News
SpaceX’s Pacific rocket recovery fleet heads to sea for Western Block 5 debut
SpaceX drone ship Just Read The Instructions was spotted by Teslarati photographer Pauline Acalin departing Port of Los Angeles on the evening of July 22, while fairing catcher Mr Steven completed final checkouts and full installation of his massive new net, hopefully just days away from the first successful fairing catch. Their call to action, Iridium NEXT-7, is scheduled to launch NET 04:39 PDT/11:39 UTC, July 25th.
Over the course of July, both vessels have been undergoing significant maintenance and upgrades. Mr Steven’s was perhaps the most extreme – his original arm and net apparatus was removed in its entirety and replaced with a massively upgraded system of arms, booms, and a brand new net, well and truly expanding the vessel’s catching area by a factor of four.
With a new net and arm span stretching at least 60 meters by 60 meters, Mr Steven’s improved fairing catching mechanism is now almost the same size as the landing area aboard SpaceX’s two autonomous spaceport drone ships – roughly 200ft x 300ft (60m x 90m). While presumably a pure coincidence, the size parallels apparently necessary to recover two very different components of Falcon 9 – the booster rocket and the payload fairings – is rather satisfying.

A last hurrah?
Intriguingly, ASDS Just Read The Instructions has stoically remained at SpaceX’s Port of San Pedro, CA berth for more than nine months, wholly unused despite the fact that the company has completed four additional missions since its last tasked booster recovery (October 2017, Iridium-3). It’s not a coincidence that all four of those Vandenberg AFB missions featured boosters that had already successfully launched and landed once before – SpaceX made a habit over the last four months of intentionally expending Falcon 9 boosters after their second missions, even when the launch conditions would allow for booster recovery.
This mission will thankfully bring an end to that understandable but still-painful practice, thanks to Iridium-7’s new Block 5 booster, B1048. Many of the months JRTI spent at berth were without the pod thrusters the drone ship needs to keep itself at the proper landing point once at sea, but JRTI departed the port with a full complement of four blue thrusters on the evening of July 22. However, it’s unclear how much SpaceX will need the vessel within just a month or two from today.
- A SpaceX technician works aboard the rain-soaked drone ship Just Read The Instructions, March 2018. (Pauline Acalin)
- More recently, all four thrusters were installed and tested both while berthed and at sea. May 11. (Pauline Acalin)
- JRTI captured conducting sea-trials by photographer Chuck Bennett. (Instagram, @chuckbennett)
At long last, SpaceX’s planned, built, and now-patiently-waiting West Coast landing zone is finally finished, permitted, and in the green to begin supporting Falcon 9 return-to-launch-site (RTLS) recoveries at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Effectively a basic copy of SpaceX’s now well-worn landing zone pair in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the company’s VAFB LZ-1 has been hinted at in two FCC launch permits for launches as early as the first and last weeks of September. Aside from Iridium launches, of which just one will remain after Iridium-7, nearly all of SpaceX’s West Coast launches are for fairly lightweight payloads that should easily allow Falcon 9 RTLS recoveries.
- Iridium-1’s successful and scenic landing on Pacific drone ship JRTI, January 2017. This could be an increasingly rare occurrence in the Pacific, thanks to SpaceX’s new land-based landing zone. (SpaceX)
- SpaceX’s West Coast landing zone is preparing for its debut, currently NET October 6th 2018. (Pauline Acalin/Teslarati)
Environmental conditions mean that JRTI will still be needed regularly for a handful of months (March through June) to avoid disrupting baby seals (pups, technically), but the vessel’s recovery efforts this week may be one of the last ‘off-season’ examples for months or even years to come. On the plus side, RTLS recovery at SpaceX’s VAFB landing zone will be an absolute dream for recovery technicians, as the LZ is directly beside the launch pad and hangar, where recovered Block 5 boosters can likely be refurbished or at least easily packaged and shipped to the Hawthorne factory.
For more sneak peeks and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet, including drone ship Just Read The Instructions, be sure to subscribe to our exclusive membership program!
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi safety monitor removal in Austin: here’s when
Musk has made the claim about removing Safety Monitors from Tesla Robotaxi vehicles in Austin three times this year, once in September, once in October, and once in November.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Tuesday at the xAI Hackathon that the company would be removing Safety Monitors from Robotaxis in Austin in just three weeks.
This would meet Musk’s timeline from earlier this year, as he has said on several occasions that Tesla Robotaxis would have no supervision in Austin by the end of 2025.
On Tuesday, Musk said:
“Unsupervised is pretty much solved at this point. So there will be Tesla Robotaxis operating in Austin with no one in them. Not even anyone in the passenger seat in about three weeks.”
Musk has made the claim about removing Safety Monitors from Tesla Robotaxi vehicles in Austin three times this year, once in September, once in October, and once in November.
In September, he said:
“Should be no safety driver by end of year.”
The safety driver is just there for the first few months to be extra safe.
Should be no safety driver by end of year.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2025
On the Q3 Earnings Call in October, he said:
“We are expecting ot have no safety drivers in at least large parts of Austin by the end of this year.”
Finally, in November, he reiterated the timeline in a public statement at the Shareholder Meeting:
“I expect Robotaxis to operate without safety drivers in large parts of Austin this year.”
Currently, Tesla uses Safety Monitors in Austin in the passenger’s seat on local roads. They will sit in the driver’s seat for highway routes. In the Bay Area ride-hailing operation, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat.
Three weeks would deliver on the end-of-year promise, cutting it close, beating it by just two days. However, it would be a tremendous leap forward in the Robotaxi program, and would shut the mouths of many skeptics who state the current iteration is no different than having an Uber.
Tesla has also expanded its Robotaxi fleet this year, but the company has not given exact figures. Once it expands its fleet, even more progress will be made in Tesla’s self-driving efforts.
News
SpaceX reportedly mulling IPO, eyeing largest of all time: report
“I do want to try to figure out some way for Tesla shareholders to participate in SpaceX. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how to give people access to SpaceX stock,” Musk said.
SpaceX is reportedly mulling an initial public offering, eyeing what would be the largest valuation at the time of availability of all time, a new report from Bloomberg said on Tuesday.
It is one of many reports involving one of Elon Musk’s companies and a massive market move, as this is not the first time we have seen reports of an IPO by SpaceX. Musk himself has also dispelled other reports in the past of a similar nature, including an xAI funding round.
SpaceX and Musk have yet to comment on the report. In the past, untrue reports were promptly replied to by the CEO; this has not yet gained any response, which is a good sign in terms of credibility.
However, he said just a few days ago that stories of this nature are inaccurate:
“There has been a lot of press claiming SpaceX is raising money at $800B, which is not accurate. SpaceX has been cash flow positive for many years and does periodic stock buybacks twice a year to provide liquidity for employees and investors. Valuation increments are a function of progress with Starship and Starlink and securing global direct-to-cell spectrum that greatly increases our addressable market. And one other thing that is arguably most significant by far.”
There has been a lot of press claiming @SpaceX is raising money at $800B, which is not accurate.
SpaceX has been cash flow positive for many years and does periodic stock buybacks twice a year to provide liquidity for employees and investors.
Valuation increments are a…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 6, 2025
Musk has discussed a potential IPO for SpaceX in recent months, as the November 6 shareholder meeting, as he commented on the “downsides” of having a public company, like litigation exposure, quarterly reporting pressures, and other inconveniences.
Nevertheless, Musk has also said he wants there to be a way for Tesla shareholders to get in on the action. At the meeting in early November, he said:
“I do want to try to figure out some way for Tesla shareholders to participate in SpaceX. I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how to give people access to SpaceX stock.”
Additionally, he added:
“Maybe at some point., SpaceX should become a public company despite all the downsides of being public.”
Musk has been historically reluctant to take SpaceX public, at times stating it could become a barrier to colonizing Mars. That does not mean it will not happen.
Bloomberg’s report cites multiple unidentified sources who are familiar with the matter. They indicate to the publication that SpaceX wants to go public in mid-to-late 2026, and it wants to raise $30 billion at a valuation of around $1.5 trillion.
This is not the first time SpaceX has discussed an IPO; we reported on it nine years ago. We hope it is true, as the community has spoken for a long time about having access to SpaceX stock. Legendary investor Ron Baron is one of the lucky few to be a SpaceX investor, and said it, along with Tesla, is a “lifetime investment.”
Tesla bull Ron Baron reveals $100M SpaceX investment, sees 3-5x return on TSLA
The primary driver of SpaceX’s value is Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service. Starlink contributes 60-70 percent of SpaceX’s revenue, meaning it is the primary value engine. Launch services, like Falcon 9 contracts, and the development of Starship, also play supporting roles.
News
SpaceX reaches incredible milestone with Starlink program
SpaceX reached an incredible milestone with its Starlink program with a launch last night, as the 3,000th satellite of the year was launched into low Earth orbit.
On Monday, SpaceX also achieved its 32nd flight with a single Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The mission was Starlink 6-92, and it utilized the Falcon 9 B1067 for the 32nd time this year, the most-used Falcon booster. The flight delivered SpaceX’s 3000th Starlink satellite of the year, a massive achievement.
There were 29 Starlink satellites launched and deployed into LEO during this particular mission:
Falcon 9 launches 29 @Starlink satellites from Florida pic.twitter.com/utKrXjHzPN
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 9, 2025
SpaceX has a current goal of certifying its Falcon boosters for 40 missions apiece, according to Spaceflight Now.
The flight was the 350th orbital launch from the nearby SLC-40, and the 3,000 satellites that have been successfully launched this year continue to contribute to the company’s goal of having 12,000 satellites contributing to global internet coverage.
There are over five million users of Starlink, the latest data shows.
Following the launch and stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster completed its mission with a perfect landing on the ‘Just Read the Instructions’ droneship.
The mission was the 575th overall Falcon 9 launch, highlighting SpaceX’s operational tempo, which continues to be accelerated. The company averages two missions per week, and underscores CEO Elon Musk’s vision of a multi-planetary future, where reliable connectivity is crucial for remote work, education, and emergency response.
As Starlink expands and works toward that elusive and crucial 12,000 satellite goal, missions like 6-92 pave the way for innovations in telecommunications and enable more internet access to people across the globe.
With regulatory approvals in over 100 countries and millions of current subscribers, SpaceX continues to democratize space, proving that reusability is not just feasible, but it’s also revolutionary.




