Elon Musk

Connecting the Dots | Freeing speech from space: Satellite operators under pressure to squelch propaganda
As Elon Musk’s plan to take over Twitter ignites free speech debates on and off the social media hub, satellite operators face similar editorial questions amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

SpaceX considers shifting Starship testing to Florida
SpaceX is prepared to shift testing of its Starship next-generation launch vehicle from Texas to Florida if there are extended delays in an ongoing environmental review, company founder and chief executive Elon Musk said Feb. 10.

Op-ed | Is there enough room in space for tens of billions of satellites, as Elon Musk suggests? We don’t think so.
Elon Musk's stance is overly optimistic. Space is big, but LEO is not big enough to safely accommodate tens of billions of satellites.

SpaceX grapples with Raptor production problems
Problems increasing production of the Raptor engines that power SpaceX’s Starship vehicle have led to personnel shakeups at the company and a warning from founder Elon Musk that the company risked “bankruptcy” if the company could not resolve them.

Musk predicts first Starship orbital launch in early 2022
SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said he expects this first orbital flight of his company’s Starship vehicle to take place as soon as January, pending regulatory approvals.

Connecting the Dots | Entrepreneurial titans take on satellite IoT
Is the rapidly expanding market for connecting Internet of Things devices to satellites set for a shake-up as two billionaires, both with reputations for challenging the status quo, plot forays into the industry?

Sierra Nevada Corporation to advertise space spinoff on Saturday Night Live
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is taking a novel approach to publicizing the spinoff of its space business: buying ads linked to Elon Musk’s appearance on the television show “Saturday Night Live.”

Book excerpt | Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX
"The seeds for everything SpaceX has grown into today were planted during the early days of the Falcon 1 program," journalist Eric Berger writes in his forthcoming book, Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX.

Back-to-back launch scrubs frustrate Musk
Back-to-back last-second launch scrubs by two SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets 36 hours apart led Elon Musk to vow to undertake a “broad review” of launch operations in Florida in order to increase its launch rate.

Musk emphasizes progress in Starship production over testing
SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said the company is making “good progress” on its next-generation Starship launch vehicle despite delays in the schedule of test flights of the vehicle.

SpaceX to test Starlink “sun visor” to reduce brightness
SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said April 27 that he hopes to test a new way to reduce the brightness of the company’s Starlink satellites on the next launch for the broadband megaconstellation.

Musk: we’re not spinning off Starlink
SpaceX has no plans to make Starlink a separate business, Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and chief executive, said March 9.

Second Starship prototype damaged in pressurization test
A second prototype of SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle was destroyed in a pressurization test Feb. 28 at the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, facility.

Elon Musk calls on U.S. Space Force to embrace fully reusable rockets: ‘Make Starfleet happen’
Musk said military innovation in space can't happen as long as it continues to use expendable rockets.

Musk vows to accelerate Starship development
SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said the company would start test flights of its next-generation Starship vehicle in as soon as one to two months and reach orbit in as little as six months, even as some complain the company is devoting too many resources to this project.

SpaceX to update Starship progress
SpaceX will provide an update Sept. 28 on the progress it’s making on its next-generation Starship vehicle, including plans to start flying a prototype in as soon as a month.

SpaceX preparing for first Starship test flight
The initial prototype of SpaceX’s next-generation reusable launch vehicle will make its first, albeit low-altitude, test flight early next week, Elon Musk announced July 12.

DoD IG: Air Force Secretary questioned ethics of Shanahan’s 2018 meeting with Elon Musk
DoD IG report says Musk told Shanahan that SpaceX did not win an Air Force launch service contract because it had written a poor proposal that “missed the mark.”

‘How do you like that, Elon Musk?’ Explaining a Russian obsession
The Russian space agency’s first official reaction to the successful March 3 docking of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft with the International Space Station congratulated NASA but didn’t mention SpaceX or its founder, Elon Musk.

SpaceX preparing to begin Starship hopper tests
SpaceX could begin initial tests of a prototype of the company’s next-generation Starship vehicle as soon as this week, Elon Musk said March 17.