Free Republic

SpaceX announced an agreement on Thursday to “acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum license portfolio” that will establish the foundation to help the company become a “major mobile carrier” in the United States. “With this new spectrum and our Gen2 constellation, Starlink Mobile can ensure Americans have access to high-speed mobile broadband no matter where they are,” the company stated. CNBC has more: Shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile tumbled in extended trading. The deal involves the acquisition of a spectrum portfolio from Grain Management, which specializes in digital infrastructure, and is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. SpaceX...

Britain has spent nearly $40 million on SpaceX (SPCX.O), opens new tab satellite services, deepening its reliance on Elon Musk's company for military communications despite growing European concerns about dependence on U.S. ​security infrastructure. The spending was disclosed to Reuters in response to a freedom of information request and makes Britain the first country outside the ‌U.S. to publicly acknowledge adopting Starshield, SpaceX's service for military and intelligence missions. Starlink is marketed to consumer and commercial users. Britain's defence ministry said it has about 1,000 Starshield terminals and 500 Starlink terminals. It has spent about £13 million ($17.6 million) on...

SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket erupted into flames as it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Monday, prematurely ending its first successful flight into orbit. The rocket soared into space early Monday but had to cut its scheduled 10-hour flight around the globe short to ensure safety, the company said. The rocket splashed down just north of Hawaii three hours into its flight, with Starship tipping over and getting engulfed in flames in a dramatic end to the mission. SpaceX’s historic launch nearly failed after one of its six engines shut down close to lift off, with flight controllers moving...

SpaceX is targeting Starship Flight 14 NET Monday, September 28, 2026 at 7:15 a.m. CT (12:15 UTC). This will be the FIRST orbital launch attempt of Starship with Ship 41 and Booster 21, carrying the first operational batch of 26 Starlink V3 satellites on a roughly 10-hour mission of about six orbits at around 275 km before a Pacific Ocean splashdown. Booster 21 will splash down in the Gulf after boostback, making this a major step from prior suborbital tests toward sustained orbit, payload ops, and eventual full reuse. [4K] Watch the FIRST Orbital Starship Mission!!! | Live Everyday Astronaut...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched tFalcon 9 launched 27 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 9:47 p.m. EDT (6:47 p.m. local time; 0147 GMT on Sept. 20). It was a record 40th flight for one of the Falcon 9’s fairing halves. Blastoff! SpaceX launches & deploys 27 Starlink satellites, nails landing | 9:18 VideoFromSpace | 2.14M subscribers | 19,461 views | September 20, 2026

BREAKING: The FCC accepted SpaceX’s 100,000-satellite Starlink Gen3 application for filing. Each V3 satellite is designed for up to 1 Tbps downlink, 160 Gbps uplink and six 400 Gbps space lasers. Starship launches will add ~20× the capacity of Falcon 9 launches of V2 satellites.

An entire batch of Russian low Earth orbit satellites, intended to help create Moscow's version of Starlink, has failed to reach or remain at their anticipated altitudes just over a month after launch. The 16 Rassvet-3 satellites, launched on July 19, were originally supposed to orbit the Earth at an altitude of roughly 500 miles, according to the company developing the constellation, Bureau 1440. But publicly available US Space Force data shows that, as of Tuesday, the Rassvet-3 satellites are instead orbiting at altitudes of between 190 miles and 250 miles. Atmospheric drag at that altitude significantly shortens a satellite's...

SpaceX is pushing toward Starship Flight 14 with Ship 41 and Booster 21 completing major testing, including a spectacular 33-engine Super Heavy static fire. Meanwhile, SpaceX's Starship Plans Just Got Much Bigger, the colossal new Starbase Louisiana plans for at least ten Starship launch pads and thousands of future launches. Ship 40 has also finally been loaded aboard the massive FORTE recovery vessel for its long journey back to Texas after Flight 13. We also look at the final Falcon 9 Starlink launch from Florida, the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launch on Falcon Heavy, Ariane 6, the latest...

After a year of holding back on new hires, companies from tech and transportation to defense now say they need more people to work alongside AIAmerica’s biggest companies say they might need more people after all. For months, major employers treated hiring as an expensive last resort. Now, a shift is emerging across industries. Companies ranging from railroad giant CSX to Google parent Alphabet GOOGL have told investors in recent days that they plan to hire to meet growth goals or to seize on emerging technologies.The push to expand head count, at least modestly, is a reversal from the prevailing...

Two months ago, version 3 Starship left us with more questions than answers. A booster that couldn't stick its return. A ship down an engine. And a whole community asking the same thing: is this new design actually the one? On Thursday, SpaceX flew it again. Here's what happened! Massive Reveal From SpaceX's Starship Flight 13! | 25:52 What about it!? | 657K subscribers | 57,710 views | July 26, 2026

The first half of the interview is Musk at his most visionary: highly optimistic about production, robotics, space exploration and abundance, while admitting genuine AI danger. The second half is much more defensive and combative. The interviewer presses him on concentrated power, Ukraine, DOGE, immigration and his influence over European politics. Neither side meaningfully changes the other’s position. The single biggest takeaway is that Musk no longer talks about AI primarily as a technology product. He treats AI plus robotics as a near-term replacement for the existing economic system itself—including employment, scarcity, wages, money and ultimately human control. https://elonmuskarchive.org/video/economist-elon-musk-2026-07-23

In this interview with Zanny Minton Beddoes of The Economist, Elon Musk discusses the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and its implications for the future. Here are the key takeaways: Timeline for AI Superintelligence: Musk predicts that AI will exceed the sum of human intelligence in roughly five years (0:00 - 0:19). The Future of Human Control: He expresses doubt that humans will remain in control in ten years, comparing the potential intelligence gap between AI and humans to the gap between humans and chimpanzees (1:07 - 1:38). Age of Abundance: Despite the risks, Musk maintains an optimistic view, describing...

Elon Musk denied that he supports the “far right” in a new interview with The Economist, countering the interviewer’s claims by saying he backs “normal people” who are mislabeled by the media. “You support not just the populist right, but the far right — in fact, very fringe parties in some countries,” said editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes in the sit-down interview. “No, I support the normal people. What you call the far right, falsely,” Musk declared. “Here are the principles, and tell me, which of these sound terrible. That we should have secure borders? That we should have safe cities?...

NEWS: Elon Musk rejects the far right label in an exchange with The Economist "I support the normal people. What you call the far right, falsely." He challenged the interviewer to say what is extreme about 3 positions. "Here are the principles and tell me which of these sound terrible. That we should have secure borders, that we should have safe cities, that we should have sensible spending. Which of those three are far right fringe?" Elon then turned on the framing itself. "I would like to just admonish you and the media for the absurd characterization of the far...

SpaceX to launch 13th Starship flight test What we know: SpaceX's latest test flight is currently scheduled for Thursday with the 90-minute launch window opening at 5:45 p.m. The latest test flight will test the company's Super Heavy booster with the objective of a successful launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn and landing burn. SpaceX said the booster's hardware has been modified to improve relight reliability. For Starship, the company hopes to launch 20 Starlink satellites and have a successful relight of an engine while in space with a controlled entry, descent and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The company...

The thirteenth flight test of Starship is preparing to launch as early as Monday, July 20. The 90-minute launch window will open at 5:45 p.m. CT.A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to check in here and stay tuned to our X account for updates.The upcoming flight will aim to complete similar objectives targeted on the previous flight test, which debuted the Starship and Super...

[9 hours and change to go!] LIVE Countdown To Launch Coverage of SpaceX's 13th Starship Flight Test; the second flight of Starship v3 and from Pad B. SpaceX Starship Flight 13 Countdown To Launch | Live feed The Launch Pad | 360 watching now July 16, 2026 | Started streaming 21 hours ago

There are so many satellites its breaking old satellite tracking systems, the US Space Track began tracking satellites in the 1950's and the standard 'Two Line Element' or TLE format only allowed for 5 digit identifiers. The world just blew past that number! It's Official, There Are Too Many Satellites! | 17:32 Scott Manley | 117,769 views | July 15, 2026

[665th F9 launch, 600th reflight overall] Watch live coverage as SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 satellites for the company's Starlink internet service plus a test flight for two prototype semiconductor manufacturing devices. Liftoff of the Starlink 10-45 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for Tuesday, July 14, at 5:10:12 a.m. EDT (0910:12 UTC). The first-stage Falcon 9 booster, serial number B1080, launching for a 28th time, will take a north-easterly trajectory on departure from Florida's Space Coast. About 8.5 minutes into flight it will land on SpaceX's drone ship...

Los Angeles County Point Dume State Beach, Malibu -- One of the closest public beaches to the launch path, Point Dume offers wide-open views over the Pacific. Santa Monica Beach With an unobstructed view toward the northwest over the ocean, Santa Monica Beach is an easy option for Westside residents and remains accessible into the evening. Rocky Peak Park, Simi Valley Orange County Inspiration Point, Corona del Mar -- The bluff-top overlook provides sweeping ocean views and an excellent vantage point to watch the rocket climb after liftoff. Heisler Park, Laguna Beach The cliffside park’s paved pathways and west-facing coastline...