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SpaceX’s “toasty” Falcon 9 booster arrives back at port [Photo Gallery]

SpaceX Falcon 9 booster returns to dock with burn trauma (Tom Cross/Teslarati)

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The SpaceX steamroller continues to roll on, and the company’s recent launch of KT Sat’s Koreasat 5A satellite is no exception. The 16th Falcon 9 of 2017 took flight from Kennedy Space Center on October 30 and successfully placed its payload into a high-energy geostationary transfer orbit. Before the satellite had even separated from the second stage of Falcon 9, first stage 1042 had already successfully landed aboard SpaceX’s East coast drone ship OCISLY. The floating landing pad extinguished a small fire that was seen creeping up the booster.

Barely 72 hours later, the drone ship and its Falcon 9 cargo arrived back at Port Canaveral, docking soon after. Launch photographer Tom Cross was on scene to capture the booster’s return home.

In a wonderful coincidence, Tom was able to photograph the rocket at dawn before it launched, and later at dusk as it arrived aboard OCISLY. (Tom Cross/Teslarati)

Falcon 9 1042 arrived at Port Canaveral on the evening of November 2nd, and was welcomed home with a beautiful Floridan sunset. (Tom Cross/Teslarati)

Closeup shots serve as evidence of booster 1042’s apparent burn trauma, although it is almost certainly worse than it looks. A number of common operations follow each booster landing, and one of the most important sequences involves emptying residual propellant and depressurizing the rocket’s fuel tanks. This is accompanied by the expulsion of remaining TEA-TAB reserves, a volatile compound used to ignite Falcon 9’s Merlin 1D engines during launch and recovery. TEA-TAB is pyrophoric, meaning it spontaneously catches fire when exposed to your run of the mill air, a decidedly human-unfriendly feature. The fires that occur after successful landings are thus best described as intentional and (mostly) controlled, and SpaceX’s drone ships are equipped with water guns in the event that things get a bit too spicy.

Despite the small fire, the booster looks to be in great condition.

Tom waited patiently as the the sun set and tugboats swarmed to dock the unwieldy drone ship. The dock’s powerful night lights came into full effect and provided an opportunity for some final beauty shots of the gritty booster and industrial surroundings.

 

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After a brief nap aboard OCISLY, SpaceX’s recovery crew wasted no time craning the toasty Falcon 9 core onto dry land, where workers began removing landing legs to prepare the rocket for transport.

SpaceX is clearly building confidence with their recovery procedures, and 1042’s journey has been exceptionally fast and efficient. With 19 successful recoveries now under the company’s belt, the company’s growing expertise is readily apparent, and the clockwork-like nature of their refined processes will benefit SpaceX immensely as it pursues ever-higher launch cadences. With multiple major SpaceX customers expressing newfound interest in reused rockets in the last two weeks alone, the demand for recovered boosters will likely continue to grow, and every successful recovery and commercial reuse is a concrete step along the path to rapid and complete reuse.

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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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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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Neuralink Blindsight human trials expected to start in the UAE

Neuralink aims to restore vision with its Blindsight BCI implant. First human implant for Blindsight may happen in UAE.

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(Credit: Neuralink)

During Elon Musk’s interview at the Qatar Economic Forum, he announced that Neuralink aims to implant its Blindsight brain-to-computer interface (BCI) device in a human patient by late 2025 or early 2026.

Blindsight focuses on restoring vision. A few years ago, Musk mentioned that Neuralink’s BCI devices would restore vision for people, even those born blind.

“The first two applications we’re going to aim for in humans are restoring vision, and I think this is notable in that even if someone has never had vision ever, like they were born blind, we believe we can still restore vision. The visual part of the cortex is still there. Even if they’ve never seen before, we’re confident they could see,” Musk said during Neuralink’s Show & Tell in 2022. 

Musk said Blindsight could be implanted into a human patient in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Neuralink plans to partner with the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to implant the first human patient with Blindsight.

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Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company is partnering with the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to conduct the first clinical trial of the UAE-PRIME study. Like Neuralink’s PRIME study in the United States, UAE-PRIME will focus on human patients with motor and speech impairments.

Neuralink received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to conduct the PRIME and CONVOY studies in the United States. PRIME tests the capabilities of the company’s Link implant to restore or enable motor and speech in participants. Meanwhile, the CONVOY study explores Link’s ability to control assistive robotic devices. Neuralink already has an assistive robotic arm called ARA that could expand patients’ autonomy beyond smart devices.

Blindsight would probably require a separate study from PRIME and CONVOY. As such, Neuralink might need FDA approval in the United States to start human trials for Blindsight. However, Blindsight already received a “breakthrough device” designation from the US FDA.

In April 2025, Neuralink opened its patient registry to participants worldwide. The neurotechnology company has already implanted its Link BCI device into five patients. Earlier this year, Neuralink welcomed one of its first PRIME study participants as the first patient in its CONVOY study.

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