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High winds scrub SpaceX Starship SN9’s Monday launch attempt
Update (2:30 pm CST): SpaceX appears to have called off Monday’s Starship SN9 launch attempt due (primarily) to high winds along the flight corridor. Additional opportunities are available from 8 am to 6 pm CST (UTC-6) on Tuesday (Jan 26) and Wednesday (Jan 27).
Technically, lacking any official confirmation, there’s still a chance of a launch attempt or additional ground testing happening today but either possibility is extremely unlikely at this point.
Update: SpaceX has completed what is known as a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) and determined that Starship prototype SN9 is ready to attempt its first high-altitude launch as early as today.
All necessary aviation and maritime notices and restrictions are in place and the company has begun the process of closing a public highway and clearing the launch site of employees. Today’s (Jan 25) launch window lasts from noon to 6 pm CST (UTC-6) and Starship SN9 could likely be made ready to launch anytime after 2pm be ready to fly as early as 4 pm CST according to a loudspeaker announcement at the launch pad. Stay tuned for updates and, hopefully, an official SpaceX webcast.
All signs point to SpaceX’s second high-altitude Starship prototype preparing for a 12.5-kilometer (~40,000 ft) as early as Monday, January 25th in a bid to rectify a last-second bug that caused its predecessor to explode last month.
Known as Starship serial number 8 (SN8), the SpaceX-built prototype was the first to have its basic airframe (tank and nose sections) fully integrated, as well as the first Starship to attempt to break the 150m (~500 ft) ceiling set by Starhopper, SN5, and SN6. Break the ceiling SN8 most certainly did, performing a spectacularly successful 12.5 km launch that aced almost every single goal SpaceX had hoped to complete. Keyword almost.
After an impressive 280 seconds of uninterrupted operation of its Raptors, Starship SN8 shut down the last of those three engines, flipped onto its belly, and successful freefell ~12 kilometers back to Earth. The rocket then carried that success even further, reigniting two Raptors, performing a dramatic 120-degree flip, orienting itself vertically, and beginning to slow down for a soft landing.
Only then did Starship SN8’s performance deviate from virtual perfection. At T+6:38, a few seconds after beginning its crucial landing burn, one of Starship’s active Raptors shut down and the other effectively stopped generating thrust. The reason, CEO Elon Musk would later explain, was low head pressure in a smaller tank (‘header tank’) dedicated to supplying fuel during Starship’s wild flip and landing maneuver. It was never confirmed if the Raptor engine shutdown observed milliseconds prior to the other engine losing thrust was intentional.
Cause aside, the end result was unsurprising: without enough thrust to slow down, Starship SN8 accurately impacted the concrete landing zone but did so at high speed – likely around 50-60 m/s (100-150 mph). Given that Starhopper and Starships SN5 and SN6 had already successfully proven Starship’s ability to gently land from 150 meters on a single Raptor engine and that, prior to SN8, Starship’s bizarre belly-flop descent and 90-degree flip had been almost entirely theoretical, SpaceX deemed the launch a spectacular success.
Nothing better exemplifies that than the fact that a little over a month later, SpaceX quite literally began scrapping the most complex, completed section of a future Starship prototype (SN12) before it ever reached the assembly phase. Instead, SpaceX appears to be more focused than ever on a mysterious series of “major” upgrades Musk has said will debut on Starship SN15. Nearly all SN15 subsections have been completed and are simply waiting to be joined together, while parts of SN16 and SN17 are also starting to pile up in staging areas.
Starship SN10 is practically ready to move to the launch pad to prepare for flight as soon as SpaceX chooses to do so and Starship SN11 is likely no more than a week or two of work away from reaching same level of readiness.
Ultimately, despite a long and delay-ridden test campaign, Starship SN9 finally completed what looked like a full-duration static fire of all three of its Raptor engines – the rocket’s sixth static fire overall. On Saturday, January 23rd, SpaceXers installed SN9’s flight termination system (FTS) – a system of explosives designed to destroy Starship if it flies too far off course. For Starship, FTS installation all but guarantees that a launch attempt is a matter of days away. Fresh county roadblocks, Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) granted by the FAA, and Coast Guard a safety notice further imply that SN9 will attempt to launch as early as Monday morning, January 25th, with backup opportunities on Tuesday and Wednesday.
With any luck, like SN8’s high-altitude debut, SpaceX hopefully livestream Starship SN9’s own attempt at the same feat. Stay tuned for more details as they come.
Tesla welcomed JPMorgan analysts to one of its factories earlier this month, with the Wall Street firm highlighting its findings in a new note to investors. One of the more pertinent pieces of information is that Tesla admitted to slowly integrating Model Y vehicles into its Robotaxi fleet, but it has a good reason.
JPMorgan analysts recently toured Tesla’s Fremont Factory and met with the company’s investor relations team, emerging with a clearer picture of the automaker’s Robotaxi strategy. According to the bank’s note, Tesla is intentionally limiting the addition of Model Y vehicles to its existing Robotaxi fleet.
The firm’s analysts said:
“Tesla indicated it is intentionally holding back on adding Model Y units to the robotaxi fleet, expressing confidence in its ability to scale Cybercab in the near-term. On FSD V15, Tesla views this release as a step-change in performance, comparable to the leap from V13 to V14. The V15 upgrade encompasses seven core technologies, with ~40% of those currently being tested in the robotaxi fleet, where initial feedback has been encouraging.”
JPMorgan after meeting with Tesla recently in Fremont:
“Tesla indicated it is intentionally holding back on adding Model Y units to the robotaxi fleet, expressing confidence in its ability to scale Cybercab in the near-term. On FSD V15, Tesla views this release as a step-change… pic.twitter.com/W9yGCWRT3C
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 20, 2026
Far from signaling delays or doubts about autonomy, the move reflects strong management confidence in the near-term scalability of the purpose-built Cybercab.
Tesla has operated its Robotaxi service primarily with modified Model Ys since launching in Austin and expanding to other markets. Yet the company is now deliberately holding back further Model Y conversions. The rationale is straightforward: leadership believes the Cybercab, a two-seat, steering-wheel- and pedal-free vehicle optimized for high utilization, can ramp production and deployment more efficiently in the coming months.
This dedicated form factor promises better unit economics for the majority of rides, which typically involve one or two passengers, while freeing consumer Model Y inventory for retail sales.
Supporting this pivot is Full Self-Driving (FSD) software version 15, which Tesla describes as a genuine step-change in performance, comparable to the leap from V13 to V14. The update incorporates seven core technologies; roughly 40 percent are already undergoing real-world testing in the current Robotaxi fleet, with early feedback described as encouraging.
Tesla is carefully managing software development to minimize regressions in core driving functions as new capabilities are added. Management positions V15 as the primary gateway to scaling unsupervised FSD. Importantly, the existing AI and Hardware 4 stack is already capable of running V15 and supporting unsupervised operation.
Cybercab itself is only the first vehicle on the platform. Tesla reiterated that additional form factors will follow, pointing to concepts such as the earlier “Robovan” demonstration as examples of how the architecture can evolve.
Tesla’s mysterious Robovan makes a sneak peek with Optimus in Terafab video
Parallel progress continues on the Optimus humanoid robot, which remains on track for start of production in the coming months, with commercial sales possible as early as the second half of 2027. Generation 3 details will be revealed closer to production to preserve competitive advantages, while Generation 4 scope will draw on real-world Gen 3 experience.
JPMorgan left the meeting with a deeper appreciation for Tesla’s manufacturing automation and maintained its $475 price target. The decision to slow Model Y Robotaxi integration is therefore not a setback but a calculated prioritization of a more efficient, purpose-built solution that management believes is ready to scale.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced today that the company will likely attempt to catch the Starship upper stage with its launch tower arms “in a few months.”
In a post on X, Musk wrote, “Looks like we will probably catch the ship with the tower in a few months. If there had been a tower out to sea where we practiced landing the ship, it would have been caught.” He added that the first reflight of a Starship vehicle is expected by the end of 2026 or early 2027, describing it as “a fork in the road of history for consciousness reaching the stars.”
Looks like we will probably catch the ship with the tower in a few months. If there had been a tower out to sea where we practiced landing the ship, it would have been caught.
First reflight of the ship will be either end of this year or early next. That will be a fork in the… https://t.co/O5g9pqrzyo
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2026
Musk’s prediction comes amid ongoing progress toward full reusability of the Starship system, a two-stage rocket designed for rapid turnaround and dramatically lower launch costs. Catching the upper stage, known simply as “ship,” with the Mechazilla tower’s mechanical arms would mark a major milestone. It would allow both stages to return directly to the launch site for quick refurbishment and reuse, eliminating the need for ocean recovery.
Musk has previously signaled plans for a ship catch. In July, shortly after SpaceX’s wildly successful Starship 13 mission, he stated that the company would attempt to catch the ship with the tower on the next flight unless problems emerged in the mission data review. Earlier comments also outline conditions such as successful soft ocean landings before attempting a land recovery to minimize risk.
SpaceX has solved Starship’s biggest challenge, Elon Musk says
The latest update from Musk adjusts this timeline to a few months, reflecting the iterative nature of the test campaign.
SpaceX has already demonstrated the tower catch technique successfully with the Super Heavy booster on a couple of occasions. The first successful booster catch occurred during Flight 5 in October 2024, when the massive first stage returned to the Starbase pad in Texas and was plucked from the air by the tower arms.
Additional catches followed on later flights, including Flight 7, proving the concept for the booster and building confidence in the system as a whole.
Achieving a similar catch for the upper stage would represent a significant step forward. The ship returns from much higher speeds and greater heat loads after orbital or near-orbital flight. Success would advance SpaceX’s goal of full and rapid reusability, potentially reducing the cost of access to orbit by a factor of 100 or more and supporting ambitions for frequent satellite deployments, lunar missions, and eventual Mars flights.
Musk has long emphasized that true reusability, refueling rather than discarding hardware, is essential for making humanity a multi-planetary species.
As SpaceX continues refining Starship through successive test flights, the coming months will test whether the ambitious catch timeline can be met. The combination of prior booster successes and improving ship landing precision suggests the company is steadily closing in on this historic capability.
SpaceX has achieved an incredible milestone by launching its 11,000th Starlink satellite into orbit.
This accomplishment occurred during the Starlink Group 17-50 mission, which lifted off on August 19 at 04:01 UTC from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Falcon 9 launches 24 @Starlink satellites from California pic.twitter.com/UscpmAxDls
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 19, 2026
A Falcon 9 rocket carried 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on this flight, successfully deploying them into low Earth orbit approximately one hour after liftoff. The first stage booster, identified as B1097 on its twelfth flight, landed successfully on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
According to tracking data compiled around that date, this deployment brought the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to just over 11,000.
The Starlink program began with test satellites known as Tintin A and B, launched on February 22, 2018. The first operational batch of 60 Starlink satellites followed on May 24, 2019, when a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Those initial satellites marked the start of a rapid expansion that has continued for more than seven years.
SpaceX has conducted hundreds of dedicated Starlink missions since then, routinely launching batches of 20 to 30 satellites at a time using reusable Falcon 9 rockets. By mid-2026, the company had already surpassed 12,000 total satellites launched across all versions, with continuous replacements for units that deorbit as designed to manage space debris.
Looking ahead, SpaceX continues to expand the Starlink constellation to enhance global broadband coverage, capacity, and speed. The network already serves millions of users across more than 160 countries and supports applications ranging from residential internet to maritime, aviation, and emergency services.
Future plans center on next-generation hardware, including larger V3 satellites capable of delivering substantially higher throughput, which require the increased payload capacity of the Starship vehicle currently under development and testing.
In July, SpaceX submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission seeking authority for a Gen3 constellation of up to 100,000 satellites. These spacecraft would operate in very low Earth orbit shells at altitudes near 325 kilometers and 475 kilometers. The filing requests use of existing Ku, Ka, V, and E band spectrum along with new greenfield W and D band frequencies between 92 and 275 GHz.
SpaceX states that the expanded system aims to deliver multi-gigabit symmetrical broadband to consumers, enterprises, governments, and billions of AI-powered devices worldwide while handling a majority of global internet traffic. Approval and subsequent deployment would depend on regulatory review and the operational readiness of Starship for high-volume launches.
This ambitious scale reflects SpaceX’s ongoing commitment to providing ubiquitous high-speed connectivity from space.
Tesla admits to slow Model Y Robotaxi integration, but for a good reason
Elon Musk gives a timeline for SpaceX’s first Starship catch attempt
