Connect with us
Pictured landing in July 2019 after its second launch, Falcon 9 booster B1056 - now on its fourth launch - is set to break a crucial reusability record. (SpaceX) Pictured landing in July 2019 after its second launch, Falcon 9 booster B1056 - now on its fourth launch - is set to break a crucial reusability record. (SpaceX)

News

SpaceX Starlink launch ready to set crucial rocket reusability record on Monday

Published

on

One of SpaceX’s newest Falcon 9 rockets is just a day away from setting one of the most important rocket reusability records after successfully firing up its booster engines – the last major step before the third Starlink launch of 2020.

Delayed two days from its original February 15th target, Falcon 9 is now scheduled to lift off no earlier than (NET) 10:05 am EST (15:05 UTC) on February 17th, carrying SpaceX’s fourth batch of upgraded Starlink v1.0 satellites (Starlink V1 L4). The company’s fifth dedicated Starlink launch overall, Falcon 9 booster B1056 will launch for the fourth time in support of the Starlink V1 L4 mission, becoming the fourth SpaceX rocket to do so in barely three months. While still impressive and important, B1056’s fourth mission could be record-setting for an entirely different reason.

Designed to enable at least 10 flights per booster with minimal refurbishment in between, SpaceX’s latest Falcon 9 ‘Block 5’ upgrade debuted in May 2018 and has enabled a marked improvement in both reliability and reusability. One record set just a month after that debut – and, unintuitively by a pre-Block 5 booster – has nevertheless stubbornly held over the 20 months since then. Known as booster turnaround time, the measure effectively represents the practical limits of a given rocket’s reusability by measuring how long it takes any specific vehicle to launch, be recovered, and launch again. With a little luck, Falcon 9 B1056 could break SpaceX’s existing turnaround record by a healthy margin just a few hours from now.

In first place, Falcon 9 Block 4 booster B1045 holds SpaceX’s standing booster turnaround record after launching back-to-back NASA missions just 71 days apart in April and June 2018. In second place, two Falcon Heavy Block 5 boosters (B1052, B1053) and one Falcon 9 Block 5 booster (B1048) are tied, each having managed 74-day turnarounds.

Falcon 9 B1045 launched for the second time in 71 days in June 2018, a record that still stands today. (Teslarati)
Falcon Heavy Block 5 side boosters B1052 and B1053 nearly broke B1045’s record in April and June 2019, achieving a 74-day turnaround. (SpaceX)

Now, Falcon 9 booster B1056 could potentially break SpaceX’s 71-day record by almost 9 days (15%) in spite of the fact that it has already performed three orbital-class launches in the last 10 months. Additionally, its third and most recent launch was a high-energy satellite mission that put B1056 through a relatively fast and hot atmospheric reentry, whereas Falcon 9 B1052, B1053, and B1045 all set their turnaround records after comparatively gentle inaugural launches, reentries, and landings.

This is all to say that B1056 breaking SpaceX’s booster turnaround record makes it feel a bit like the company isn’t really trying to break any internal records and certainly isn’t close to pushing the Falcon Block 5 design to its reusability limits. Some 18 months ago, SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell revealed that Falcon 9 Block 5 boosters were already down to just four weeks of refurbishment a handful of months after the upgrade’s launch debut.

Advertisement

In the history of orbital-class reusable spacecraft and rockets, NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis – backed by an annual operations budget on the order of $1 billion and hundreds of dedicated refurbishment engineers and technicians – holds a global turnaround record of 54 days. By the time SpaceX breaks that record, Falcon booster reusability will almost certainly be one or even two magnitudes cheaper and simpler than the Space Shuttle.

In fact, if it manages to successfully launch and land later today, Falcon 9 B1056 could be poised to break its own turnaround record later this year, given that Starlink v1.0 launches enable slightly gentler recovery conditions relative to the booster’s previous Kacific-1 mission.

Falcon 9 B1056 is currently scheduled to lift off on its fourth orbital-class launch – carrying 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites – no earlier than (NET) 10:05 am EST (15:05 UTC), February 17th, and will attempt a routine landing aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You a bit less than nine minutes later. Some 30-45 minutes after launch, Falcon 9’s payload fairing halves – having reentered Earth’s atmosphere and deployed parafoils – will attempt their third simultaneous landing in the nets of twin recovery ships GO Ms. Tree (formerly Mr. Steven) and Ms. Chief. Tune in to SpaceX.com/webcast around 9:50 am EST (14:50 UTC) to catch Falcon 9’s Starlink V1 L4 launch live.

Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

Elon Musk is now a remote DOGE worker: White House Chief of Staff

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is no longer working from the West Wing.

Published

on

Credit: Elon Musk/X

In a conversation with the New York Post, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles stated that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is no longer working from the West Wing.

As per the Chief of Staff, Musk is still working for DOGE—as a remote worker, at least.

Remote Musk

In her conversation with the publication, Wiles stated that she still talks with Musk. And while the CEO is now working remotely, his contributions still have the same net effect. 

“Instead of meeting with him in person, I’m talking to him on the phone, but it’s the same net effect,” Wiles stated, adding that “it really doesn’t matter much” that the CEO “hasn’t been here physically.” She also noted that Musk’s team will not be leaving.

“He’s not out of it altogether. He’s just not physically present as much as he was. The people that are doing this work are here doing good things and paying attention to the details. He’ll be stepping back a little, but he’s certainly not abandoning it. And his people are definitely not,” Wiles stated.

Advertisement

Back to Tesla

Musk has been a frequent presence in the White House during the Trump administration’s first 100 days in office. But during the Q1 2025 Tesla earnings call, Musk stated that he would be spending substantially less time with DOGE and substantially more time with Tesla. Musk did emphasize, however, that DOGE’s work is extremely valuable and critical.

“I think I’ll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the President would like me to do so and as long as it is useful. But starting next month, I’ll be allocating probably more of my time to Tesla and now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done,” Musk stated.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tariff reprieve might be ‘Tesla-friendly,’ but it’s also an encouragement to others

Tesla stands to benefit from the tariff reprieve, but it has some work cut out for it as well.

Published

on

tesla employee
(Photo: Tesla)

After Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick made adjustments to the automotive tariff program that was initially announced, many quickly pointed to the reprieve as “Tesla-friendly.”

While that may be the case right now, it was also a nudge of encouragement to other companies, Tesla included, to source parts from the U.S. in an effort to strengthen domestic manufacturing. Many companies are close, and it will only take a handful of improvements to save themselves from tariffs on their cars as well.

Yesterday, Sec. Lutnick confirmed that cars manufactured with at least 85 percent of domestic content will face zero tariffs. Additionally, U.S. automakers would receive credit up to 15 percent of the value of vehicles to offset the cost of imported parts.

Big Tesla win? Sec Lutnick says cars with 85% domestic content will face zero tariffs

“This is ‘finish your cars in America and you win’,” Lutnick said.

Many were quick to point out that only three vehicles currently qualify for this zero-tariff threshold: all three are Teslas.

However, according to Kelley Blue Book’s most recent study that revealed who makes the most American cars, there are a lot of vehicles that are extremely close to also qualifying for these tariff reductions.

Tesla has three vehicles that are within five percent, while Ford, Honda, Jeep, Chevrolet, GMC, and Volkswagen have many within just ten percent of the threshold.

Tesla completely dominates Kogod School’s 2024 Made in America Auto Index

It is within reach for many.

Right now, it is easy to see why some people might think this is a benefit for Tesla and Tesla only.

But it’s not, because Tesla has its Cybertruck, Model S, and Model X just a few percentage points outside of that 85 percent cutoff. They, too, will feel the effects of the broader strategy that the Trump administration is using to prioritize domestic manufacturing and employment. More building in America means more jobs for Americans.

Credit: Tesla

However, other companies that are very close to the 85 percent cutoff are only a few components away from also saving themselves the hassle of the tariffs.

Ford has the following vehicles within just five percent of the 85 percent threshold:

  • Ford Mustang GT automatic (80%)
  • Ford Mustang GT 5.0 (80%)
  • Ford Mustang GT Coupe Premium (80%)

Honda has several within ten percent:

  • Honda Passport All-Wheel-Drive (76.5%)
  • Honda Passport Trailsport (76.5)

Jeep has two cars:

  • Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (76%)
  • Jeep Wrangler Sahara (76%)

Volkswagen has one with the ID.4 AWD 82-kWh (75.5%). GMC has two at 75.5% with the Canyon AT4 Crew Cab 4WD and the Canyon Denali Crew Cab 4WD.

Chevrolet has several:

  • Chevrolet Colorado 2.7-liter (75.5%)
  • Chevrolet Colorado LT Crew Cab 2WD 2.7-liter (75.5%)
  • Chevrolet Colorado Z71 Crew Cab 4WD 2.7-liter (75.5%)

These companies are close to reaching the 85% threshold, but adjustments need to be made to work toward that number.

Anything from seats to fabric to glass can be swapped out for American-made products, making these cars more domestically sourced and thus qualifying them for the zero-tariff boundary.

Frank DuBois of American University said that manufacturers like to see stability in their relationships with suppliers and major trade partners. He said that Trump’s tariff plan could cause “a period of real instability,” but it will only be temporary.

Now is the time to push American manufacturing forward, solidifying a future with more U.S.-made vehicles and creating more domestic jobs. Tesla will also need to scramble to make adjustments to its vehicles that are below 85%.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Cybertruck RWD production in full swing at Giga Texas

Videos of several freshly produced Cybertruck LR RWD units were shared on social media platform X.

Published

on

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer/X

It appears that Tesla is indeed ramping the production of the Cybertruck Long Range Rear Wheel Drive (LR RWD), the most affordable variant of the brutalist all-electric pickup truck.

Videos of several freshly produced Cybertruck LR RWD units were shared on social media platform X.

Giga Texas Footage

As per longtime Tesla watcher Joe Tegtmeyer, Giga, Texas, was a hotbed of activity when he conducted his recent drone flyover. Apart from what seemed to be Cybercab castings being gathered in the complex, a good number of Cybertruck LR RWD units could also be seen in the facility’s staging area. The Cybertruck LR RWD units are quite easy to spot since they are not equipped with the motorized tonneau cover that is standard on the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast.

The presence of the Cybertruck LR RWD units in Giga Texas’ staging area suggests that Tesla is ramping the production of the base all-electric pickup truck. This bodes well for the vehicle, which is still premium priced despite missing a good number of features that are standard in the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast.

Cybertruck Long Range RWD Specs

The Cybertruck LR RWD is priced at $69,990 before incentives, making it $10,000 more affordable than the Cybertruck AWD. For its price, the Cybertruck Long Range RWD offers a range of 350 miles per charge if equipped with its 18” standard Wheels. It can also add up to 147 miles of range in 15 minutes using a Tesla Supercharger.

Advertisement

Much of the cost-cutting measures taken by Tesla are evident in the cabin of the Cybertruck LR RWD. This could be seen in its textile seats, standard console, seven-speaker audio system with no active noise cancellation, and lack of a 9.4” second-row display. It is also missing the motorized tonneau cover, the 2x 120V and 1x 240V power outlets on the bed, and the 2x 120V power outlets in the cabin. It is also equipped with an adaptive coil spring suspension instead of the adaptive air suspension in the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast.

Continue Reading

Trending