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SpaceX aces three Falcon 9 launches in 34 hours
SpaceX has successfully launched three Falcon 9 rockets less than 34 hours apart, leaving the company only one mission shy of CEO Elon Musk’s ambitious target of 60 launches in 2022.
The period was almost even more intense, with two launches briefly scheduled minutes apart and all three set to launch in the space of 10-11 hours. But the more conservative sequencing SpaceX ultimately settled on still produced impressive results and allowed the company to break its own world record for the fastest time to complete three launches of the same rocket. In June 2022, SpaceX managed three similar launches – a Starlink mission, a scientific Earth observation satellite, and a commercial communications satellite – in 36 hours and 18 minutes.
Six months later, SpaceX has shaved more than two hours off of its own feat with the successful launches of another Earth observation satellite, a pair of commercial communications satellites, and 54 Starlink satellites in 33 hours and 46 minutes.
The update that's rolling out to the fleet makes full use of the front and rear steering travel to minimize turning circle. In this case a reduction of 1.6 feet just over the air— Wes (@wmorrill3) April 16, 2024
SpaceX’s latest hat trick began on December 16th with a Falcon 9 launch of the joint US-French Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission out of Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB), California. Delayed from December 12th and 15th, the launch was nonetheless a perfect success, placing the 2.2-ton (~4850 lb) radar satellite into a low Earth orbit that will allow it to precisely analyze virtually every inch of exposed water on Earth. That unprecedented capability should make it easier for scientists to study and understand Earth’s water cycle, as well as humanity’s substantial impact on those processes.
A little over 11 hours later, a second Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station LC-40 pad carrying the first two Boeing-built O3b mPOWER satellites for satcom provider SES. Once again, SpaceX’s workhorse rocket did its job perfectly, even managing to exceed its contracted parameters according to SES CEO Steve Collar. Falcon 9’s better-than-expected performance will reduce the amount of time and propellant each 1.7-ton (~3750 lb) mPOWER satellite requires to reach its operational orbit, potentially ensuring a quicker path to revenue generation and longer useful lifespans.
SpaceX is on contract to launch all 11 initial mPOWER satellites. The next nine satellites will head to orbit sometime in 2023 and 2024 as Boeing completes them.


Finally, less than a day later after O3b mPOWER 1&2, a third Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s NASA Kennedy Space Center LC-39A pad (just a few miles north of LC-40) with what could be the last full batch of “Group 4” Starlink V1.5 satellites. SpaceX’s first-generation Starlink constellation is comprised of five groups of satellites operating in distinct orbital ‘shells,’ and the company’s December 18th launch of Starlink 4-37 will leave SpaceX just 14 satellites away from fully finishing the second of two shells of 1584 satellites. All told, Starlink 4-37 was SpaceX’s 65th operational Starlink launch since November 2019 and the company likely has just ~20 launches to go to complete its first satellite constellation – already the largest in history by an order of magnitude.
All three launches were completed in less than a day and a half. Further emphasizing the breadth of SpaceX’s expertise, each Falcon 9 booster successfully landed after supporting their respective orbital launch, ensuring that those boosters will all be able to support more launches in the near future. In fact, Starlink 4-37 was the 15th mission for its Falcon 9 booster, B1058, breaking SpaceX’s internal reuse record and pushing the technology’s envelope. It remains to be seen if the company will push beyond 15 flights. In June 2022 interviews with Aviation Week, SpaceX executives stated that Falcon boosters would be retired after 15 flights – a big change from past indications that there was nothing preventing each booster from launching 100+ times with regular maintenance.
Starlink 4-37 was also SpaceX’s 59th successful orbital launch of 2022. In March, CEO Elon Musk raised an earlier annual target of 52 launches to 60 launches. At the time, 60 launches in one year was almost inconceivable. Set in 1980, the all-time record for a family of rockets (the Russian R-7) is 61 successful launches in one calendar year.
But against all odds, SpaceX has relentlessly executed week after week and sustained an average of one launch every six days for more than 12 months. Multiple sources currently indicate that SpaceX has two more Falcon 9 launches scheduled this year: another Starlink mission as early as December 28th and a mission carrying the Israeli EROS-C3 Earth imaging satellite on December 29th. SpaceX’s Falcon rocket family thus has a chance to tie the all-time record of 61 R-7 family launches, which was backed by the entire Soviet Union at the peak of its national launch cadence.
News
Tesla adds a new feature to Navigation in preparation for a new vehicle
After CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this week that the Semi’s mass production processes were scheduled for later this year, the company has been making various preparations as it nears manufacturing.
Tesla has added a new feature to its Navigation and Supercharger Map in preparation for a new vehicle to hit the road: the Semi.
After CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this week that the Semi’s mass production processes were scheduled for later this year, the company has been making various preparations as it nears manufacturing.
Elon Musk confirms Tesla Semi will enter high-volume production this year
One of those changes has been the newly-released information regarding trim levels, as well as reports that Tesla has started to reach out to customers regarding pricing information for those trims.
Now, Tesla has made an additional bit of information available to the public in the form of locations of Megachargers, the infrastructure that will be responsible for charging the Semi and other all-electric Class 8 vehicles that hit the road.
Tesla made the announcement on the social media platform X:
We put Semi Megachargers on the map
→ https://t.co/Jb6p7OPXMi pic.twitter.com/stwYwtDVSB
— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) February 10, 2026
Although it is a minor development, it is a major indication that Tesla is preparing for the Semi to head toward mass production, something the company has been hinting at for several years.
Nevertheless, this, along with the other information that was released this week, points toward a significant stride in Tesla’s progress in the Semi project.
Now that the company has also worked toward completion of the dedicated manufacturing plant in Sparks, Nevada, there are more signs than ever that the vehicle is finally ready to be built and delivered to customers outside of the pilot program that has been in operation for several years.
For now, the Megachargers are going to be situated on the West Coast, with a heavy emphasis on routes like I-5 and I-10. This strategy prioritizes major highways and logistics hubs where freight traffic is heaviest, ensuring coverage for both cross-country and regional hauls.
California and Texas are slated to have the most initially, with 17 and 19 sites, respectively. As the program continues to grow, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Washington, New York, and Nevada will have Megacharger locations as well.
For now, the Megachargers are available in Lathrop, California, and Sparks, Nevada, both of which have ties to Tesla. The former is the location of the Megafactory, and Sparks is where both the Tesla Gigafactory and Semifactory are located.
Elon Musk
Tesla stock gets latest synopsis from Jim Cramer: ‘It’s actually a robotics company’
“Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session,” Cramer said.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) got its latest synopsis from Wall Street analyst Jim Cramer, who finally realized something that many fans of the company have known all along: it’s not a car company. Instead, it’s a robotics company.
In a recent note that was released after Tesla reported Earnings in late January, Cramer seemed to recognize that the underwhelming financials and overall performance of the automotive division were not representative of the current state of affairs.
Instead, we’re seeing a company transition itself away from its early identity, essentially evolving like a caterpillar into a butterfly.
The narrative of the Earnings Call was simple: We’re not a car company, at least not from a birds-eye view. We’re an AI and Robotics company, and we are transitioning to this quicker than most people realize.
Tesla stock gets another analysis from Jim Cramer, and investors will like it
Tesla’s Q4 Earnings Call featured plenty of analysis from CEO Elon Musk and others, and some of the more minor details of the call were even indicative of a company that is moving toward AI instead of its cars. For example, the Model S and Model X will be no more after Q2, as Musk said that they serve relatively no purpose for the future.
Instead, Tesla is shifting its focus to the vehicles catered for autonomy and its Robotaxi and self-driving efforts.
Cramer recognizes this:
“…we got results from Tesla, which actually beat numbers, but nobody cares about the numbers here, as electric vehicles are the past. And according to CEO Elon Musk, the future of this company comes down to Cybercabs and humanoid robots. Stock fell more than 3% the next day. That may be because their capital expenditures budget was higher than expected, or maybe people wanted more details from the new businesses. At this point, I think Musk acolytes might be more excited about SpaceX, which is planning to come public later this year.”
He continued, highlighting the company’s true transition away from vehicles to its Cybercab, Optimus, and AI ambitions:
“I know it’s hard to believe how quickly this market can change its attitude. Last night, I heard a disastrous car company speak. Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session. I didn’t like it as a car company. Boy, I love it as a Cybercab and humanoid robot juggernaut. Call me a buyer and give me five robots while I’m at it.”
Cramer’s narrative seems to fit that of the most bullish Tesla investors. Anyone who is labeled a “permabull” has been echoing a similar sentiment over the past several years: Tesla is not a car company any longer.
Instead, the true focus is on the future and the potential that AI and Robotics bring to the company. It is truly difficult to put Tesla shares in the same group as companies like Ford, General Motors, and others.
Tesla shares are down less than half a percent at the time of publishing, trading at $423.69.
Elon Musk
SpaceX secures win as US labor board drops oversight case
The NLRB confirmed that it no longer has jurisdiction over SpaceX.
SpaceX scored a legal victory after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided to dismiss a case which accused the company of terminating engineers who were involved in an open letter against founder Elon Musk.
The NLRB confirmed that it no longer has jurisdiction over SpaceX. The update was initially shared by Bloomberg News, which cited a letter about the matter it reportedly reviewed.
In a letter to the former employees’ lawyers, the labor board stated that the affected employees were under the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board (NMB), not the NLRB. As a result, the labor board stated that it was dismissing the case.
As per Danielle Pierce, a regional director of the agency, “the National Labor Relations Board lacks jurisdiction over the Employer and, therefore, I am dismissing your charge.”
The NMB typically oversees airlines and railroads. The NLRB, on the other hand, covers most private-sector employers, as well as manufacturers such as Boeing.
The former SpaceX engineers have argued that the private space company did not belong under the NMB’s jurisdiction because SpaceX only offers services to “hand-picked customers.”
In an opinion, however, the NMB stated that SpaceX was under its jurisdiction because “space transport includes air travel” to get to outer space. The mediation board also noted that anyone can contact SpaceX to secure its services.
SpaceX had previously challenged the NLRB’s authority in court, arguing that the agency’s structure was unconstitutional. Jennifer Abruzzo, the NLRB general counsel under former United States President Joe Biden, rejected SpaceX’s claims. Following Abruzzo’s termination under the Trump administration, however, SpaceX asked the labor board to reconsider its arguments.
SpaceX is not the only company that has challenged the constitutionality of the NLRB. Since SpaceX filed its legal challenge against the agency in 2024, other high-profile companies have followed suit. These include Amazon, which has filed similar cases that are now pending.