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SpaceX ready for 60-satellite Starlink launch debut: third time’s the charm?
SpaceX is approximately two hours away from its third Starlink v0.9 launch attempt, an ambitious batch of 60 satellites that will also be the company’s heaviest payload ever.
As hinted at by the name “Starlink v0.9”, these sixty satellites are not quite the final design. More a beta test at an unprecedented scale, several critical new technologies and strategies will be put to the test on this launch, ranging from a seriously unorthodox satellite deployment method to the near-final krypton-fueled electric thrusters. Same as SpaceX’s May 15th and 16th launch attempts, Starlink v0.9’s third try has a 90-minute window that opens at 10:30 pm EDT (02:30 UTC), this time on Thursday, May 23rd.
Third time’s the charm 🤞
May 23rd’s Starlink v0.9 launch attempt will be the mission’s third, preceded by May 15th – scrubbed by high-altitude wind shear – and May 16th, cancelled before fueling began in order to troubleshoot and update the software aboard the 60 Starlink satellites. After a week of concerted effort from SpaceX technicians and software developers, those issues have been more or less dealt with and the first batch of Starlink satellites are once again ready for orbit.
According to SpaceX, the massive payload of 60 flat-packed Starlink satellites weighs approximately 18.5 tons (16,800-18,500 kg, unclear if short or metric tons). Either way, it will easily break SpaceX’s previous record – likely Crew Dragon’s DM-1 debut – and become the heaviest payload the company has ever attempted to launch. Despite the sheer size and mass of the payload, Falcon 9 booster B1049 – launching for the third time – will still be able to land aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) some eight minutes after launch.
If the recovery goes well, B1049 will become the third SpaceX booster to successfully complete three orbital-class launches and landings, paving the way for a series of fourth flights (and beyond) later this year.
Cubesats, meet Flatsats
Aside from the mission’s impressive rocket performance requirements, Starlink v0.9 will also serve as a huge beta test of a dozen or more new technologies. The most visible of those has to be each satellite’s truly unique flat, rectangular form factor, as well as SpaceX’s use of flat-packing in place of a dedicated structure for holding and dispensing the satellites. It’s unclear if there is some additional reinforcement or if the satellites themselves provide all of the stack’s strength. If the latter is true, the satellites at the bottom must survive massive forces – ranging from ~7000 kg at rest to 35,000+ kg at the end of Falcon 9’s second stage burn.
Aside from their exotic structure, each Starlink satellite also carries a single-panel ~3 kW solar array using one of two experimental deployment mechanisms. Each satellite’s main propulsion comes from an unknown number of Hall Effect thrusters (i.e. electric/ion thrusters) fueled by krypton instead of the usual xenon. SpaceX’s internally-developed krypton thrusters are the only known examples to have been tested in orbit.
Aside from thrusters, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also believes that the company’s space-based phased array antennas – also developed in-house – are more advanced than any operational competitor on Earth. Musk also revealed that SpaceX would attempt to use a bizarre and largely untested method of satellite deployment, spinning Falcon 9’s upper stage and releasing the satellites with inertia instead of traditional springs or pushrods.
Regardless of whether everything works as planned, the launch is going to be a spectacular one and the webcast may even include views of the bizarre satellite deployment. Catch SpaceX’s live coverage of the mission – likely to include new details about the Starlink constellation – at the link below. Coverage will begin ~15 minutes prior to liftoff.
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Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
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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.
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Tesla highlights the Megapack site replacing Hawaii’s last coal plant
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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
