starlink missions have become extraordinarily routine – a testament to the company’s relentless pursuit of perfection, given just how difficult it is to successfully launch a rocket once. 62 dedicated Starlink launches later, Falcon 9 has successfully delivered every single Starlink satellite it has ever carried (almost 3400 spacecraft) into the proper orbit, losing only two boosters in the process.
But even though the missions have become routine, SpaceX has spent every waking second optimizing its rockets and operations to squeeze more performance and more cadence out of each part. The results can only be described as a resounding success. In 2018 and 2019, SpaceX launched an average of 17 Falcon rockets per year. SpaceX’s annual cadence grew to 26 launches in 2020 and 31 in 2021.
That progress pales next to the cadence SpaceX is on track to achieve in 2022. In less than nine months, the company has completed 43 Falcon 9 launches. Before the end of July, barely six months into the year, SpaceX had beaten its annual record of 31 launches. If it can maintain the same average pace it’s sustained over the last 12 months, SpaceX could realistically complete 58 Falcon launches in 2022. If it continues the even more impressive pace it’s achieved in Q3 (~17 launches), it could manage 60+ launches this year.
Only one other rocket family in history (the Soviet R-7) has successfully completed more launches in a calendar year.
SpaceX, of course, has no plans to accept the potentially record-breaking launch cadence it’s achieved as a new status quo. Just two-thirds of the way through 2022, CEO Elon Musk revealed that SpaceX is targeting up to 100 launches in 2023. As previously reported on Teslarati, while that figure seems implausible at first glance, it was still within the realm of possibility given SpaceX’s already established capabilities.
Just a few weeks later, Musk’s 100-launch target has gone from barely within reach to a serious – if still unlikely – possibility thanks to the record SpaceX broke with Starlink 4-35. SpaceX’s latest Starlink mission lifted off from LC-40 just 5.97 days after Starlink 4-34 launched from the same pad, smashing its old turnaround record (7.67 days) by almost 25%.
For LC-40, already SpaceX’s workhorse pad and the source of the company’s fastest pad turnaround, the new record means, in theory, that one of its three pads can now singlehandedly support up to 60 Falcon 9 launches per year. Assuming that any launch pad can or will sustainably operate close to its record turnaround time for an entire year would be unwise. But, at minimum, the new record gives SpaceX new margins that it can use to significantly increase LC-40’s annual cadence in a more sustainable way. In 2022, LC-40 has averaged 12.7 days per launch. In Q3, it’s on track to average about 10.3 days per launch.
Most importantly, there’s evidence that SpaceX didn’t simply manage a heroic one-time feat with Starlink 4-35. Confirmed by Next Spaceflight, Ben Cooper, and airspace restriction filings, SpaceX has tentative plans to launch Starlink 4-36 from LC-40 as early as 6:36 pm EDT on Friday, September 30th – a turnaround slightly faster than the new record. Another Falcon 9 launch out of LC-40 – EchoStar’s Galaxy 33/34 mission – could follow Starlink 4-36 as early as October 5th, although that mission is more likely to slip a day or two.
There’s a big risk that Storm/Hurricane Ian will create unacceptable weather conditions, forcing SpaceX to delay the launch, but for now, there’s still a chance.
Tesla has stunned by gaining yet another approval for its Full Self-Driving suite in Europe, its second in two days and its fifth overall.
Belgium will be the latest country to allow Tesla owners to utilize FSD on public roads in Europe, joining a quickly growing list that started with the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Estonia.
On Tuesday, Denmark announced its approval of the FSD suite, which has now been followed by Belgium just one day later.
The country’s Minister of Mobility, Annick De Ridder, announced the approval on her X account, stating that she had just signed the approval of Tesla FSD. It now goes to the country’s homologation department for the last step of the approval process.
De @Tesla community houdt hier al geruime tijd de vinger aan de pols over de toelating voor de FSD-technologie op onze Vlaamse en Belgische wegen.
Uit waardering voor jullie niet-aflatende interesse (en aanmoediging 😉), krijgen jullie hierbij de primeur: ik heb net de toelating… pic.twitter.com/Yrps4OHTj8— Annick De Ridder (@AnnickDeRidder) June 10, 2026
The Belgian approval is one of mighty importance because it truly shows how quickly countries in Europe could greenlight the FSD suite consecutively. Approvals are already coming in relatively quickly, which is a great sign.
Perhaps the next big development that could come from FSD approvals in Europe is an approval from a country like England, Italy, France, Spain, or Germany. It would be something to see how FSD would perform in a major European metro, such as London, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Rome, or Berlin.
Getting Full Self-Driving in Spain and England will be such huge milestones for Tesla. I am so excited to see how FSD performs in Madrid, Barcelona, and London, specifically.
The ultimate test will always be Mumbai or New Delhi. Excited for India’s eventual approval! https://t.co/paw9Ch1qmL pic.twitter.com/9RdDERVSSJ
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 9, 2026
Full Self-Driving does an excellent job of roaming around major U.S. cities like New York and Los Angeles, but other high-profile international cities of significance would truly mark a line in the sand for Tesla, which can simply enable any vehicle in its customer-owned fleet to run FSD with the correct approvals.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently confronted worries about orbital data centers and launching satellites in mass quantities in space, as some voiced concerns about crowding.
Musk’s SpaceX plans to combat the issue of needing data centers by launching them into space instead of taking up valuable real estate on Earth. It has been a major point of SpaceX’s future, including its looming IPO, which could be the largest ever.
In a recent interview filmed at SpaceX’s Starlink terminal factory in Bastrop, Texas, Elon Musk directly addressed concerns that deploying large numbers of AI satellites for orbital data centers could crowd Earth’s orbit. His message was straightforward and reassuring: space is vast beyond human intuition.
“Space is really big,” Musk said. “It’s not like space is gonna get crowded. Space is enormous. If you actually look at it relative to the Earth, the satellites are so tiny you can’t even see them.” He emphasized that even zooming in makes a satellite appear large, but from a planetary perspective, they are minuscule specks.
Elon on concerns that AI satellites will crowd space:
“Space is really big. It’s not like space is gonna get crowded. Space is enormous. If you actually look at it relative to the earth, the satellites are so tiny you can’t even see them.” https://t.co/Mvr7NpL25Q pic.twitter.com/5Fi629Rii7
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 8, 2026
Musk pointed to SpaceX’s real-world experience operating roughly 10,000 Starlink satellites as evidence that large constellations can be managed safely. “We’ve got a pretty good idea of how to operate just really large constellations and do it safely,” he noted. SpaceX remains the only operator with meaningful experience at this scale, giving the company unique insight into tight orbital packing without compromising safety
The discussion highlighted SpaceX’s plans for “AI1” satellites—essentially orbiting racks of AI compute powered by massive solar arrays and cooled via radiative panels in space’s vacuum.
These satellites leverage proven Starlink V3 technology, making them simpler to design than communications satellites. A first-generation unit targets around 150 kW peak power, with a 70-meter wingspan for solar panels and radiators. Laser links will connect them to each other and the Starlink network, delivering low-latency access (on the order of a few milliseconds from low-Earth orbit).
FCC accepts SpaceX filing for 1 million orbital data center plan
Musk framed orbital data centers as a practical solution to Earth’s constraints on AI growth. Ground-based facilities face power shortages, water demands for cooling, and grid limitations. In space, constant sunlight (no day-night cycle), vacuum radiative cooling, and abundant solar energy offer clear advantages.
Production will ramp up at an expanded “Gigasat” factory in Bastrop, with solar manufacturing already underway and full AI satellite output expected at reasonable volume by the end of 2027. Starship’s rapid, high-volume launch capability, aiming for multiple flights per hour, will make massive deployment feasible.
Critics sometimes raise risks like space debris or Kessler syndrome, but Musk’s response underscores scale: even a million satellites would represent an imperceptible fraction of available orbital volume when viewed against Earth’s size. SpaceX’s automated collision avoidance and deorbiting designs for Starlink further mitigate concerns.
This vision ties into broader ambitions. Musk sees orbital AI compute as a step toward harnessing more of the Sun’s energy, advancing humanity on the Kardashev scale from a Type 0 civilization toward Type 1 and eventually Type 2. By moving power-hungry data centers off-planet, SpaceX aims to unlock orders-of-magnitude more compute while preserving Earth’s resources.
Musk’s comments should ease public anxiety. With proven operational expertise, incremental engineering, and the immensity of space itself, orbital data centers represent not overcrowding, but smart expansion into the final frontier.
Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is currently listed as a Level 2 suite in terms of its passenger cars. As its Robotaxi platform continues to move quickly, it has been recognized as a Level 4 ride-sharing program by the State of Texas, as Tesla recently self-certified itself.
However, a Wall Street analyst is arguing that Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has effectively achieved Level 4 autonomy in most conditions in all of its vehicles, drawing on personal experience and data released by the company.
Alex Potter of Piper Sandler said in a note to investors on Wednesday that “Tesla has solved the self-driving puzzle,” pointing to decisions to offer insurance discounts for FSD-enabled policies as a signal of confidence, which is backed up by stellar safety records compared to human driving.
Investing.com initially reported on Potter’s new note.
Additionally, Potter looks at the recent start of Cybercab production at Giga Texas as a potential indication that Tesla is ready to offer some level of unsupervised driving at least in the near future. The Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals, completely eliminating the ability for human input.
He also sees Tesla’s allocation of “several hundred million USD (if not $1B+)” as confidence internally, seeing as it would be tough to set aside that amount of capital toward a project that the company does not see as relatively near-term.
Forward thinking, especially as Cybercab has no human controls, it would make sense that Tesla is at least close to self-driving. How close is another question.
Tesla has routinely teased that unsupervised FSD is close, but there are still a lot of things it feels as if the company has to roll out some more capability, including unsupervised parking features, known as “Banish,” better operation with regional self-driving performance, and other improvements.
That is not to say that Tesla FSD is super impressive already. It has already completed coast-to-coast drives across the United States and Canada, it routinely takes the stress out of driving for most people, and it has proven through Tesla Safety Reports that it is safer and involved in accidents less frequently than humans.
🚨 These are the first-ever FSD safety statistics out of the Netherlands, showing it was over 3.5x safer than human driving on Dutch roads.
The most recent numbers out of Tesla for North America show:
-Over 5.5 million miles between accidents for Teslas using FSD
-660k miles… https://t.co/XKlRzgSGEh pic.twitter.com/HX6kzh0ZKc— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 9, 2026
Even Potter believes it is capable, as he used it to go from Missoula, Montana, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, back in April.
“There’s no substitute for personal experience,” he wrote.
Tesla stuns with another FSD approval in Europe, its second in two days
SpaceX’s Elon Musk relieves worries about orbital data centers
