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SpaceX to catch two Falcon 9 fairings at once with twin nets

In the last two weeks, SpaceX rapidly took Fast Supply Vessel (FSV) GO Ms. Chief from a blank slate to a nearly-complete twin of Ms. Tree (formerly Mr. Steven). (Greg Scott - @GregScott_photo)

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Over the last three or so weeks, SpaceX rocket recovery technicians and engineers have rapidly modified a second Falcon fairing recovery vessel – known as GO Ms. Chief – to the point that it appears to be almost ready for its first catch attempt.

Essentially a twin of GO Ms. Tree (formerly Mr. Steven), Ms. Chief now features four arms – each with two white support beams – that hold two massive, retractable nets. Ultimately, SpaceX has augmented Ms. Tree with Ms. Chief in a bid to simultaneously catch both parasailing halves of a Falcon 9 (or Heavy) payload fairing after any given launch, the Holy Grail of the company’s fairing recovery program.

A few days after the above photos were taken, SpaceX successfully installed Ms. Chief’s fairing-catching nets and has since taken the ship a few miles beyond Port Canaveral limits for sea trails – presumably meant to verify center of gravity and other performance characteristics. This may or may not have included tests of the newly-modified ship’s fairing recovery mechanism, referring to what is understood to be a direct link between fairing and ship designed to autonomously guide both to the right position for a catch.

Ensuring that that new hardware and software is in good working order is probably even more important than installing Ms. Chief’s arms and nets, evidenced by the fact that it took SpaceX more than 16 months and five failed attempts before Mr. Steven (now Ms. Tree) successfully caught its first fairing. The first success came on June 25th after Falcon Heavy’s third successful launch.

CEO Elon Musk posted a video – captured by drone – documenting Ms. Tree’s second successful Falcon 9 fairing catch ever. (SpaceX)

In an encouraging sign, SpaceX’s very next launch (with a fairing) – Falcon 9’s August 6th AMOS-17 mission – marked the second successful fairing catch ever, suggesting that the breakthrough(s) that enabled that first success may be broadly applicable. SpaceX’s next launch with a payload fairing should essentially confirm whether the company’s fairing recovery program has truly reached the end of the tunnel or if there is some distance still to go.

Since AMOS-17, however, SpaceX has been in the midst of a period of launch inactivity unprecedented since Falcon 9’s catastrophic Amos-6 failure in September 2016, triggering a fleet-grounding that lasted four months. That lull has undoubtedly given SpaceX’s recovery team plenty of time to outfit Ms. Chief and perform shakedowns of the vessel’s new hardware, but it also means that there have been zero opportunities for additional fairing-recovery data gathering.

According to publicly-available launch manifests, SpaceX no longer has firm dates for its next launch(es). Previously expected to be one or even two Starlink launches, those missions are now scheduled to launch sometime in October or November. The Kacific-1 communications satellite currently has a (fairly) firm launch target of November 11th, making the mission the best possible bet for SpaceX’s next launch – at least for the time being.

On the plus side, regardless of when SpaceX is able to break its now two-month-long launch hiatus, it appears extremely likely that said launch will become the first attempt at simultaneously catching both Falcon fairing halves. If successful, it could quite rapidly pave the way towards fast, low-cost fairing reuse, a necessity for the economic deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet constellation.

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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 just unlocked sales to 50,000+ government agencies

It marks a significant step in expanding Tesla’s presence in the public sector, where procurement processes have traditionally slowed electric vehicle adoption.

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Credit: Patrick Bean | X

Tesla just unlocked sales to over 50,000 government agencies by entering a new agreement with Sourcewell, a purchasing cooperative.

Tesla entered a new master purchasing agreement with Sourcewell, the largest government purchasing cooperative in the U.S. This will enable streamlined sales of its EVs to more than 50,000 U.S. public entities. Tesla entered Designated Contract 0813525-TES, and the agreement covers Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck, and potentially other vehicles the company could release.

It marks a significant step in expanding Tesla’s presence in the public sector, where procurement processes have traditionally slowed electric vehicle adoption.

The deal allows eligible agencies, including cities, school districts, state governments, and higher-education institutions, to purchase Tesla vehicles directly through Sourcewell without conducting their own lengthy competitive bidding or request-for-proposal (RFP) processes.

Pricing is pre-negotiated and capped, providing transparency and predictability. Agencies simply register for a Sourcewell account online or by phone and place orders under the existing contract. This cooperative model aggregates demand across thousands of members, reducing administrative costs and time while ensuring compliance with public procurement rules.

For Tesla, the agreement removes major barriers to government fleet sales. Public-sector procurement cycles often stretch 12 to 18 months due to bidding requirements and committee reviews.

Tesla buyers in the U.S. military can get $1,000 off Cybertruck purchases

By securing the master contract, Tesla gains immediate, simplified access to a massive customer base that previously faced friction in adopting EVs. The company highlighted in its announcement that the partnership will help these 50,000-plus agencies “save thousands of $$$ in operating costs for their vehicle fleet over time” through lower maintenance, energy efficiency, and the elimination of tailpipe emissions.

The initial four-year term runs through November 13, 2029, with options for up to three one-year extensions, offering long-term stability for both parties.

Sourcewell’s role is central to execution. As a cooperative purchasing organization, it negotiates and manages vendor contracts on behalf of its members, then makes them available nationwide. Participating entities contact Tesla’s dedicated fleet team or Sourcewell representatives to complete purchases, bypassing redundant paperwork.

This structure accelerates fleet electrification while maintaining fiscal accountability—agencies receive pre-vetted pricing and terms without reinventing the wheel for each vehicle order.

The partnership positions Tesla to capture a larger share of the public fleet market, where total cost of ownership often favors electric vehicles once procurement hurdles are removed.

For government buyers, it translates to faster deployment of sustainable fleets, reduced long-term expenses, and alignment with environmental mandates. As more agencies transition, the contract could contribute to broader EV infrastructure growth and taxpayer savings across the country.

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Elon Musk

How much of SpaceX will Elon Musk own after IPO will surprise you

SpaceX’s IPO filing confirms Musk will maintain his voting power to make key decisions for the company.

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Rendering of Elon Musk overlooking a Starship fleet (Credit: Grok)

Elon Musk will retain dominant voting control of SpaceX after it goes public, according to the company’s IPO prospectus that was filed with the SEC. The filing reveals a dual-class equity structure giving Class B shareholders 10 votes each, concentrating power with Musk and a handful of other insiders, while Class A shares sold to public investors carry one vote.

Musk holds approximately 42% of SpaceX’s equity and controls roughly 79% of its votes through super-voting shares. He will simultaneously serve as CEO, CTO, and chairman of the nine-member board after the listing. Beyond that, the filing includes provisions that may limit shareholders’ influence over board elections and legal actions, forcing disputes into arbitration and restricting where they can be brought.

The case for Musk holding this level of control is grounded in SpaceX’s actual history. The company’s most important bets, from reusable rockets to a global satellite internet constellation, were decisions that ran against conventional aerospace thinking and would likely have faced resistance from a board accountable to investor gains. Fully reusable rockets were considered economically irrational by established industry players for years. Starlink, which now generates over $4 billion in annual operating profit, was widely dismissed as financially unviable when it was proposed. The argument for concentrated founder control seems straightforward, and the decisions that built SpaceX into what it is today required someone willing to ignore consensus and absorb years of losses.

SpaceX files confidentially for IPO that will rewrite the record books

For context, Musk’s position is significantly more dominant than Zuckerberg’s at Meta. The comparison with Tesla is also worth noting. When Tesla did its IPO in 2010, it did not issue dual-class shares. Musk has only recently pushed for enhanced voting protection, proposing at least 25% control at Tesla in 2024 after selling shares to fund his Twitter acquisition left him with around 13%.

SpaceX has clearly learned from that experience and structured the IPO differently by planning to allocate up to 30% of shares to retail investors, roughly three times the typical norm for a large offering. The roadshow is expected to begin the week of June 8, with a Nasdaq listing rumored to be a $1.75 trillion valuation and a $75 billion raise.

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Tesla bolsters App with new safety, insurance, and storage features

The Tesla Smartphone App is one of the biggest and best features and advantages owners have. Everything from moving the vehicle with Summon, to getting Navigation sent to the car, to preconditioning the cabin can be done with the Tesla App.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is bolstering its smartphone App with a series of new features to streamline operations for owners. The new additions include fixes to safety, its in-house insurance offering, and storage management for Dashcam clips.

The Tesla Smartphone App is one of the biggest and best features and advantages owners have. Everything from moving the vehicle with Summon, to getting Navigation sent to the car, to preconditioning the cabin can be done with the Tesla App.

But in classic Tesla fashion, the company is aiming to improve the offerings of the app, and it is doing so with a handful of new features. They were first discovered by Tesla App Updates.

Tesla Insurance – Safety Score 3.0

This is truly part of the Spring 2026 Update, but Tesla has now given more transparency on how FSD has saved people money on their premiums.

Tesla intertwines FSD with in-house Insurance for attractive incentive

Additionally, Tesla is now automatically awarding a Safety Score of 100 for every mile traveled on Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

Update Tracking

Updates traditionally appear on the App or on the Center Touchscreen in the car. There is nothing better than seeing that Green Arrow at the top of the screen, or opening your app and seeing that there is a Software Update available.

Now, there will be no need to manually check the app and initiate the download. Tesla is enabling a new feature that will automatically download updates for you.

Storage Management

Your USB drive can now be remotely formatted, and old Dashcam clips can be deleted straight from the phone. When you record a lot of things using the Dashcam feature, that storage fills up pretty quickly.

Now, manually deleting the Dashcam videos is easier than ever.

Trailer Light Test

This is perhaps the coolest and most crucial addition to the Tesla App, as those who tow and haul will now be able to trigger a diagnostic light sequence from the app while standing behind your trailer to ensure the brake lights work.

Verifying your trailer lights are connected properly and operating normally and as intended is normally a massive hassle.

Now, a new trigger will be available to initiate a diagnostic light sequence directly from your phone.

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