News
SpaceX "DARKSAT" results: can Starlink and astronomy happily coexist?
Astronomers have begun to gather and analyze detailed observations of a SpaceX Starlink satellite prototype officially labeled DARKSAT and the initial results hint that the satellite constellation should be able to happily coexist with ground-based astronomy in the future.
Since SpaceX began launching batches of 60 Starlink satellites in May 2019, the company has raised the ire of parts of the astronomy community and simultaneously awed and inspired many less technical observers with clusters of shooting star-like satellites that are easily visible after launches. While the mid-sized spacecraft do become much dimmer as they raise their orbits from ~300 km (185 mi) to 550 km (340 mi), they are far from invisible even at that operational altitude. It’s safe to say that the current impact on ground-based astronomy is still just shy of negligible even with 360 satellites in orbit, but that impact is assuredly greater than zero and the relatively bright spacecraft have already interrupted telescope observations at many sites around the world.
Given that the 360 satellites already in orbit are just a tiny fraction of the ~4400, ~12,000, or even ~40,000 that SpaceX could one day launch, it would be irresponsible to argue that the constellation’s impact – and the impact of others like it – will continue to be minor as the number of satellites grows. Thankfully, while it doesn’t appear that prospective low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation architects anticipated the potential astronomy impact, SpaceX’s Starlink team has rapidly responded and already launched a satellite featuring tweaks designed to dim its appearance from the ground. For several reasons, the initial results from “DARKSAT” are extremely promising – now visible below in some of the first photos offering a useful comparison.
Launched on January 7th, 2020, a set of 20 spacecraft including DARKSAT – representing a single “plane” of the broader Starlink constellation – all arrived at their operational ~550 km (340 mi) orbits by February 23rd. As previously discussed on Teslarati, initial results first published on March 18th revealed that the Starlink DARKSAT prototype – essentially an early alpha test for darkening techniques – was already 55% darker than unmodified spacecraft. While making satellites less reflective makes thermal management a much greater challenge, DARKSAT has managed to raise its orbit and begin operations without issue, although it’s unknown whether the satellite’s antennas and avionics are also functioning nominally.
For darker spacecraft, perhaps the most important test will be long-term reliability, as constantly absorbing more heat than a reflective satellite is likely to put their structure, avionics, and radiators through significantly more thermal stress. As such, SpaceX may launch a limited number of additional darkened prototypes over the coming months but is much less likely to darken all satellites on any given launch until DARKSATs have successfully operated in orbit for months or even years.
On the ground, SpaceX may try to perform sped-up stress testing, but proving that darker satellites are a viable solution will almost invariably take time. Earlier this month, CEO Elon Musk revealed that SpaceX may attempt to design deployable solar shades for Starlink satellites if darkening their bodies is not enough to fully mitigate major impacts to astronomy. Knowing SpaceX, the first in-orbit solar shade test(s) could happen during any of several upcoming Starlink launches.
Adding reliable, deployable solar shades without appreciably raising Starlink’s production costs could be a major challenge, given the fundamental complexity of large, deployable mechanisms in space, but SpaceX – if anyone – is likely up to the challenge. More importantly, the fact that SpaceX’s very first attempt at reducing Starlink albedo (reflectivity) has produced a satellite 55% darker than its peers suggests that much more can probably be done along those lines, given additional time for extra experiments and deeper optimization.
As a result, it may be the case that SpaceX ends up launching 750-1000+ reflective Starlink satellites before an affordable, mass-producible DARKSAT variant is ready to take over. In that event, Starlink could plausibly have a small to moderate negative impact on ground-based astronomy for several years. However, comments made by SpaceX executives over the years suggest that no single Starlink satellite is likely to operate for more than five or so years before being replaced, meaning that the entire constellation would be continuously refreshed (as long as it’s generating revenue). Even if a thousand bright(er) Starlink satellites make life a bit harder for some astronomers, the fact remains that the consequences of any single Starlink satellite variant – assuming SpaceX remains serious about fully mitigating the constellation’s impact – are inherently temporary.
If SpaceX continues to make progress darkening satellites and developing cheap solar shades, it seems all but guaranteed that even a constellation of tens of thousands of Starlink satellites will be able happily coexist with the astronomy community, all the while delivering cheap, fast internet to millions of people – especially those lacking access – around the world.
News
NASA taps SpaceX for more astronaut missions as Boeing Starliner remains grounded
NASA just gave SpaceX a $946 million contract for three more astronaut missions through 2030.
NASA has awarded SpaceX a $946 million contract modification covering three more astronaut missions to the International Space Station, according to an announcement the agency published Friday. The award adds Crew-15, Crew-16, and Crew-17 to SpaceX’s existing Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract, bringing the agreement’s total value to $5.92 billion across 17 flights.
SpaceX confirmed the award on X, writing that it was excited for Falcon 9 and Dragon to launch NASA’s Crew-15, 16, and 17 missions to the Space Station from Florida. The new missions cover ground, launch, in orbit, and return operations, along with cargo transport and a lifeboat capability while docked at the station, and the period of performance runs through 2030.
We’re excited for Falcon 9 and Dragon to launch @NASA’s Crew-15, 16, and 17 missions to the @Space_Station from Florida https://t.co/Qm16vVK9F3 pic.twitter.com/drg3s7GtuM
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 18, 2026
The award follows a notice of intent NASA issued in May, when the agency first signaled it would purchase up to six additional post certification missions from SpaceX. Teslarati covered that filing at the time, noting NASA cited technical issues and schedule delays encountered by Boeing as a driving factor. Friday’s contract modification locks in three of those six missions, with the remaining three left open for NASA to award later, potentially to Boeing if Starliner clears certification.
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner has still not flown an operational crew rotation mission for NASA. The spacecraft’s most recent crewed test flight in 2024 ended without the astronauts returning aboard Starliner, and the company has spent the time since working through thruster problems. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said this week that SpaceX is not retiring Crew Dragon today, for sure, while stopping short of committing to fly it past 2030.
Crew-12 is currently docked at the space station, and NASA has said Crew-13 is targeting a launch in the coming weeks. The newly awarded Crew-15 through Crew-17 missions extend SpaceX’s role as NASA’s primary way of getting astronauts to and from orbit well into the back half of the decade, regardless of what happens with Starliner or Starship in the meantime.
Investor's Corner
New drone video shows Tesla’s Optimus Factory reaching a turning point
New drone footage shows Tesla’s dedicated Optimus factory steel frame nearing completion at Giga Texas.
Tesla’s dedicated Optimus factory at Gigafactory Texas is closing in on a finished steel frame, according to drone footage posted Thursday afternoon by longtime site observer Joe Tegtmeyer. In the video, Tegtmeyer said structural steel assembly is now about five column grids away from reaching the building’s north perimeter beam, putting the primary skeleton in its final stretch roughly six months after Tesla broke ground on the North Campus site in late March.
The Giga Texas Optimus Factory latest update … construction keeps moving fast!
Steel assembly is now only about 5 column grids from the north perimeter beam. Concrete is going in on the three upper floors, rebar is still being laid for more pours, and footing / grade-beam work… pic.twitter.com/qvFPvwnYzW
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) September 17, 2026
Tegtmeyer’s footage shows concrete already going in on three upper floors while crews continue laying rebar and pouring grade beam footings at ground level. That kind of parallel work, steel rising at one end of the site while concrete sets at the other, is a scheduling approach Tesla used at the original Giga Texas building and appears to be repeating here to save time before the plant’s targeted 2027 production start.
Teslarati has tracked the building’s progress since Tesla confirmed construction was officially underway in May, when the first steel structure went up on what was then bare, reclaimed land. The facility is part of a more than 5.2 million square foot expansion of Giga Texas’s North Campus that Tesla has said will eventually run nearly the length of the existing vehicle factory, over 4,000 feet, while sitting somewhat narrower. Musk has pegged the long term output target at 10 million Optimus units a year once the line is running at full capacity, a volume that would dwarf the one million unit pilot line Tesla is standing up separately at its Fremont, California factory.
Tesla Giga Texas to feature massive Optimus V4 production line
The Texas facility sits alongside another major buildout on the same campus. Terafab, the joint Tesla and SpaceX chip fabrication plant that will eventually supply the silicon running Optimus units in the field. Housing robot assembly and chip production on the same grounds is a deliberate supply chain decision, cutting down on the shipping and lead time that would otherwise sit between the two.
Tesla has not given an updated timeline beyond its previously stated goal of bringing high volume Optimus production online at the site in the summer of 2027. Fremont’s smaller pilot line began mass producing the current Gen 3 robot in January, with that plant expected to build tens of thousands of units this year primarily to generate the real world data Tesla needs to refine the robot’s software before Giga Texas ramps up. Six months of visible construction progress, tracked almost entirely through Tegtmeyer’s recurring drone flights, gives the clearest outside look yet at how seriously Tesla is treating that 2027 deadline.
Investor's Corner
Tesla and SpaceX take “Terafab” Trademark fight to Federal Court
Tesla and SpaceX sue a small Illinois firm after cease and desist letters over Terafab.
Tesla and SpaceX are asking a federal judge to rule that their planned Terafab chip factory does not infringe a small Illinois company’s trademark, a request that arrives only after months of quiet negotiation broke down this summer.
The dispute traces to May 18, when Tesla filed three U.S. trademark applications for “Terafab” and “Tesla Terafab,” covering semiconductor chips and related chip making services. TERA-print LLC, a nanotechnology company that has held a federal trademark for “Tera-Fab” since 2021, responded five days later with a cease and desist letter. According to the lawsuit, first reported by Reuters, TERA-print argued that Tesla and SpaceX’s use of “Terafab” would confuse consumers familiar with its own trademark, which covers a desktop photolithography printer sold to researchers for sensor and bioengineering work.
What stands out in the filing is the timing of TERA-print’s own paperwork. One day before sending that cease and desist letter, on May 22, TERA-print applied to expand its existing registration to cover semiconductor materials, silicon chips, nanoelectronic devices and AI design services, categories it had not previously claimed. Tesla and SpaceX call that filing opportunistic in their complaint, noting it arrived two months after Tesla’s public Terafab announcement and just days after Tesla’s own trademark applications went in.
Elon Musk launches TERAFAB: The $25B Tesla-SpaceXAI chip factory that will rewire the AI industry
By June 10, TERA-print was threatening to sue for federal trademark infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition, the complaint states. Rather than wait to be sued, Tesla, SpaceX and SpaceXAI met with TERA-print six separate times between June and August trying to resolve the dispute directly. Those talks collapsed, and the companies filed for declaratory judgment this week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, asking a judge to find that “Terafab” does not infringe TERA-print’s mark before TERA-print can file a claim of its own.
TERA-print isn’t backing down. The company told PCMag it discussed a settlement with Tesla as recently as September 2 and feels misled by what it called Tesla’s professed interest in settling. Its CTO, Andrey Ivankin, said TERA-print holds a Defense Department contract to fabricate semiconductors and partially owns Mattiq Inc., an AI company built on TERA-print’s products, and that the company will vigorously defend its rights.
Tesla and SpaceX argue the overlap is superficial. Terafab is planned as a $16.8 billion complex spanning roughly 100 million square feet at the Grimes County site SpaceX confirmed last month, built to produce chips for Optimus robots, Tesla’s AI computing needs and SpaceX’s orbital data center ambitions, a scale and purpose the companies say no reasonable consumer would confuse with a tabletop lab printer. TERA-print’s product line has stayed focused on lithography tools for biological and sensor research since it registered its mark in 2021.
The trademark fight is the second legal dispute tied to the Terafab project in the past week, following a separate SpaceX suit aimed at keeping company records about the facility out of public view, as KBTX reported. Whether construction proceeds under the Terafab name now depends on a federal judge in Austin.
NASA taps SpaceX for more astronaut missions as Boeing Starliner remains grounded
New drone video shows Tesla’s Optimus Factory reaching a turning point
