Tag: Starlink
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SpaceX spooks investors with debut earnings report
SpaceX shares dropped on Wednesday after Elon Musk’s plans for blockbuster spending to position his AI and rocket company as a data center developer spooked investors. SpaceX surpassed analysts’ expectations in Tuesday’s debut earnings report, posting quarterly revenues of $7.8 billion, well above analysts’ estimates of $6.82 billion and up 92 percent from a year…
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Starship Flight 13 Set to Deploy First V3 Starlink Satellites in Operational Debut
Flight 13 is the 13th test launch overall of the Starship megarocket and the second flight this year, following the May 22 launch of Flight 12. It will also be the second flight of SpaceX’s new Starship Version 3, or V3. The vehicle stands more than 400 feet tall and is being designed as a…
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Starlink Satellites Now Dodging Collisions Almost Weekly as Maneuvers Triple in a Year
The increase coincides with rapid growth of the constellation and the broader satellite population. Starlink expanded from about 6,000 satellites in 2024 to more than 10,000 as of June 2026. Over the same period, the total number of operational spacecraft in orbit rose from around 10,000 to roughly 16,000. Between December 2025 and May 2026,…
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Starship Flight 13 Carries 20 Starlink V3 Sats July 16
Does Starship Flight 13 Carry Its First Real Payload? Yes — and it matters. SpaceX has confirmed Starship Flight 13 is targeting liftoff from Starbase, Texas, as early as Thursday, July 16, carrying 20 Starlink V3 satellites: the vehicle’s first operational payload in 13 flights of developmental testing. For the first time, the world’s most…
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Falcon 9 Booster Hits 35 Flights, 12,472 Starlinks Launched
Is a 35-Flight Falcon 9 Booster the New Normal for Launch Economics? A single Falcon 9 first stage flew its 35th mission on July 10, 2026, deploying 29 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit and landing intact for future reuse. The flight is the highest confirmed reuse count in the Falcon 9 fleet to date,…
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Besxar Space Flies Semiconductor Fabships on Falcon 9
Does Besxar Space’s Falcon 9 Semiconductor Test Mark a New In-Space Manufacturing Model? A Washington, D.C.-based startup is using the sub-orbital arc of a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster — not orbital insertion — as its first manufacturing platform. Two Clipper Class Fabships from Besxar Space Industries flew on the Starlink 10-50 mission that lifted off…
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Launch Preview: Swift rescue mission, final Atlas satellite launch
Several orbital launches are scheduled worldwide this week. A mission to rescue the Swift observatory spacecraft is planned along with the first full flight of a South Korean military launcher. This week could also see the final satellite launch by an Atlas family rocket. There is also an Electron launch from New Zealand. The Swift…
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Japan Nears Decision on $2 Billion Domestic Direct-to-Device Satellite Network
Japan is expected to select a proposal this month for its planned J-LEO direct-to-device (D2D) satellite network, a government-backed initiative aimed at establishing a domestically owned and operated low Earth orbit (LEO) communications system. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has allocated approximately $1 billion in subsidies for the project, covering up to…
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West Coast Falcon 9 launch continues expansion of SpaceX’s Starlink network
The Starlink 17-45 mission lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on June 25, 2026. Image: SpaceX Spacex launched another 24 satellites for its Starlink internet service from the West Coast Wednesday evening. Liftoff of the Starlink 17-45 mission from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California occurred at…
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Launch Preview: Pegasus XL to launch amongst Falcon 9 and Chinese missions
This week’s launch manifest includes six orbital launches worldwide, including the first Pegasus XL launch since 2021. SpaceX dominates the schedule with three Starlink missions, the Starfall demonstration mission, and the SXM-11 mission — all of which are to fly on Falcon 9. Internationally, a Chang Zheng 7A launched an unspecified payload on Tuesday. Chang…