Free Republic

SpaceX's recent launch involved another successful landing of its Falcon 9 booster, but this time marked a Falcon Heavy center core booster launching and landing as a single-stick Falcon 9 rocket.The booster, designated B1091, powered the KF-02 mission, deploying 24 satellites for Amazon's Project Kuiper broadband constellation into low Earth orbit. This event marks a technical first for the company, blending elements of its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy programs...At first glance, the launch appeared to be a standard Falcon 9 mission. However, B1091 is no ordinary booster. As revealed by SpaceX Vice President of Falcon and Dragon, Jon Edwards,...

These fins are said to be among the largest aerodynamic control surfaces ever built for a rocket. Grid fin for the next generation Super Heavy booster. SpaceX/X Elon Musk’s SpaceX has redesigned some parts of its colossal Mars-bound Starship to improve its stability and control. The most notable change is the removal of a landing fin from the Super Heavy booster, which will now use three redesigned grid fins that are 50% larger and stronger to improve vehicle control during descent. The announcement was made on Wednesday via a post on X, where SpaceX shared images revealing the complex, honeycomb-like...

SpaceX warned on Wednesday that Virginia is planning to spend over ten times what was required for its proposed high-speed internet access program by not sharing a large chunk of the incentives for Starlink. In a letter addressed to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, SpaceX said that the final proposal for the program was a “massive waste of federal taxpayer money,” before noting that SpaceX could have served virtually every eligible household at $60 million, compared with the $613 million in expenditure proposed by the Commonwealth. “Simply put, Virginia has put its heavy thumb on the scale...

“ Chinese researchers are exploring radical methods to undermine Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network, viewing the sprawling constellation as both a security threat and a strategic challenge. -Shadow satellites to trail Starlink craft and deploy interference measures. -Targeted sabotage aimed at weaknesses in the supply chain of more than 140 primary suppliers. -Directed-energy attacks using high-powered lasers to disable or destroy -equipment. -Orbital interference involving corrosive materials or kinetic strikes on ion thrusters and solar panels.“

Rule changes and an aggressive new timeline on how Colorado can use its $826.5 million in federal broadband dollars had local internet providers scrambling this month. All had to reapply for grants to subsidize new internet infrastructure for underserved rural communities — including ISPs who had already received preliminary approvals.

If you like all the Science NASA has done since 1961, then wave it all goodby. NASA budget cut to the lowest since 1961 - before there was a manned space program. No more Rovers, probes, [ even 99942 Apophis probes cut, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis ]. There are no private entities that can or will pick up the slack. Cuts to Hubble and to Webb will leave them orbiting junk. Coupled with the possible collapse of SpaceX from 47's vengeance feud with Musk, the US will no longer have a space program - civilian or military. These twin disasters in the making...

Could Trump put SpaceX out of business? Will ruining Elon Musk save us "big money?" Don't watch if you are a hard core 47 supporter, lest you be triggered. Excerpt from the video transcript: Elon Musk is on the verge of blowing upall of his companies that he's worked so hard to build with his latest feud with Donald Trump that continues to escalate with every new development with the big beautiful bill. Now that it's passed the Senate, it appears that Elon has temporarily quieted down a little bit on X. But nevertheless, the situation remains very, very tense...

Donald Trump's efforts to cut ties with Elon Musk and SpaceX hit a road block when a formal review laid out just how crucial his contracts are to America's dominance in space. Trump had suggested at the height of his feud with the world's richest man that the administration could save millions of dollars by 'terminating' government contracts with Musk's companies, which would force him to 'head back home to South Africa.' The relationship had spectacularly combusted over Musk's criticism of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill and personal attacks about the president's former relationship with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Days...

Watch Live: SpaceX launches Starlink 10-25 mission on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral | 1:25:20 Spaceflight Now | 369K subscribers | 13,765 views | Streamed live 7 hours ago [7/2/2025]

The world’s richest man and one of the world’s greatest minds, Elon Musk, turned on Starlink for Iranians after the brutal Islamic regime cut off internet service. This comes following the waves of Israeli attacks on the Islamic regime. Starlink gives internet service to people where internet is hard to get, like in remote areas or people suffering from a natural disaster or war.

End of Apple. 2026 Tesla Starlink Pi Tablet is Finally HERE: Elon Musk's $179 Game-Changer Revealed! WEST TECH End of Apple. 2026 Tesla Starlink Pi Tablet is Finally HERE: Elon Musk's $179 Game-Changer Revealed! Every tech giant is terrified of one thing: disruption. And Elon Musk's latest project might just deliver exactly that. The 2026 Tesla Starlink Pi Tablet is finally here with a $179 price tag that's making headlines everywhere. But here's what nobody's talking about: What exactly can it do to be the end of Apple? End of Apple. 2026 Tesla Starlink Pi Tablet is Finally HERE: Elon...

In the dawn light of a South African savanna, a team of rangers huddle around a satellite dish aimed skyward. Their phones spring to life with a signal – an unthinkable result just months earlier in this remote, off-grid conservation zone. The source is Starlink, Elon Musk and SpaceX’s satellite internet service, offering encrypted, high-speed connectivity far from state-controlled networks. But in South Africa, this signal didn’t just connect – it disrupted. And that disruption provides some subtext to the extraordinary “Wild West Wing” showdown between Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in May, which played out in...

Watch live: SpaceX launches Starship mission on critical 9th test flight Live in 19 hours | May 27 at 5:30 PM | Spaceflight Now 364K subscribers | 27 waiting | Scheduled for May 27, 2025

An Indigenous tribe from the Brazilian Amazon has sued The New York Times, saying the newspaper’s reporting on the tribe’s first exposure to the internet led to its members being widely portrayed as technology-addled and addicted to pornography. The Marubo Tribe of the Javari Valley, a sovereign community of about 2,000 people in the rainforest, filed the defamation lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages this week in a court in Los Angeles. It also names TMZ and Yahoo as defendants, alleging that their stories amplified and sensationalized the Times’ reporting and smeared the tribe in the process....

Billionaire Elon Musk triggered a flood of attention on social media on Wednesday as he joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday. The president confronted South African president Cyril Ramaphosa on the issue of the deaths of white farmers. Musk did not speak during the event, as President Trump asked staff to dim the lights in the Oval Office as he played a video of EFF leader Julius Malema chanting 'Shoot the Boer, Shoot the farmer.' Trump also showcased a series of news clippings including a file from the Daily Mail about the horrific crimes committed against...

Elon Musk said Saudi Arabia has approved Starlink for aviation and maritime use in the region, speaking at an investment forum during a White House-led trip to the kingdom on Tuesday. Starlink is the satellite internet service owned and operated by Musk's aerospace and defense contractor, SpaceX. Musk also briefly discussed his other business ambitions in the region, promising to bring Tesla robotaxis to Saudi Arabia at an unspecified date. "I think it would be very exciting to have autonomous vehicles here in the kingdom, indeed, if you're amenable," Musk said. Musk also said he showed several of Tesla's Optimus...

Starship Flight 9: New Local Notice to Mariners cites NET May 19 for launch. Obvious caution required as we wait for status on Ship 35. NASASpaceflight.com on Facebook

A Russian satellite believed to be part of Moscow’s nuclear anti-satellite weapon program appears to be malfunctioning, with erratic movements suggesting it may no longer be operational. The development could be a major blow to Russia’s military space ambitions, US analysts said. Cosmos 2553 was launched just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Over the past year, it has shown signs of uncontrolled tumbling, according to radar data from LeoLabs and optical tracking shared by Slingshot Aerospace with Reuters. The satellite is believed to serve as both a radar tool for intelligence gathering and a platform for radiation testing....

A Russian satellite believed to be part of Moscow’s nuclear anti-satellite weapon program appears to be malfunctioning, with erratic movements suggesting it may no longer be operational. The development could be a major blow to Russia’s military space ambitions, US analysts said. Cosmos 2553 was launched just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Over the past year, it has shown signs of uncontrolled tumbling, according to radar data from LeoLabs and optical tracking shared by Slingshot Aerospace with Reuters. The satellite is believed to serve as both a radar tool for intelligence gathering and a platform for radiation testing....

A whistleblower has alleged that DOGE systems linked to Elon Musk’s Starlink network were used by Russian IP addresses to access US government databases, raising fresh concerns over national security and infrastructure exposure.