Helmed by billionaire CEO Elon Musk, SpaceX has made a name for itself as a leading rocket launch provider. We bring you complete coverage of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket launches and landings, as well as SpaceX’s more ambitious exploration goals. That includes flying people around the Moon in the company’s Dragon capsule and starting a human colony on Mars.
The Elon Musk-owned company successfully launched its Dragon cargo capsule atop its Falcon 9 rocket around 2:20PM ET on Saturday.
In addition to carrying solar arrays, dwarf tomato seeds, and other supplies, the capsule’s also packed with ice cream, spicy green beans, cranberry apple desserts, pumpkin pie, and candy corn as a belated Thanksgiving treat. It’s expected to reach the ISS around 7:30AM on Sunday.
Bloomberg reports that the funding round values the company at more than $150 billion. That’s a pretty big jump from earlier this year, when the company was valued at $125 billion.
The Starlink subreddit (one of my favorite communities on the whole internet) is having a field day with the new data caps.
Elon Musk has acknowledged his current residence, so Verge EIC Nilay Patel stopped by Vox’s Today, Explained podcast to discuss why social media’s newest CEO is in for a Bad Time as the owner of Twitter.
As Elon and company debate whether Twitter Blue should be $20 a month and required for verified users, another Musk company, SpaceX, launched a more traditional product into space. The Falcon Heavy rocket successfully made its first return to space in three years.
“...because rockets don’t talk back.”
As you enjoy your weekend, don’t miss this episode of The Vergecast covering exactly what Elon Musk has gotten himself into now that he owns Twitter.
Yes, Elon Musk owns Twitter. No, he has not laid off an entire team of data engineers, including one “Rahul Ligma.”
David Pierce explains what we actually know so far.
Liz Lopatto is laying out all the details we know about Elon’s Twitter takeover right now, so read that or check below for the rundown of every ridiculous thing that happened in this deal over the last six months.
Then, take a break. We expect to see official paperwork arrive tomorrow, plus we’ll have more coverage and a special episode of The Vergecast in the morning.
Falcon Heavy is back on the pad, preparing for a launch as early as October 31st, as it delivers... something into orbit for the US Space Force.
Turns out, there’s a lot scientists can discover about the mega-constellation — even if SpaceX isn’t cooperating.
[MIT Technology Review]
First, the Washington Post reports Elon might fire 75 percent of Twitter’s staff, and now Bloomberg cites anonymous sources saying that — like Elon himself — US government officials may be uncomfortable with the billionaire buying Twitter.
The report says the Biden admin is considering a CFIUS review of his deals to consider national security risks.
US officials have grown uncomfortable over Musk’s recent threat to stop supplying the Starlink satellite service to Ukraine — he said it had cost him $80 million so far — and what they see as his increasingly Russia-friendly stance following a series of tweets that outlined peace proposals favorable to President Vladimir Putin. They are also concerned by his plans to buy Twitter with a group of foreign investors.
Politico reported on Monday that the US government might help pay for the network, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that the company has “already withdrawn its request for funding.”
Over the weekend, Musk tweeted that SpaceX would keep providing service to the Ukrainian government for free despite claiming the company is losing money by doing so.
SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance spacecraft is set to launch with four astronauts on board, two of whom will usher in firsts for space flight.
Nicole Mann will make history as the first indigenous woman from NASA to launch into space. She also will be the first female commander of the Dragon crew capsule. Roscosmos’ Anna Kikina will be the first Russian cosmonaut on the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
Starlink can be expensive, but for me, paying an average price of €53/mth this year for fast internet from the remote beach where I work and play during the summer is totally worth it (read my review here). When my Starlink RV service is active, it costs €105 each month. But autumn is approaching so I’m closing my surf shack and pausing my subscription until April. With any luck, the price will be reduced again by the time I fire it back up.
How you respond to this cluster of 49 Starlink satellites captured above Alaska by the Aurora Chasers says a lot about the future of stargazing. “Oh no!” is the astronomer fretting about a sky filled with low-flying reflections. “Hells yeah,” is the vanlifer with a T-Mobile subscription tired of dealing with dead zones.
Worshippers of Elon Musk have flocked to the middle of nowhere in Texas to watch SpaceX’s attempts to build a space-worthy rocket — and to find friends
