News
SpaceX’s third Starlink launch in three weeks is just around the corner
SpaceX is just a few days away from Falcon 9’s third Starlink internet satellite launch in 22 days, also the second commercial Starlink rideshare mission in two weeks.
If successfully, Starlink v1.0 L9 mission will mark nearly six hundred internet satellites launched by SpaceX since the company began dedicated missions in May 2019, as well as ~530 operational v1.0 spacecraft launched since November 2019. According to SpaceX executives, the company can begin rolling out internet service to customers via “UFO on a stick” user terminals once 14 v1.0 launches have been completed, meaning that the constellation could be just five launches away from generating consistent revenue after the next batch of satellites are safely in orbit.
Meanwhile, SpaceX debuted a separate method of generating revenue from Starlink launches just ten days ago when it successfully launched three Planet imaging satellites on top of 58 new Starlink spacecraft. While the revenue from booking a few satellites to launch on Starlink missions is likely nowhere close to covering the actual material cost to SpaceX, it can certainly help offset the extraordinarily capital-intensive process of constellation build-out. Less than two weeks after SpaceX’s Starlink rideshare debut, the very next launch is scheduled to include two commercial imaging satellites – this time for BlackSky Global.
Built by Washington startup LeoStella, the two imaging satellites scheduled to launch on Starlink-9 arrived in Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 1st in time to be processed and installed on top of a stack of either 58 or 60 Starlink internet satellites.
Approximately half as large as the three ~110 kg (240 lb) SkySats SpaceX launched on June 13th, LeoStella’s first two BlackSky satellites are believed to weigh around 55 kg (~120 lb) each and are capable of imaging the Earth’s surface at a resolution of ~1m per pixel from a nominal 500 km (310 mi) orbit. BlackSky’s LeoStella contract includes another 18 such satellites, all of which could (but probably wont) launch on future Starlink missions.
Smallsat constellation operators typically aim for diversity when launching more than a handful of satellites, ensuring that a hypothetical launch vehicle failure wont delay or destroy an entire constellation. Still, according to competitor Planet, SpaceX’s rideshare pricing is so good that it has actively changed how the prolific satellite operator thinks about constellation expansion. Planet, for reference, managed to launch three SkySats – weighing ~330 kg (~730 lb) – for something like $3 million, at least 5-7 times cheaper than launching the same spacecraft on three dedicated Rocket Lab Electron rockets.
Supporting Planet’s high praise, SpaceX recently announced that it had already secured launch contracts for more than 100 small satellites less than ten months after the program debuted, potentially injecting an impressive $50 to $100 million in revenue. A large portion of those satellites are likely scheduled to launch on one of SpaceX’s dedicated semi-annual rideshare missions, the first of which is aiming to launch in December 2020, but at least one or several dozen are probably manifested on Starlink launches.
According to CEO Elon Musk, the ultimate cost of a flight-proven Falcon 9 launch can be as low as $15 million – excluding overhead but including a new upper stage, booster recovery, propellant, and other miscellaneous costs. As such, a single 60-satellite Starlink launch likely costs SpaceX less than $30 million total, meaning that an average of five small satellites (base price: $1 million per slot) manifested on a Starlink launch would save SpaceX ~17% every time.
Regardless, Falcon 9 booster B1051 is scheduled to become the third SpaceX rocket to launch five times when it lifts off for Starlink-9 no earlier than (NET) 4:39 pm EDT (20:39 UTC) on June 25th, a delay of three days from the original June 22nd target.
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Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
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FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
