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SpaceX soars with flawless Starship hop, Starlink launch five hours apart

On September 3rd, SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites and hopped a Starship less than five hours apart. (SpaceX)

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SpaceX has successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket with 60 Starlink satellites and hopped a Starship prototype just five hours apart.

Right on schedule, Falcon 9 booster B1060 brought several days of delays to a welcome end, lifting off from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (Pad 39A) at 8:48 am EDT (UTC-4). Nine minutes later, B1060 landed aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You and the mission’s expendable Falcon 9 upper stage shut off its Merlin Vacuum (MVac) engine after reaching a nominal orbit. Less than 20 minutes after liftoff, all 60 Starlink v1.0 spacecraft were successfully deployed, completing SpaceX’s 11th operational mission and 12th Starlink launch overall.

Less than five hours later, Starship prototype serial number 6 (SN6) ignited its lone Raptor engine and lifted off, soaring ~150m (~500 ft) into the South Texas sky before landing on a concrete pad a few hundred feet away. While largely unrelated from a technical and operational perspective, the back-to-back launch and hop still demonstrate one thing in particular: SpaceX remains as committed as ever to both of its most ambitious projects.

With SpaceX’s 101st launch and 60th orbital-class booster landing, the company’s Starlink satellite internet constellation now has more than 700 operational spacecraft in orbit. According to comments made earlier this year by COO and President Gwynne Shotwell, that should mean that SpaceX will be ready for the first public Starlink beta test just three or four launches from now.

In May 2020, the executive noted that that public beta was expected to begin after 14 launches. Based on interactions with the FCC over the last several months, SpaceX is only counting upgraded v1.0 satellites as part of the operational Starlink constellation, meaning that Shotwell likely meant 14 Starlink v1.0 launches. Over the course of 10 Starlink v1.0 missions, only 5 of the 593 satellites launched have deorbited and burned up in Earth’s atmosphere, while another 8 satellites have lost the ability to maneuver and will likely deorbit within the next several months.

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Assuming all 60 Starlink-11 spacecraft are healthy after reaching their final orbits, SpaceX will have ~640 operational satellites in orbit. SpaceX has plans for another two Starlink launches this month, followed by at least one more – the fabled Starlink-14 – no earlier than (NET) October.

Two Starship hops in 30 days

Starship SN6’s successful hop debut is also great news for SpaceX’s ambitious next-generation rocket development program, opening up the launch pad for a new tank pressure test and SN5’s second hop. According to CEO Elon Musk, the company’s near-term goal is to complete “several” hops to refine and routinize Starship launch procedures. Once fairly routine, SpaceX will likely begin preparing for Starship SN8’s hop debut, representing the first flight of a Starship built entirely out of a new steel alloy.

If things go according to plan, Starship SN8 will be the first ship to fly with a nosecone, flaps, header tanks, and three Raptor engines. The ship will also be the first to attempt a truly bizarre skydiver-style landing, in which SN8 will essentially fall through the atmosphere belly-first before flipping upright at the last second for a soft landing. In the meantime, SpaceX’s next Starship test tank (SN7.1) is scheduled to begin testing on September 6th, while SN5 could theoretically be ready for its second hop just a few days after that.

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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 posts Optimus’ most impressive video demonstration yet

The humanoid robot was able to complete all the tasks through a single neural network.

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Credit: Tesla Optimus/X

When Elon Musk spoke with CNBC’s David Faber in an interview at Giga Texas, he reiterated the idea that Optimus will be one of Tesla’s biggest products. Seemingly to highlight the CEO’s point, the official Tesla Optimus account on social media platform X shared what could very well be the most impressive demonstration of the humanoid robot’s capabilities to date.

Optimus’ Newest Demonstration

In its recent video demonstration, the Tesla Optimus team featured the humanoid robot performing a variety of tasks. These include household chores such as throwing the trash, using a broom and a vacuum cleaner, tearing a paper towel, stirring a pot of food, opening a cabinet, and closing a curtain, among others. The video also featured Optimus picking up a Model X fore link and placing it on a dolly.

What was most notable in the Tesla Optimus team’s demonstration was the fact that the humanoid robot was able to complete all the tasks through a single neural network. The robot’s actions were also learned directly from Optimus being fed data from first-person videos of humans performing similar tasks. This system should pave the way for Optimus to learn and refine new skills quickly and reliably.

Tesla VP for Optimus Shares Insight

In a follow-up post on X, Tesla Vice President of Optimus (Tesla Bot) Milan Kovac stated that one of the team’s goals is to have Optimus learn straight from internet videos of humans performing tasks, including footage captured in third person or by random cameras.

“We recently had a significant breakthrough along that journey, and can now transfer a big chunk of the learning directly from human videos to the bots (1st person views for now). This allows us to bootstrap new tasks much faster compared to teleoperated bot data alone (heavier operationally).

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“Many new skills are emerging through this process, are called for via natural language (voice/text), and are run by a single neural network on the bot (multi-tasking). Next: expand to 3rd person video transfer (aka random internet), and push reliability via self-play (RL) in the real-, and/or synthetic- (sim / world models) world,” Kovac wrote in his post on X.

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Starship Flight 9 nears as SpaceX’s Starbase becomes a Texan City

SpaceX’s launch site is officially incorporated as Starbase, TX. Starship Flight 9 could launch on May 27, 2025. 

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(Credit: Jenny Hautmann/Wikimedia Commons)

SpaceX’s Starbase is officially incorporated as a city in Texas, aligning with preparations for Starship Flight 9. The newly formed city in Cameron County serves as the heart of SpaceX’s Starship program.

Starbase City spans 1.5 square miles, encompassing SpaceX’s launch facility and company-owned land. A near-unanimous vote by residents, who were mostly SpaceX employees, led to its incorporation. SpaceX’s Vice President of Test and Launch, Bobby Peden, was elected mayor of Starbase. The new Texas city also has two SpaceX employees as commissioners. All Starbase officials will serve two-year terms unless extended to four by voters.

As the new city takes shape, SpaceX is preparing for the Starship Flight 9 launch, which is tentatively scheduled for May 27, 2025, at 6:30 PM CDT from Starbase, Texas.

SpaceX secured Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for up to 25 annual Starship and Super Heavy launches from the site. However, the FAA emphasized that “there are other licensing requirements still to be completed,” including policy, safety, and environmental reviews.

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On May 15, the FAA noted SpaceX updated its launch license for Flight 9, but added: “SpaceX may not launch until the FAA either closes the Starship Flight 8 mishap investigation or makes a return to flight determination. The FAA is reviewing the mishap report SpaceX submitted on May 14.”

Proposed Texas legislation could empower Starbase officials to close local highways and restrict Boca Chica Beach access during launches. Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Jr., opposes the Texas legislation, insisting beach access remain under county control. This tension highlights the balance between SpaceX’s ambitions and local interests.

Starbase’s incorporation strengthens SpaceX’s operational base as it gears up for Starship Flight 9, a critical step in its mission to revolutionize space travel. With growing infrastructure and regulatory hurdles in focus, Starbase is poised to become a cornerstone of SpaceX’s vision, blending community development with cutting-edge aerospace innovation.

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The Boring Company accelerates Vegas Loop expansion plans

The Boring Company clears fire safety delays, paving the way to accelerating its Vegas Loop expansion plans.

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Credit: The Boring Company/X

After overcoming fire safety hurdles, the Boring Company is accelerating its Vegas Loop expansion. The project’s progress signals a transformative boost for Sin City’s transportation and tourism.

Elon Musk’s tunneling company, along with The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and Clark County, resolved fire safety concerns that delayed new stations.

“It’s new. It’s taken a little time to figure out what the standard should be,” said Steve Hill, LVCVA President and CEO, during last week’s board meeting. “We’ve gotten there. We’re excited about that. We’re ready to expand further, faster, than we have.”

Last month, the company submitted permits for tunnel extensions connecting Encore to a parcel of land owned by Wynn and Caesars Palace. The three tunnels are valued at $600,000 based on country records.

Plans for a Tropicana Loop are also advancing, linking UNLV to MGM Grand, T-Mobile Arena, Allegiant Stadium, Mandalay Bay, and the upcoming Athletics’ ballpark. Downtown extensions from the convention center to the Strat, Fremont Street Experience, and Circa’s Garage Mahal are also in the permitting process.

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“Those are all in process,” Hill noted. “We’ve got machines that are available to be put in the ground. I think we’ve reached a framework for how these projects are going to work and how they’ll be permitted from a safety standpoint, as well as a building standpoint.”

The Boring Company has six boring machines, with three currently active in Las Vegas. Last week, TBC announced that it successfully mined continuously in a Zero-People-in-Tunnel (ZPIT) configuration, enabling it to build more tunnels faster, safer, and at a more affordable rate.

Tunneling under Paradise Road is underway as The Boring Company works on the University Center Loop. The University Center Loop is expected to connect to the Las Vegas Convention Center within two months, linking to the Westgate tunnel. The full Vegas Loop will span 104 stations and 68 miles. Even though The Boring Company’s tunnel network in Las Vegas isn’t nearly finished, it has already become a key attraction in the city.

“It’s such a great attraction for shows that are looking at this building (convention center) and we’re going to be connected to everybody in town,” Hill said. “It’s a real difference-maker.”

A few Vegas Loop stations are already operational, including those connected to Resorts World, Westgate, Encore, and all the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop stations. The Downtown Loop, which connects to the downtown area, and the Riviera Station, the hub that leads to Resorts World with Westgate destinations, are also operational.

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As The Boring Company accelerates the Vegas Loop, its tunnels are poised to redefine mobility and tourism in Las Vegas, blending cutting-edge technology with practical urban solutions.

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