News
SpaceX fires up six-engine Starship, aces Starlink launch 18 hours apart
SpaceX has rounded out a jam-packed week of spaceflight activity by completing a record-breaking Starship static fire and first East Coast Starlink launch in half a year less than a day apart.
The eventful period began on November 8th, when Crew Dragon C206 departed the International Space Station (ISS) with four Crew-2 astronauts aboard after almost 200 days in orbit. Just eight hours later, Crew Dragon became the first reusable orbital space capsule to successfully reach orbit and return to Earth twice while carrying astronauts. Less than two days later, Falcon 9 launched a new Crew Dragon and four Crew-3 astronauts into orbit on November 10th, marking SpaceX’s fifth successful crewed launch in a year and a half.
On November 11th, 21 hours after liftoff, Dragon C210 aced its first ISS rendezvous and docking and delivered its crew to the station 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Up next, after a week or two of delays and a great deal of anticipation, SpaceX’s first orbital-class Starship prototype completed the first static fire with a full complement of six Raptor engines around 1:13pm EST, November 12th. Originally scheduled to launch just a few hours before that static fire milestone, a Falcon 9 rocket then proceeded to launch Starlink 4-1 – SpaceX’s first dedicated Florida Starlink mission since May 2021 – a little over 18 hours later at 7:19am EST, November 13th.
The Starlink launch was especially spectacular. Graced by a thick bank of fog that almost fully covered the rocket and SpaceX’s LC-40 pad, Falcon 9 ultimately lifted off about half an hour after sunrise, soaring out of mist backlit by the early morning’s golden-hour light. A single-burn launch, Falcon 9’s expendable upper stage successfully deployed all 53 laser-linked Starlink V1.5 satellites just 16 minutes after liftoff, marking the beginning of the SpaceX constellation’s third ‘shell’. Having already completed Shell 1, it will take SpaceX another 29 launches to complete Shell 4, its mostly identical cousin. SpaceX also began launching Shell 2 – a semi-polar band of 720 satellites – in September.
On the Starship side of things, SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk quickly confirmed that Ship 20 had successfully fired up all six of its Raptor engines on the first try, potentially producing up to ~1110 tons (~2.45M lb) of thrust for about three seconds. If all six engines were briefly operated at full thrust, it would make Starship the most powerful active single-core rocket stage ever fired, narrowly beating out Russia’s Proton-M booster. Starship, of course, is an orbital upper stage, not a booster, and its Super Heavy first stage is expected to produce five or six times more thrust – the most powerful rocket booster by a healthy margin.
After Ship 20’s successful first-try six-engine static fire, it’s not clear what SpaceX’s next steps will be but there’s a good chance that the first flightworthy Super Heavy booster (B4) could be up on the docket.
News
Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
“Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat”
Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt.
Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio cumque nihil impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus.
Nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo.
Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur.
At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga.
Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur.
News
Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
Tesla plans to supply over 100 Megapack units to support a large stationary storage project in Japan, making it one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities.
Tesla’s Megapack grid-scale batteries have been selected to back an energy storage project in Japan, coming as the latest of the company’s continued deployment of the hardware.
As detailed in a report from Nikkei this week, Tesla plans to supply 142 Megapack units to support a 548 MWh storage project in Japan, set to become one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities. The project is being overseen by financial firm Orix, and it will be located at a facility Maibara in central Japan’s Shiga prefecture, and it aims to come online in early 2027.
The deal is just the latest of several Megapack deployments over the past few years, as the company continues to ramp production of the units. Tesla currently produces the Megapack at a facility in Lathrop, California, though the company also recently completed construction on its second so-called “Megafactory” in Shanghai China and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.
READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapacks help power battery supplier Panasonic’s Kyoto test site
Tesla’s production of the Megapack has been ramping up at the Lathrop facility since initially opening in 2022, and both this site and the Shanghai Megafactory are aiming to eventually reach a volume production of 10,000 Megapack units per year. The company surpassed its 10,000th Megapack unit produced at Lathrop in November.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Elon Musk also said that the company is looking to construct a third Megafactory, though he did not disclose where.
Last year, Tesla Energy also had record deployments of its Megapack and Powerwall home batteries with a total of 31.4 GWh of energy products deployed for a 114-percent increase from 2023.
Other recently deployed or announced Megapack projects include a massive 600 MW/1,600 MWh facility in Melbourne, a 75 MW/300 MWh energy storage site in Belgium, and a 228 MW/912 MWh storage project in Chile, along with many others still.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla highlights the Megapack site replacing Hawaii’s last coal plant
Need accessories for your Tesla? Check out the Teslarati Marketplace:
News
Elon Musk responds to Ontario canceling $100M Starlink deal amid tariff drama
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, opens new tab on February 3 that he was “ripping up” his province’s CA$100 million agreement with Starlink in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.
Elon Musk company SpaceX is set to lose a $100 million deal with the Canadian province of Ontario following a response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply 25 percent tariffs to the country.
Starlink, a satellite-based internet service launched by the Musk entity SpaceX, will lose a $100 million deal it had with Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced today.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
Ford said on X today that Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts:
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
It is a blow to the citizens of the province more than anything, as the Starlink internet constellation has provided people in rural areas across the globe stable and reliable access for several years.
Musk responded in simple terms, stating, “Oh well.”
Oh well https://t.co/1jpMu55T6s
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
It seems Musk is less than enthused about the fact that Starlink is being eliminated from the province, but it does not seem like all that big of a blow either.
As previously mentioned, this impacts citizens more than Starlink itself, which has established itself as a main player in reliable internet access. Starlink has signed several contracts with various airlines and maritime companies.
It is also expanding to new territories across the globe on an almost daily basis.
With Mexico already working to avoid the tariff situation with the United States, it will be interesting to see if Canada does the same.
The two have shared a pleasant relationship, but President Trump is putting his foot down in terms of what comes across the border, which could impact Americans in the short term.
Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
