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SpaceX’s reusable rockets snag two more launch contracts
SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket has secured another two launch contracts, this time from longtime customer and prolific satellite communications provider SES.
In 2016, SES acquired satellite operator and communications provider O3B Networks, inheriting a network of 12 O3B satellites that it would later shepherd into a full 20-satellite constellation. Built by contractor Thales Alenia Space, the O3B spacecraft design was ironically quite similar to the Starlink satellites SpaceX would begin to field several years later, weighing around 700 kg (1540 lb) and each offering bandwidth of ~16 gigabits per second (Gbps).
The original O3B constellation was ultimately launched on five separate Russian Soyuz rockets arranged by Arianespace. Now, some 16 months after the final O3B launch, SES’ latest announcement confirms that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets will launch the entirety of an upgraded constellation called O3B mPower – adding two more launches to the company’s busy manifest.
Compared to O3B, O3B mPower will be a major upgrade, beating the original medium Earth orbit (MEO; ~8000 km/5000 mi) constellation’s overall bandwidth by at least a factor of 3. SES has yet to reveal much technical detail about each spacecraft but the implication is that the overall constellation – currently expected to be 11 satellites – will add several terabits per second (Tbps) of global communications capacity.
SES (and O3B prior to acquisition) had already ordered seven ~17O3B mPower satellites from Boeing and selected SpaceX for launch services. Now, the company has purchased four more Boeing-built satellites, launch services from SpaceX, and insurance for an eye-watering ~$570 million – more than $140 million apiece. For reference, based on statements made by CEO Elon Musk in the last ~18 months, SpaceX may have built and launched nearly 600 operational Starlink satellites – each offering ~20 Gbps of bandwidth and far lower latency – for roughly the same sum, assuming ~$20 million per Falcon 9 launch, $300,000 per satellite, and at least $150 million for initial development.
Of course, for the money, SES will be getting a system that can do things SpaceX’s current generation of Starlink satellites can’t really compete with and will focus primarily on in-flight and maritime connectivity markets. Individual O3B mPower antenna beams will reportedly be capable of transmitting “multiple gigabits per second.”
Regardless, the strong, continued relationship between SES and SpaceX is not a huge surprise. SES has flown six times on Falcon 9 rockets and was both SpaceX’s first geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) launch customer in 2013 and the first company in history to launch on a flight-proven rocket booster in 2017. SES’ latest launch contracts ensure that that relationship is guaranteed to continue until 2024.
SpaceX is now scheduled to launch four separate O3B mPower missions, beginning with three three-satellite Falcon 9 launches in Q3 2021, Q1 2022, and H2 2022 and culminating (for now) with a two-satellite launch no earlier than (NET) H2 2024.
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Tesla flexed one incredible Robotaxi metric during the Q2 Earnings Call that skeptics have to hate to hear. The company’s platform has already driven more than 380,000 miles of unsupervised ride-hailing across several states with no notable incidents.
During the company’s Q2 Earnings Call on Wednesday, Vice President of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said:
“First of all, I’d like to state that the Robotaxi program has been operating extremely well. Especially in terms of safety, the program has had an impeccable safety record. We have driven more than 380,000 miles of unsupervised Robotaxi, now across six cities in two different states. We have had zero notable incidents. Any reports have been of other actors impacting us when we were stationary. I like to emphasize how safe the operation has been so far. Zero notable incidents over 380,000 miles.”
Elluswamy’s claim over Robotaxi miles is a significant milestone for Tesla in the grand scheme, especially considering this is a sizeable number of miles without any incident.
0 notable incidents across over 380,000 miles traveled by Robotaxi
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 22, 2026
Tesla’s self-driving approach is much different than that of other companies. Tesla has maintained that vision is the only thing needed to have a solid and effective self-driving suite. Many self-driving companies utilize things like LiDAR, sensors, and other elements to improve performance, but Elluswamy sent a jab at those who believe it’s needed.
“Historically, the so-called experts have always claimed that you need LiDARs, radars, HD maps, and the entire kitchen sink to drive safely. Here we show that such is not true. You can have safe, comfortable, and affordable autonomy with just cameras. This record should be a huge validation of Tesla’s entire AI approach.”
The feat of accumulating this many miles without any driver behind the wheel is impressive. The thing is, Tesla is also doing this across several different locations, with varying traffic rules, pedestrian levels, weather patterns, and other important factors.
While Tesla is not ready to roll out an unsupervised platform completely, it is a slow but steady indication that the company is well on its way to figuring things out.
The company’s attitude toward expansion is slow, safe, and controlled, and despite this huge milestone, it will still be some time until we see Tesla truly unleash unsupervised rides more aggressively.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
SpaceX’s Starship flew successfully Friday, landing both stages and deploying its first Starlink V3 satellites.
Starship’s thirteenth test flight delivered exactly what SpaceX needed with a clean liftoff, two successful stage recoveries, and the first real payload the vehicle has ever carried to space. Booster 20 and Ship 40 lifted off at 5:51 p.m. CT from Starbase, and by the time the mission wrapped roughly an hour later, both halves of the rocket had done exactly what they were supposed to do.
Booster 20 separated from Ship 40 a few minutes into the flight and stuck a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about six minutes after liftoff. That is a meaningful turnaround from Flight 12 in May, when the booster lost several engines during its boostback burn before a hard water landing attempt.
Starship as seen from Starlink satellites pic.twitter.com/e2hvfmnewh
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2026
Starship 40’s performance was arguably the bigger win. The vehicle deployed the first 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites Starship has ever carried, then flew a suborbital arc to a landing in the Indian Ocean that SpaceX commentator Dan Huot called the company’s softest splashdown yet. “This is a dream scenario for this team that’s trying to get this heat shield data,” Huot said on the live broadcast, according to Space.com’s live coverage. “I’m a little over the moon right now. Wow. Lucky number 13.”
Unlike the mass simulators SpaceX flew on Flight 12, these were production Starlink V3 satellites, meant to extend solar arrays and antennas and attempt to link with the broader constellation before reentering minutes later. Getting real hardware through a full deploy sequence on only the second flight of the V3 generation keeps Starship on schedule for the payload work NASA is counting on for future Artemis lunar landings.
What an awesome launch, really seems like everything went super well and it was all incredibly smooth.
SpaceX is awesome. Very interested to see how the market will respond on Monday pic.twitter.com/KSHmyBfV55
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 25, 2026
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 25, 2026
The flight also arrives at a moment when SpaceX needed a win. SPCX has traded below its $135 IPO price since mid-July, as Teslarati reported when the mission slipped to Friday, and short interest has climbed to roughly a third of the tradable float. A clean flight will not fix a balance sheet, but it does answer the one question SpaceX absolutely needed answered this week: whether the fixes made after the July 16 abort would hold up under real flight conditions. They did, on both stages, on the first try after the redesign.
SpaceX has not set a target date for Flight 14, though the company has said it wants to push toward an orbital attempt on the next mission. After Friday, that goal looks a lot more within reach.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.
The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:
Tesla Diner opened exactly 1 year ago. Inspiring that futuristic places like this exist.
It’s our highest usage Supercharger in the world: 21.2 GWh delivered in a year, 1.6k sessions/day.
Top 10 Superchargers by energy delivered: https://t.co/9YvJ8lw696 pic.twitter.com/koB3AUJHws
— Max (@MdeZegher) July 21, 2026
On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.
Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.
Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand
Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.
Tesla flexes incredible Robotaxi metric that skeptics will hate
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
