SpaceX

SpaceX is about to get real busy: EchoStar and NASA on deck

Published

8 years ago

January 19, 2017

SpaceX ’s Falcon 9 return to flight (RTF) mission was a picture-perfect comeback, both figuratively and literally. On January 14, 2017, the company’s enthusiastic launch customer, Iridium, witnessed ten of its NEXT satellites deployed into orbit while Falcon 9’s first stage booster successfully landed onto its west coast droneship, “Just Read the Instructions”.

Elon Musk and SpaceX later tweeted a photograph of the landing that captured its spot-on landing, along with a link to a photo collection posted to SpaceX’s Flickr account.

Updated launch and landing photos → https://t.co/vn4S8bV3x3 pic.twitter.com/GRpm77LxKw
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 18, 2017

Now that the highly-anticipated RTF event has arrived, it’s time for Falcon 9 to march towards the next chapter of reusability. SpaceX has recovered seven first stage cores to date, most of which are potential candidates to be reused on a future mission.

On April 8, 2016, SpaceX completed its Falcon 9 Dragon cargo mission to resupply the International Space Station (ISS), and the first stage of its booster made history by successfully landing on a droneship for the first time. The same core recovered from that mission is now scheduled to make history once again and launch SES-10 no earlier than (NET) February 22, 2017.

SES-10, owned by SES of Luxembourg and built by Airbus Defense and Space, will be flown into geostationary orbit to provide telecom services to Latin America. Also notable, SES and SpaceX have history together: SES was SpaceX’s first commercial customer with the launch of SES-8 in December 2013. This relationship was acknowledged by Elon Musk when the contract for the refurbished booster was signed.

Thanks for the longstanding faith in SpaceX. We very much look forward to doing this milestone flight with you. https://t.co/U2UFez0OhY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2016

SES previously confirmed that it received a discount for being the first customer to fly on a refurbished rocket. The satellite has reportedly been relocated to Florida after having been transferred from its manufacturing origin of Toulouse, France.

SES 10 isn’t SpaceX’s only mission in the coming weeks. Two other customers are awaiting their slot: EchoStar Corp. and NASA.

The next scheduled launch for Falcon 9 has been tentatively set for January 26^th from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Its cargo will be EchoStar Corp’s EchoStar 23, a satellite providing Ku, Ka, and S-band communications capacity for direct-television broadcast services in Brazil. The company has been driven by a mid-2017 Brazilian regulatory deadline to begin broadcast services, thus Falcon 9’s restored flight status is a welcome relief.

The EchoStar 23 mission will be the first Falcon 9 launch conducted from historic Launch Complex 39A, former host of the Apollo missions. Pad 39A has been under construction since it was leased by SpaceX from NASA in April 2014, its primary intended purpose being that of hosting Falcon Heavy launches.

NASA also has another ISS cargo mission on the books with SpaceX, currently scheduled for February 8^th. This will be the 10^th Dragon cargo mission that SpaceX has been contracted for. While not scheduled to break any historical records, this mission is another reminder of both the working relationship SpaceX has with NASA and abilities as a serious launch provider heading towards transporting American astronauts into space.

Stay tuned as we bring you more coverage of upcoming booster landings and possibly a Falcon Heavy launch expected to take place later this year.

News

Tesla China’s first Megapack exports are headed for a big battery in Australia

The Tesla Megapack batteries are bound for Queensland’s Western Downs battery project.

Published

2 weeks ago

March 27, 2025

Simon Alvarez

Credit: Tesla Asia/X

A few days ago, Tesla announced that the first Megapack battery units from its Shanghai “Megafactory” were being shipped to Australia.

As per recent reports, the massive grid-scale Tesla batteries are bound for Queensland’s Western Downs battery project.

The Shanghai Megafactory

The Shanghai Megafactory is Tesla’s first battery storage factory outside the United States. Built close to Gigafactory Shanghai, the Shanghai Megafactory is expected to supply Megapack batteries to both China and foreign markets.

The Megapack represents a huge portion of Tesla Energy’s deployments. With 3.9 MWh of energy, Tesla notes that each Megapack is enough to power 3,600 homes for an hour. The Shanghai Megafactory has a capacity to produce 10,000 Megapacks per year to start.

Mike Snyder, vice president of Tesla, shared his optimism about the Shanghai Megafactory. “Megafactory gives us the ability to scale production and efficiency. We can lower logistics costs as well as product costs, and grow the business to new markets,” he stated.

Australia Battery Projects

As noted in a report from Renew Economy, the first Megapack shipments from the Shanghai Megafactory will be installed in the second stage of the Western Downs battery project, which is being built by Neoen. The Western Downs battery project involves a 460 MWp solar farm coupled with a 540 MW/1,080 MWh big battery system.

Tesla has also been listed as the battery supplier for the upcoming Calala battery in Tamworth, New South Wales, which will involve 138 Megapack units. The Megapacks for the Calala battery will likely be imported from the Shanghai Megafactory as well.

Data from Rosetta Analytics suggests that Tesla is currently the dominant player in Australia’s energy storage segment, with the company holding over 30% of the market. Tesla has become a notable presence in Australia’s energy sector for years, especially following the company’s buildout of the Hornsdale “big battery,” which was initially comprised of Tesla Powerpacks, in 2017.

News

Starlink gets green light to launch internet services in Vietnam

Vietnam has given Starlink the green light. With mobile & aviation plans in the mix, SpaceX continues its push into Asia.

Published

2 weeks ago

March 26, 2025

Maria Merano

(Credit: SpaceX)

Starlink received the green light to launch its internet services in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese government noted SpaceX’s permission to launch Starlink services in the country is on a trial basis. Starlink’s trial period will last until the end of 2030. SpaceX has a subscriber limit of 600,000 within the trial period.

SpaceX can provide Starlink’s fixed and mobile internet service plans throughout Vietnam. It may also offer Starlink Aviation service plans.

According to Reuters, the Vietnamese government noted that there is no limit to foreign ownership of a service. It is uncertain if SpaceX has applied for a license to launch Starlink services in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s decision to permit Starlink services in the country differs from Italy’s decision to pause discussions regarding SpaceX’s internet service. According to Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, discussions of a Starlink deal with SpaceX have “come to a standstill. Crosetto cites the controversy surrounding Elon Musk as the reason for the pause on a Starlink deal. Italy was discussing a potential $1.6 billion, 5-year Starlink contract with SpaceX.

SpaceX’s Starlink dish with Gigabit Speeds leaves EU scrambling to catch up

SpaceX is also trying to launch Starlink in India. The aerospace company has already signed deals with two of India’s top telecom companies for Starlink services. However, Starlink is still waiting for regulatory approval.

While waiting for regulatory approvals and license processing, SpaceX continues to improve its Starlink services. Recently, news broke that the Elon Musk-led company has plans to launch a new Starlink dish with gigabit speeds.

Elon Musk

SpaceX’s Starlink dish with Gigabit Speeds leaves EU scrambling to catch up

SpaceX is preparing to launch a gigabit Starlink dish. Meanwhile, Europe is still searching for a Starlink alternative.

Published

2 weeks ago

March 25, 2025

Maria Merano

Spacex-starlink-dish-gigabit-speed-vs-europe

(Credit: Starlink)

SpaceX is preparing to release a Starlink dish with gigabit speeds, likely leaving the European Union scrambling to catch up.

During a webinar for Starlink resellers, SpaceX mentioned the development of a new Starlink dish that would offer customers gigabit internet speeds. The new Starlink dish is expected to boost current download speeds of around 200 Mbps.

“Next generation, we’ll have smaller beams, more capacity per beam, lower latency,” noted SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell in 2024. She teased that Starlink speeds would reach as high as 2 gigabits with the next-generation dish.

Starlink’s launch in Italy paused until Elon Musk hate ends

EU plays catch up with SpaceX’s Starlink

While SpaceX prepares to provide customers with gigabit speeds, the European Union is still trying to catch up to Starlink’s current internet services.

The Foreign Minister of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski, accused Elon Musk of threatening to cut off Ukraine’s access to Starlink. The Polish Minister’s accusation came after Musk pointed out that Ukraine’s front line would collapse without Starlink.

Sikorski interpreted Musk’s words as a threat. Musk later issued a statement saying he would “never” cut Starlink services to Ukraine.

Despite Musk’s statement, the EU is considering alternatives to SpaceX’s Starlink. It will be difficult, given that the EU currently has no companies that can match SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.

The closest company in Europe to SpaceX’s Starlink is Eutelsat’s OneWeb constellation, which has around 650 satellites in lower earth orbit. In comparison, SpaceX reported having approximately 6,750 satellites in the Starlink constellation as of February 2025.

Even if Europe managed to match SpaceX’s current Starlink constellation, having Ukraine switch from one service to another would be complicated. Multiple countries are paying for Ukraine’s Starlink services, including the United States and Poland. On top of that, each country isn’t paying the same amount–some seem to be paying more than others.

In general, it doesn’t seem like Elon Musk can cut Ukraine’s access to Starlink on a whim.

Starlink Gigabit Dish Pending

SpaceX has a few boxes to check before releasing the Starlink gigabit dish. It will need to upgrade its Starlink constellation to harness a broader range of radio spectrum. But first, SpaceX must get clearance from the FCC to implement the upgrades.

PC Mag speculates that SpaceX could launch the Starlink gigabit dish later this year. The new dish’s release will depend on if SpaceX’s Starship can successfully deploy third-generation V3 Starlink satellites.