Tesla displayed its next‑generation Roadster at SpaceX’s Hawthorne campus on Oct. 29, positioning the car beside Falcon 9 booster B1019 that achieved the company’s first orbital‑class landing in 2015. The photo, posted by SpaceX engineer Deanna Rice, shows the Roadster, which uses cold‑gas thrusters fed by composite overwrapped pressure vessels identical to those on Falcon 9, parked next to the rocket monument installed. The appearance follows the vehicle’s ramp launch in Texas on Oct. 15 and a video highlighting its fighter‑jet‑style [...]

Flexell Space and Singapore‑based Satoro have signed an agreement to demonstrate Flexell’s next‑generation CIGS and perovskite solar cells on two CubeSat missions launched aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets in 2027 and 2028. Satoro will build the satellites, while Flexell will supply the solar cells and test modules for integration. The missions aim to validate the cells’ power output, radiation tolerance and long‑term reliability in the space environment, comparing in‑orbit data with previous ground‑test results from Flexell’s 2025 and [...]

SpaceX lifted off a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 3:25 a.m. EDT on Oct. 27, delivering 27 Starlink Group 15‑16 satellites to low‑Earth orbit. The first‑stage booster B1082 performed a controlled separation after 2.5 minutes, steered toward the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship and touched down at T+8:23, marking its 21st Starlink flight and 26th overall mission. The upper stage reignited 53 minutes post‑launch for a brief three‑second burn to circularize the orbit before deploying the payload. The [...]

SpaceX’s Raptor engine family has progressed from the first version’s 185 metric‑ton sea‑level thrust at 2,080 kg to a projected Raptor 4 delivering 300 tons at roughly the same mass as Raptor 3. Each iteration has raised thrust while shedding weight: Raptor 2 achieved 230 tons at 1,630 kg, Raptor 3 targets 280 tons at 1,525 kg with flight ratings near 250 tons, and Raptor 4 is expected to hit 300 tons without a mass increase. Across the series, thrust‑to‑weight has improved by more than 60 percent. With 33 engines, Super Heavy [...]

SpaceX conducted a 15‑second fire of Super Heavy booster B22 on Oct. 25, igniting all 33 Raptor 3 engines as part of checks for Flight Test 15. The booster will be mated with upper stage Ship 42, which is also undergoing engine fire and systems verification. Flight 15 aims to attempt the first tower‑catch of the Ship stage, step toward Starship reusability. The mission follows Flight 14’s orbital debut, which delivered 26 Starlink V3 satellites but suffered an upper‑stage engine shutdown. Although a payload [...]

Astranis announced on Oct. 26, 2026 that its fourth launch will be upgraded to a dedicated SpaceX Falcon 9 mission in 2028, carrying the entire Block 4 production run of six MicroGEO satellites. The payload will use an Impulse Helios upper stage to perform direct‑inject placement into geostationary orbit, expanding the company’s fleet to 16 satellites after adding to the ten already deployed in Blocks 1‑3. The amendment replaces a 2024 contract that allotted only shared capacity, giving Astranis full use of [...]

SpaceX has reportedly lifted the restrictions it placed on Starshield, the military‑grade variant of its Starlink broadband service used by Ukraine’s armed forces. Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara told reporters that the system is now operating normally, though the military continues testing and has not received an official explanation for the prior limitations. The restrictions, which lasted about ten days, caused Ukrainian drones traveling near 100 mph to lose connectivity, leading to loss of control of some unmanned aircraft and [...]