Starship Flight 12 in 4 weeks,
Amazon Urges FCC to Deny SpaceX Plan to Launch 1M Satellites | 7:43
Ellie in Space | 220K subscribers | 4,856 views | March 7, 2026
Posted on 03/07/2026 4:20:36 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Starship Flight 12 in 4 weeks,
Amazon Urges FCC to Deny SpaceX Plan to Launch 1M Satellites | 7:43
Ellie in Space | 220K subscribers | 4,856 views | March 7, 2026
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YouTube transcript reformatted at textformatter.ai follows.
TranscriptWe're getting closer to Starship's flight 12. What still needs to be done? Plus, more Artemis changes. A big shakeup for Artemis 4 and Artemis 5 missions. Amazon versus SpaceX is once again in the news. So, Elon Musk posted on X Starship V3 first flight in about 4 weeks. And we had some inkling that it might be around April 7th because of an FCC request to put cameras on the Starlink simulators. But let me share you this post from Joe Tagmire, who I often co-stream with down at Starbase. And yes, we plan to do that for flight 12. He says this matches with what he's been hearing about an April 9th launch target. And this is a realistic if aggressive target date based on activity and testing efforts underway at Starbase.
What is left to complete before launch can happen? Well, here are a few major milestones to look for. They still need to do testing and certification of the new launch tower, launch mount, and tank farm systems, which will require booster 19 to be transported to the launch site and placed on the launch mount. Booster 19 will then roll back to the production facility to get all 33 engines installed and then will roll back out for static fire testing. This will also be the first time a booster with the new V3 Raptor engines is static fired. Ship 39 will need to roll back to the production site likely early next week too to get all six engines installed and then back to Massis for static fire testing. And this will be the first time a ship has static fired with V3 Raptors. Then both booster 19 and ship 39 will need to go back to the production site for final prep. And then they'll both need to roll out to the launch site for the first V3 booster and V3 ship full stack. And this will also be the first time the new launch mount will have a full stack.
Then we'll expect to see a wet dress rehearsal next as this will be the first time the entire system is tested and the first time SpaceX personnel will have operated the entire new system together. And as we've seen with Artemis, sometimes the first time presents issues. So Joe points out a lot could happen during this wet dress rehearsal. So expect some issues to crop up that will then need to be resolved. Maybe we might even have to have a second wet dress rehearsal. But we're crossing our fingers. It's only after all of that happens that we will be able to see a launch attempt. And it's crazy that all of this work has been underway for about 6 months or so since flight 11.
And so, as I mentioned here, Essie Robinson Jr. shares a public notice of the mayor's order to have a road closure for Superheavy booster 19 testing. The city of Starbase temporary closure is scheduled for March 9th with a backup on the 10th from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. So hopefully we'll see that Starship launch in about a month as Elon predicts. But what do you guys think in the comments? Do you think that Starship will go first or do you think that Artemis has a shot of going first as they are scheduled for no earlier than April 1st?
Now I mentioned Amazon versus SpaceX is back in the news. Apparently, Amazon has filed a formal petition calling on the FCC to deny SpaceX's proposed 1 million satellite proposal for orbiting data centers, going as far as to claim that the project would take centuries to deploy. And you can see the petition here, petition to deny of Amazon LEO. Amazon wrote, "Deploying the proposed million satellite constellation would take centuries, even assuming the availability of all global launch capacity to do so." In short, the application seems to describe a lofty ambition rather than a real plan and a speculative placeholder rather than a complete application under the commission's rules. So, we'll see if the FCC actually will deny SpaceX's plan with pressure now from Amazon. But this was just sent by Amazon to the FCC on Friday. This was a 17-page filing.
It's not just Amazon that is against this idea from SpaceX. There's concerns about space safety and cluttering Earth's orbit with satellites. Of course, we don't want any Kessler syndrome, and a million satellites is a lot. And Amazon issued this petition by the FCC's deadline. They actually had a deadline for the public to submit comments on SpaceX's proposal. So far, the commission has received over 1,200 comments, a staggering amount, far beyond the typical satellite application according to pcmag.com.
And like I mentioned, it's also anti-light pollution groups and astronomers that have been against this plan by SpaceX. So, that is something that I will continue to cover and keep you up to date on. I think it's pretty interesting. And then there's been a lot of talk about the EU or the Exploration Upper Stage on X lately and yes it is being replaced. So if you didn't know what this acronym means or you've been seeing EU all over your timeline, the Exploration Upper Stage was a planned rocket stage for the Space Launch System during 2013 to 2026. It was intended for use on the proposed SLS Block 1B and Block 2 configurations, replacing the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage used on the Block One variant. However, it has been cancelled before flight. In 2025, the Trump administration proposed terminating the SLS and Orion programs after Artemis 3, citing cost concerns. And although the United States Congress subsequently provided funding for Artemis 4 and 5 in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of July 2025, it directed NASA to study commercial alternatives to the EU. So on February 26 of this year, 2026, not that long ago, NASA formally cancelled the Exploration Upper Stage and the Block 1B and Block 2 upgrades, opting instead to continue flights using a standardized Block One configuration.
And these are some of the many changes that Jared has made in recent weeks. And they also decided to pursue alternative upper stage options. But here is the newest bit. A contract was awarded to United Launch Alliance or ULA to have the Vulcan Centaur 5 upper stage for the Space Launch System for flight four and five of Artemis. In this contract description, it says NASA MSFC has a requirement for next generation upper stages for use in Space Launch System Artemis 4 and Artemis 5. NASA MSFC intends to issue a sole source contract to acquire next generation upper stages for use in Space Launch System Artemis 4 and 5 from United Launch Alliance in accordance with FAR 6.103-1C. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements due to the highly specialized nature of this requirement.
There you have it. There is just some news roundup for your Saturday. Hope that you guys are all having a great day wherever you are, a great weekend and hope that you're enjoying the more frequent updates. I'll try to keep them coming and I will talk to you in the next video.
If you follow Ellie in space, you might be a dummy.
Like in anybody who thinks the Amazon filing is anything other than sour grapes.
Ridiculous.
The only people now documenting space that have real opinions are (1) Marcus House and (2) Everyday Astronaut. Everybody else is a know nothing political hack.
Tony Bruno is the WORST.
If you follow Ellie in space, you might be a dummy.
Like in anybody who thinks the Amazon filing is anything other than sour grapes.
Ridiculous.
The only people now documenting space that have real opinions are (1) Marcus House and (2) Everyday Astronaut. Everybody else is a know nothing political hack.
Tony Bruno is the WORST.
Thanks for the two nonsense nonsequitur posts.
AMAZON IS GETTING TOO BIG FOR IT’S BRITCHES....
I didn’t think it was a “non-sequitur” post...but I admit:
I pretty much only watch Marcus House, and have never watched the other two, so I can’t comment on their presentation or accuracy.
House seems to be accurate, but there is something about his presentation that just doesn’t sit right with me-but I can overlook it because of his in depth reporting. He seems like a nice guy.
And yes-this does seem like weirdness from Amazon. Don’t know why.
Yet...
I don’t think is weirdness from Amazon. Instead it reeks of desperation trying to slow down Elon before everyone in the world has a Starlink account and no reason to consider Amazon Leo.
That’s a compact/information dense video more on the politics, legality, etc. than the technical aspects everyone always focuses in on.
As Elon Musk said, “if injunctions and regulatory rulings could get you into orbit, Blue Origin would be on Mars by now.”
Well, I’m not sure I’m getting that quote completely right, but that was the gist.
Competition spurs motivation and innovation but this looks more like companies who would fare far better cooperating instead of wasting time and resources vying for government intervention while duplicating efforts.
We now return the channel to more knowledgeable people.
consider we only use the surface a perhaps a few underground buildings for datacenter on earth.
Go up 100-1850 miles. Literally it’s like 10,000x the space, and there’s basically nothing there.
This is why we call it ........space.
Underground would make the cooling process harder and more expensive.
Deep in the comments are that Astronomers are against
this many things in orbit.
I worked for ten tears at what at the time was the worlds largest telescopes, the Kecks 10 meters diameter. I was an Electronics engineer there, mainly I Integrated new instruments into the telescope.
Y’all know they don’t look optically at stars with their eyes, it is done all through a vast array of optics andfilters, on to a detector, and then into a computer.
Then they can form images on a screen.
My opinion is space based telescopes like Hubble and
JWST are the way to go. Costly but probably cheaper
on a knowledge basis than
All politics aside and there is a LOT of politics, to
have to not deal with the earths atmosphere, is a
phenomenal jump in astronomical
data quality for far away astronomical
exploration.
Land based telescopes have a place in the
scheme of things.
Personally I think our Astronomy is like
the story about a bunch of blind men trying
to figure out what an elephant was by touch.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EoJTboRKPGM
Aloha.
Amazon having another Tantrum ? LOL
Amen to that...
I find Marcus House’s delivery a little like he’s reciting from cue cards. His info is ok. Ellie in Space is good. My favorite is Felix (WAI). He’s entertaining while being informative.
Ellie in space indicates she’s in space. So I put a lot more stock in her than you earthbound armchair astronauts.
Knock yourself out.
While you are at it, watch “The Science Guy” who is doesn’t have a science degree, either.
Both are pretenders who don’t have science degrees.
I do. Two.
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