SpaceX is preparing to launch Japan&#8217;s first privately-led mission to the moon.
The ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 1 is set to blast off on Sunday at 2:38 a.m. ET from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the same day that NASA&#8217;s Orion capsule is expected to return from its Artemis 1 moon mission.
The Falcon 9 used in the launch is the world&#8217;s first orbital-class reusable rocket. It generates more than 1.7 million pounds of thrust at sea level. Sunday&#8217;s planned launch would be the fourth flight for the powerful rocket.
Following liftoff, the Mission 1 lander will make its four-month journey ahead of Japan&#8217;s first unmanned lunar landing. Only the U.S., the former Soviet Union, and China have successfully conducted a soft landing on the moon&#8217;s surface.
The mission is expected to land on the moon&#8217;s surface near the end of April 2023.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="ispace HAKUTO-R Lunar Lander Introduction" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q49UdKvoj8I?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The Japanese space company ispace, established in 2010, seeks to &#8220;lay the groundwork for unleashing the moon&#8217;s potential and transforming it into a robust and vibrant economic system,&#8221; according to its founder.
“We look forward to contributing to NASA’s Artemis program as a commercial lunar transportation service and pioneering the development of future industries and connecting the Earth to the Moon and beyond,” <a href="https://ispace-inc.com/news-en/?p=3939" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of ispace.
The United Arab Emirates will also be part of the mission. The moon rover aboard the lander is a 22-pound robot named Rashid, the Middle East&#8217;s first such rover to reach the moon.
A new mission control located at the <a href="https://www.mbrsc.ae/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre</a> in Dubai will monitor the Rashid rover during its operations on the lunar surface. Rashid is expected to investigate an unexplored moon region for about two weeks while gathering data on soil, dust, and electrically charged particles, including taking thousands of images.
The Rashid Space Centre&#8217;s objective is to become the first Arab nation to reach another planet, setting its sights on a manned Mars landing by 2117. <a href="https://www.emiratesmarsmission.ae/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hope probe</a> reached the martian surface in 2021, making UAE the first Middle Eastern nation to do so.
The Falcon 9 will also transport a tiny NASA cubesat called Lunar Flashlight. The device will hunt for icy water inside craters near the moon&#8217;s south pole.
&#8220;We are bringing a literal flashlight to the moon — shining lasers into these dark craters to look for definitive signs of water ice covering the upper layer of lunar regolith,&#8221; Barbara Cohen, Lunar Flashlight principal investigator at NASA&#8217;s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a <a class="hawk-link-parsed" href="https://phys.org/news/2022-11-nasa-lunar-flashlight-smallsat-readies.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-url="https://phys.org/news/2022-11-nasa-lunar-flashlight-smallsat-readies.html" data-component-tracked="1">statement</a>.
&#8220;I&#8217;m excited to see our mission contribute to our scientific understanding of where water ice is on the moon and how it got to be there,&#8221; Cohen added.
The SpaceX launch was initially scheduled for November 30. The mission has experienced multiple setbacks related to updates to Falcon 9.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
After further inspections of the launch vehicle and data review, we&#39;re standing down from tomorrow&#39;s launch of <a href="https://twitter.com/ispace_inc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ispace_inc</a>&#39;s HAKUTO-R Mission 1; a new target launch date will be shared once confirmed
&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1598106762850500609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The live stream of the launch will be available at <a href="https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=ispace-m1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpaceX.com</a>, with coverage starting 15 minutes before liftoff.
Monday, December 12 at 2:31 a.m. ET is the scheduled backup date in the case of a delay.
The launch is not the only moon mission in recent months. NASA&#8217;s Artemis 1 mission conducted a near-moon operation to test ahead of its next planned human landing on the lunar surface scheduled for 2024 or 2025.
Several additional countries have announced new or expanded plans for major space projects. Last month, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol <a href="https://spacenews.com/134853-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that his government would establish a space agency similar to NASA by the end of the year. Plans include a robotic moon landing in 2032 and on Mars in 2045.
Three Chinese astronauts <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/12/04/1140637573/china-astronauts-tiangong-space-station" target="_blank" rel="noopener">returned</a> to Earth on Sunday after six months aboard China&#8217;s new Tiangong station. The nation began work on its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station over concerns about connections between China&#8217;s space agency and the People&#8217;s Liberation Army.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-launches-first-of-two-remaining-modules-needed-to-complete-permanent-orbiting-space-station" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, another long-term goal of the Tiangong Space Station is to serve as the refueling station for an upcoming Hubble-like telescope that China hopes to launch in 2024. China plans to put its first astronauts on the moon and send a Mars sample return rover to the red planet by 2030.
India&#8217;s space agency also has a program in development to launch a space station into orbit by 2030. It will be designed to hold a small crew for up to 20 days at a time and be entirely led by Indian astronauts, <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/11/could-the-quad-help-with-indias-space-station-dreams/#:~:text=Kailasavadivoo%20Sivan%2C%20then%20the%20chairman,station%20would%20be%20fully%20indigenous." target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> the Diplomat.
The <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Space Agency</a> includes 22 member nations and has often partnered with many of NASA&#8217;s missions in recent years, including its Artemis program.

HAKUTO-R

SpaceX Prepares To Launch First Private Japanese Mission To Moon

Air and Space

Elon Musk

Japan

NASA

Space

SpaceX

World

How does he find the time?
Multibillionaire Elon Musk is busy running the electric vehicle company Tesla, launching rockets into the cosmos via SpaceX as he aims to put a man on Mars, and now he&#8217;s the top twit on Twitter, tweeting his little heart out.
But somehow he also oversees a bizarre program to design brain implants for humans — which new reports say has led to the deaths of some 1,500 animals on which the devices are being tested.
Musk said last week that a wireless &#8220;brain chip&#8221; developed by Neuralink could go into human clinical trials within six months. But a new report says since 2018, the company has killed about 1,500 animals, including more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/musks-neuralink-faces-federal-probe-employee-backlash-over-animal-tests-2022-12-05/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Reuters.
The global news agency also said the medical device company &#8220;is under federal investigation for potential animal-welfare violations amid internal staff complaints that its animal testing is being rushed, causing needless suffering and deaths,&#8221; according to documents reviewed by Reuters and sources familiar with the investigation and company operations.
Reuters also said the the federal probe, which had not been previously reported, was &#8220;opened in recent months by the US Department of Agriculture&#8217;s Inspector General at the request of a federal prosecutor, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.&#8221;
It&#8217;s not the first time Neuralink has come under fire. In February, an animal rights group, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), filed a complaint, claiming monkeys have been killed in botched surgeries to implant the chips.
&#8220;The group alleged that surgeons used the wrong surgical glue twice, which led to two monkeys suffering and ultimately dying, while other monkeys had different complications from the implants,&#8221; Reuters reported.
Treatment of monkeys burst into the headlines again last week when the PCRM launched a new <a href="https://www.pcrm.org/news/news-releases/ahead-elon-musks-show-and-tell-doctors-group-reveals-disturbing-truth-behind" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>. The site says Neuralink&#8217;s experiments at the University of California, Davis, &#8220;resulted in chronic infections, seizures, paralysis, internal bleeding, and declining psychological health.&#8221;
&#8220;Hundreds of pages of public records revealed animals suffering from sloppy experiments that resulted in chronic infections, seizures, paralysis, internal bleeding, and declining psychological health before they were killed,&#8221; the site said.
&#8220;In two separate incidents, experimenters filled holes in monkeys’ skulls with an unapproved adhesive, which seeped through to the animals’ brains. In one monkey, the adhesive caused bleeding in her brain, and she vomited so much from the resulting side effects that she developed open sores in her esophagus,&#8221; the PCRM said.
“When it comes to Neuralink, Elon Musk is just a modern-day P.T. Barnum,” said Ryan Merkley, director of research advocacy with the Physicians Committee. “He’s a showman who makes big promises while hiding the grisly details from the public. We’re pulling back the curtain on him.”
Musk, though, says surgeries on animals are used only at a later stage of research in an effort to confirm that the device works rather than to test early hypotheses.
&#8220;We’re extremely careful,&#8221; he said, to make sure that testing is &#8220;confirmatory, not exploratory,&#8221; <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/12/06/musks-neuralink-investigated-over-killing-1500-animals-in-tests-17884516/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the UK&#8217;s Metro.
The federal probe will determine if that&#8217;s true.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

Elon Musk: Running Tesla And Twitter, Heading To Mars — And Killing Monkeys?

Elon Musk: Running Tesla And Twitter, Heading To Mars -- And Killing Monkeys?

animal rights

Animals

Business

Tesla

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/spacex" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpaceX</a> employees who were fired after writing a letter publicly criticizing CEO <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> for his “behavior” and “values” are taking their case to the federal government.
The individuals, who encouraged the rocket company to “swiftly and explicitly separate itself from Elon’s personal brand” over the summer, filed unfair labor practices charges with the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/17/business/spacex-workers-elon-musk.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The New York Times.
Former employees claimed that they had been invited into a meeting with SpaceX Vice President of Falcon Launch Vehicles Jon Edwards, who allegedly criticized their endorsement of the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/16/23170228/spacex-elon-musk-internal-open-letter-behavior">letter</a>. Nine employees were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/get-woke-go-broke-spacex-fires-employees-who-wrote-a-letter-blasting-elon-musks-behavior-and-values" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eventually fired</a> over the document after SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell wrote in an email that “we have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of overreaching activism.”
The letter cited an alleged incident during which a flight attendant accused Musk of exposing himself several years ago, touching her, and offering to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage. Shotwell <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/spacex-president-tells-employees-she-does-not-believe-elon-musk-sexual-misconduct-allegations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed the claims</a> in a message to the company, although the former employees claimed they had pressed Edwards about the incident during the meeting.
The document also came after Musk announced that he would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-tips-hat-toward-ron-desantis-to-be-next-president-of-the-united-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vote</a> for Republicans in the midterm elections. The world’s richest man formerly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/get-woke-go-broke-elon-musk-says-woke-mind-virus-makes-netflix-unwatchable-as-shares-plummet-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identified</a> the “woke mind virus” as the “biggest threat” to civilization.
“Elon’s behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks,” according to the letter, which purportedly represented employees “across the spectra of gender, ethnicity, seniority, and technical roles.”
Lawyers who filed charges on behalf of eight former SpaceX employees said that the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/national-labor-relations-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guarantees</a> access to collective bargaining privileges, likely renders the dismissals illegal. The National Labor Relations Board is granted authority to “arbitrate deadlocked labor-management disputes, guarantee democratic union elections, and penalize unfair labor practices by employers.”
The new legal action occurs weeks after Musk purchased social media platform Twitter and instituted reforms designed to promote freedom of expression. Musk has already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-it-elon-musk-sends-blunt-message-to-3700-fired-twitter-employees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduced headcount</a> by half and fired a handful of employees who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/twitter-employee-calls-out-elon-musk-on-twitter-it-doesnt-end-well-for-the-employee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly criticized</a> him.
An attorney for the company, for example, posted a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/member-of-twitter-legal-team-blasts-elon-musk-in-message-to-company-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">message</a> viewable to all staff arguing that Musk was introducing the risk of violating a previous settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission by allegedly telling engineers to “self-certify compliance” with regulations. The message also contained a number of secondary grievances against Musk, including the accusation that he does not care about “human rights activists” or “dissidents.”
Musk told the public that he purchased the company in order to facilitate open dialogue between citizens with differing opinions. “The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” the multibillionaire wrote in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-it-elon-musk-explains-why-he-bought-twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.”

SpaceX Employees Fired For Writing Letter Blasting Elon Musk’s ‘Behavior’ And ‘Values’ Take Their Case To The Feds

SpaceX Employees Fired For Openly Criticizing Elon Musk Take Their Case To The Federal Government

General

Twitter

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> is the chief executive of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/tesla" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tesla</a> and <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/spacex" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpaceX</a>, as well as the leader of several smaller pet projects, such as Neuralink and The Boring Company. Following his acquisition of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>, one of the world’s largest social media platforms, the multibillionaire gave the world a view into just how busy his schedule can be.
“You know, my workload has recently increased quite a lot,” Musk said during a virtual <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/elon-musk-says-i-have-too-much-work-my-plate-2022-11-14/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> at the B20 summit in Indonesia. “I mean, I have too much work on my plate, that is for sure. No doubt about it.”
When asked about business leaders who want to become the “Elon Musk of the East,” the world’s richest man commented that his lifestyle is not necessarily one to be desired. &#8220;I&#8217;d be careful what you wish for. I&#8217;m not sure how many people would actually like to be me,” he said. “They would like to be what they imagine being me, which is not the same thing as actually being me. The amount that I torture myself is next level, frankly.&#8221;
Four years ago, Musk said during an <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/05/elon-musk-on-working-120-hours-a-week-youll-go-bonkers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Recode that he has worked 120 hours per week, although he finds working 80 hours per week “pretty sustainable.” According to a Harvard Business Review study, the average chief executive works 62.5 hours per week.
“There were times when, some weeks &#8230; I haven’t counted exactly, but I would just sort of sleep for a few hours, work, sleep for a few hours, work, seven days a week. Some of those days must have been 120 hours or something nutty,” he explained. “The pain level for hours increases exponentially. It’s like nonlinear above 80.”
Musk is presently worth $189 billion, according to an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/elon-r-musk/#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimate</a> from Bloomberg Billionaires Index. A South African by birth, Musk moved to Canada as a teenager and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in economics and physics. Among his first ventures was Zip2, a company that provided city guide software to newspapers, and online bank X.com, which later merged with another startup to become PayPal.
Musk founded SpaceX, which manufactures and launches reusable rockets, in 2002, and became an early investor in electric vehicle maker Tesla two years later. The latter company has a market capitalization of $594 billion, constituting the seventh-largest company in the world.
The entrepreneur acquired Twitter last month for $44 billion after initiating the purchase earlier this year. He released a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-it-elon-musk-explains-why-he-bought-twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> explaining that the deal was motivated by a desire to foster an open dialogue and free expression. “The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” he said. “There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.”
Beyond his business ventures, Musk began what appears to be a political epiphany during the government lockdowns that gripped the nation two years ago. He said he grew increasingly frustrated as California officials prevented a major Tesla factory from reopening, prompting the entrepreneur to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-says-tesla-moving-headquarters-from-california-to-texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">move</a> the company’s headquarters to Texas. He <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-take-the-red-pill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">encouraged</a> other Americans to “take the red pill” and <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1287818109651431427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1287818109651431427%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Felon-musk-announces-hes-switching-to-vote-republican" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noticed</a> that leftists were “losing the middle” of the political spectrum. Ahead of the most recent midterm elections, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-elon-musk-issues-blanket-endorsement-of-gop-in-house-senate-races-cites-benefits-of-shared-power" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cited</a> the benefits of a divided government while urging his fellow citizens to vote for Republican candidates.

‘I Torture Myself’: Elon Musk Sheds Light On Just How Enormous His Workload Is

Elon Musk Does Not Recommend His Own Work Schedule

Celebrities

SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time since 2019, carrying two classified satellites into orbit.
The mission, called USSF-44, was operated on behalf of the U.S. Space Force, launching Tuesday morning from Florida&#8217;s Launch Complex 39A at NASA&#8217;s Kennedy Space Center at 9:41 a.m.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Liftoff! <a href="https://t.co/gcLtIWizoF">pic.twitter.com/gcLtIWizoF</a>
&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1587440095665082368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Following booster separation, Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters landed at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, <a href="https://www.spacex.com/launches/ussf-44/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> SpaceX. The booster landings marked the 150th and 151st recovery of the orbital class rockets.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Falcon Heavy’s side boosters have landed – marking the 150th and 151st recovery of orbital class rockets <a href="https://t.co/vK4ZdfDQtX">pic.twitter.com/vK4ZdfDQtX</a>
&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1587442127214034944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Officials issued an advisory notice on Monday, warning locals about sonic booms.
&#8220;Please be advised, tomorrow morning&#8217;s launch will be followed by a double sonic boom. This will occur shortly after launch, as the boosters land on landing zone 1 and landing zone 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,&#8221; Space Launch Delta 45, the official account of Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station <a class="hawk-link-parsed" href="https://twitter.com/SLDelta45/status/1587168804265947137" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-url="https://twitter.com/SLDelta45/status/1587168804265947137" data-component-tracked="1">tweeted</a>.
The Falcon Heavy&#8217;s cargo offered little detail due to the classified nature of the mission. It included a spacecraft called USSF-44, as well as a small satellite called Tetra-1.
The Tetra-1 was <a href="http://www.parabolicarc.com/2020/04/25/us-space-force-tetra-1-satellite-prepared-for-launch-after-15-month-integration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">built</a> for the Space Force by Boeing subsidiary Millennium Space Systems. The Falcon Heavy rocket&#8217;s mission may also include some smaller cubesats.
The USSF-44 mission is just the fourth launch for the Falcon Heavy and its first since June 2019. The delay between its missions is largely blamed on hold-ups with mission cargo.
For example, the Tetra-1 was designed for delivery in 2020, but the Space Force delayed the completion of the project for two years until its current mission.
The Falcon Heavy is noted as the most powerful operational rocket in the world. It has the capability of carrying up to 64 metric tons (141,000 pounds) per mission, more than twice the payload of the next largest rocket.
&#8220;Falcon Heavy is composed of three Falcon 9 nine-engine cores whose 27 Merlin engines together generate more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, equal to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft,&#8221; <a href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-heavy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> SpaceX.
The Falcon Heavy&#8217;s status as the world&#8217;s most powerful may soon be surpassed. The NASA Space Launch System (SLS) designed to launch the Artemis 1 moon mission includes four RS-25 engines that will surpass the top power of the SpaceX rocket.
&#8220;The potential use of SLS for science will further enhance the synergy between scientific exploration and human exploration,&#8221; John Grunsfeld, astronaut and former associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a <a class="hawk-link-parsed" href="http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/sls-science-missions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-url="http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/sls-science-missions.html" data-component-tracked="1">statement</a>. &#8220;SLS has the promise of enabling transformational science in our exploration of the solar system and cosmos.&#8221;
SpaceX is also developing a new rocket called <a href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Starship</a> that is expected to be the world&#8217;s most powerful upon successful launch. The Elon Musk-led company anticipates its first test flight in orbit could occur before the end of the year.
View the full video of the liftoff&#8217;s broadcast below:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="USSF-44 Mission" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pY628jRd6gM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Falcon Heavy

Watch: SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launches For First Time Since 2019

U.S.

The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> denied on Monday that <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> officials are considering <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/national-security" target="_blank" rel="noopener">national security</a> reviews for business ventures led by Tesla and SpaceX CEO <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a>.
A <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-21/us-weighs-security-reviews-for-musk-deals-including-twitter-buy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Bloomberg claimed last week that officials in the administration were weighing an investigation into the Starlink satellite network, a project of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/spacex" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpaceX</a> which has aided <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a>, and the pending purchase of social media platform <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the outlet said that officials view Musk’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ukrainian-diplomat-told-elon-musk-to-f-off-musk-said-he-took-his-recommendation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calls for a peace deal</a> between Russia and Ukraine as a move that favors Russia.
Shares of Twitter had fallen more than 5% on Friday morning in reaction to the news since the sources said that officials are considering a review of Musk’s coordination with overseas business magnates to acquire Twitter.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, however, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2022/10/24/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-8/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied</a> that the national security review is being considered. “Those reportings are not true,” she said. “We’ll leave that there. The national security review, that is not true. And I really don’t have more to say on that piece.”
Musk has established an adversarial relationship with the Biden administration over the past two years. Beyond <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-repeatedly-struggles-while-delivering-remarks-elon-musk-torches-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jabs</a> against the commander-in-chief and his alleged senility on social media, the world’s richest man believes Tesla has been consistently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-bidens-electric-vehicle-summit-excludes-tesla" target="_blank" rel="noopener">snubbed</a> by the White House because the electric automaker is not unionized.
After Biden assumed office and introduced the Build Back Better Act, which would have expanded federal social programs such as universal preschool, childcare subsidies, and climate change initiatives, Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nothing-is-more-permanent-than-a-temporary-government-program-elon-musk-continues-crusade-against-biden-agenda" target="_blank" rel="noopener">actively balked</a> at the legislation. “I would say can this bill, don’t pass it. That’s my recommendation,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-trashes-bidens-build-back-better-plan-can-this-bill-dont-pass-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> during a conference. “If this bill happens or doesn’t happen, we don’t think about it at all really. Honestly it might be better if the bill doesn’t pass.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-confirm-investigation-into-elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began investigating</a> Musk earlier this year because the billionaire allegedly failed to report acquiring more than 5% of Twitter’s shares within 10 days of meeting the threshold. The agency said in a letter that officials want a response from Musk even if he does not believe that their concerns apply to his circumstances.
Twitter had been fighting Musk in court over his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-purge-is-coming-twitter-explodes-after-elon-musk-tanks-44-billion-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempt to cancel</a> a previous offer to buy the company for $44 billion, a move he said was driven by concerns that executives were underestimating the actual number of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-the-latest-in-the-elon-musk-twitter-legal-feud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fake accounts</a> on the platform. Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-elon-musk-proposes-twitter-buyout-at-54-20-per-share-trading-halted-as-stock-price-soars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revived</a> his efforts to purchase Twitter earlier this month.
Beyond his concern about fake accounts, Musk has claimed there is lackluster support for free expression on Twitter. He began his shakeup campaign several months ago with a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-elon-musk-becomes-twitters-largest-shareholder-after-shakeup-tease" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> for his millions of followers regarding the platform’s adherence to the principle of free speech.
Musk, who announced plans to downsize the workforce at Tesla earlier this year, reportedly plans to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-elon-musk-to-gut-twitter-report-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cut headcount</a> at the social media company from 7,500 to 2,000. When Twitter employees <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/freedom-of-speech-and-freedom-of-reach-elon-musk-tells-twitter-employees-users-should-be-able-to-tweet-pretty-outrageous-things" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> him about his plans for enabling virtual work, Musk informed them that it would be “much better if you are on location physically.” He repeated concerns about costs exceeding revenues and signaled a willingness to dismiss unproductive employees. “If somebody is getting useful things done, that’s great,” he said. “If they aren’t getting useful things done, then why are they at the company?”

Collage Maker-25-Oct-2022-02.30-PM

White House Responds To Report Claiming Elon Musk Is Under National Security Review

White House Denies Elon Musk Is Under National Security Review

Biden Administration

National Security

White House

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden&#8217;s</a> (D) administration is reportedly weighing subjecting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk&#8217;s</a> business dealings to national security reviews due to how much power he is acquiring.
Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-21/twitter-musk-talks-warm-up-as-buyout-closing-deadline-nears" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the administration is specifically wanting to scrutinize Musk&#8217;s Twitter deal and SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network.
The news comes after The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/20/musk-twitter-acquisition-staff-cuts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Thursday afternoon that Musk told prospective investors that he plans to get rid of “nearly 75 percent of Twitter’s 7,500 workers, whittling the company down to a skeleton staff of just over 2,000.”
The report said that even if the Musk’s acquisition of Twitter somehow does not go through, large cuts are still expected as the current people running the company planned to get rid of roughly 25% of the company’s staff.
<div>
The report said that the planned cuts by Twitter’s executives helped to explain why the company wanted to sell to Musk once he made the offer.
The social media platform had been fighting Musk in court over his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-purge-is-coming-twitter-explodes-after-elon-musk-tanks-44-billion-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempt to cancel</a> a previous offer to buy the company for $44 billion, a move he said was driven by concerns that executives were underestimating the actual number of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-the-latest-in-the-elon-musk-twitter-legal-feud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fake accounts</a> on the platform. Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-elon-musk-proposes-twitter-buyout-at-54-20-per-share-trading-halted-as-stock-price-soars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revived</a> his efforts to purchase Twitter earlier this month. Beyond his concern about fake accounts, Musk has voiced criticism over lackluster support on Twitter for free expression.
The administration&#8217;s apparent desire to review SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network from a national security perspective likely is in reference to the company demanding that it be paid for its services last month in a letter to the Pentagon.
SpaceX’s director of government sales wrote to the Pentagon, “We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine, or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time.”
Musk, who is the CEO of SpaceX, backtracked over the weekend on the company demanding payment for its services.
“The hell with it,” Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-hell-with-it-elon-musk-reverses-course-on-starlink-decision-in-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “even though Starlink is still losing money &amp; other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.”
Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/17/pentagon-starlink-funding-ukraine-00062103" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Monday that U.S. officials with knowledge of the situation said that the Department of Defense wanted to pay for the satellites to continue operating over Ukraine because the U.S. did not like Musk’s unpredictability. Funding for the effort would likely come out of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which has been used to purchase things needed for the country’s war effort.
European officials are now also getting involved in discussions on funding Starlink as Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-consider-pay-elon-musk-starlink-spacex-internet-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Politico Europe that the ability of Ukraine’s military to operate via satellite should not be determined by one “super-powerful” person who could just randomly decide one day to shut off Ukraine’s internet access.
“I figured that it’s probably way better to have this as a contractual agreement between, let’s say, a coalition of countries that could purchase a service from Mr. Musk, the Starlink service, and provide it to the Ukrainians and keep on providing it to Ukrainians,” Landsbergis said.
Musk responded to the Politico report by appearing to suggest that he did not want to be paid for the satellite’s service.
“SpaceX has already withdrawn its request for funding,” Musk said. “To be precise, 25,300 terminals were sent to Ukraine, but, at present, only 10,630 are paying for service.”
</div>

Musk Biden

Biden Admin Discussing Taking New Action Over Elon Musk’s Business Dealings: Report

Biden Admin Discussing Taking New Action Over Elon Musk's Business Dealings: Report

Joe Biden

SpaceX founder and CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> reversed course Saturday on continuing to provide <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> with free Starlink satellite services in their war against invading Russian forces.
Musk said Friday that he had decided to follow the &#8220;recommendation&#8221; of a Ukrainian diplomat who told him to &#8220;f*** off,&#8221; which came in response to Musk proposing a peace deal to end Russia&#8217;s war in Ukraine, by saying that SpaceX would no longer fund its Starlink satellite internet terminals in Ukraine for free.
Musk&#8217;s statement Friday triggered enormous backlash among pro-Ukraine activists, who called for taking action against the billionaire entrepreneur. Musk has previously stated that SpaceX&#8217;s deployment of the satellites to Ukraine has cost the company &#8220;$80 million and will exceed $100 million by the end of the year.&#8221;
&#8220;The hell with it,&#8221; Musk said, &#8220;even though Starlink is still losing money &amp; other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.&#8221;
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The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money &amp; other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1581345747777179651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Musk provided Ukraine with the Starlink terminals shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, and they made an immediate difference on the battlefield, allowing Ukraine&#8217;s military to communicate and stay connected despite Russia destroying a lot of its communications infrastructure.
CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/13/politics/elon-musk-spacex-starlink-ukraine/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Thursday that the charitable contributions are likely coming to end as the company warned the Department of Defense that it needs to start paying tens of millions of dollars per month to keep the terminals up and running.
The report said that a September letter from SpaceX asked the Pentagon to pay for Ukraine&#8217;s government to continue using the system, which would cost &#8220;more than $120 million for the rest of the year and could cost close to $400 million for the next 12 months.&#8221; SpaceX’s director of government sales told the Pentagon, “We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine, or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time.”
Earlier this month, Musk conducted a non-scientific poll on Twitter on his peace plan, which involved the following four components:
<ul>
<li>&#8220;Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people.&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake).&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Water supply to Crimea assured.&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Ukraine remains neutral.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
Andrij Melnyk, who was recently dismissed as Ukraine&#8217;s Ambassador to Germany, responded to Musk&#8217;s proposal by writing: &#8220;F*** off is my very diplomatic reply to you @elonmusk.&#8221;
A Ukrainian journalist responded to Friday&#8217;s news by writing: &#8220;Elon Musk’s Starlink says it can no longer afford to give Ukraine 🇺🇦 free service and asks the Pentagon 🇺🇸 to pay for it. Starlink had been a game changer in the war. This comes days after Ukrainian Ambassador @MelnykAndrij told Musk to &#8216;f*** off.’”
Musk replied: &#8220;We&#8217;re just following his recommendation.&#8221;
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We’re just following his recommendation 🤷‍♂️
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1580819437824839681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
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This is a developing news story; refresh the page for updates.

SpaceX And T-Mobile Hold Joint Event In Texas

‘The Hell With It’: Elon Musk Reverses Course On Starlink Decision In Ukraine

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Hollywood A-list actor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tom-cruise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tom Cruise</a> could make history by becoming the first civilian to walk in space outside of the International Space Station.
The &#8220;Top Gun: Maverick&#8221; star and &#8220;The Bourne Identity&#8221; director Doug Liman reportedly pitched a film idea to Universal Filmed Entertainment Group that would involve sending Cruise into space.
Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley announced the news last week during an interview with <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63130695" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC News</a>.
&#8220;Tom Cruise is taking us to space — he’s taking the world to space,&#8221; Langley said. &#8220;That&#8217;s the plan.&#8221;
Langley said that the project in development with Cruise has contemplated the “Mission: Impossible” star blasting off in a rocket up to the space station, &#8220;hopefully&#8221; making Cruise &#8220;the first civilian to do a spacewalk outside of the space station.&#8221;
But Langley emphasized the majority of the film would take place on earth until Cruise&#8217;s character, who she described as &#8220;a down-on-his-luck guy who finds himself in the position of being the only person who could save Earth,&#8221; takes a heroic journey up to space to save the day.
Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/tom-cruise-reportedly-lift-off-space-new-movie-bourne-identity-director">reports</a> Cruise and Liman had initially pitched the film idea to Langley through a Zoom call during the pandemic.
She said Cruise directly reached out to her, saying, &#8220;Guys, I&#8217;ve got this great project, and here it is.&#8221;
Two years ago, Space Shuttle Alamance confirmed in a tweet that an Axiom Space and NASA would fly Cruise and Liman on a tourist mission aboard Elon Musk&#8217;s SpaceX Crew Dragon. With one seat left to fill at the time, the crew would launch in October 2021.
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So its confirmed that <a href="https://twitter.com/CommanderMLA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CommanderMLA</a> is flying the <a href="https://twitter.com/Axiom_Space?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Axiom_Space</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CrewDragon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CrewDragon</a> tourist mission with Director <a href="https://twitter.com/DougLiman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DougLiman</a> &amp; Tom Cruise. One seat still to be filled. They are to launch in October, 2021. <a href="https://t.co/dn6SLvCOGz">pic.twitter.com/dn6SLvCOGz</a>
&mdash; Space Shuttle Almanac (@ShuttleAlmanac) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShuttleAlmanac/status/1307148793633075200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/news/tom-cruise-space-movie-first-civilian-spacewalk-outside-of-space-station-1235399127/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> Universal signed on to back the Cruise space project with a budget in the $200 million range.
Liman and Cruise have previously worked together on films such as &#8220;Edge of Tomorrow&#8221; (2014) and &#8220;American Made&#8221; (2017). But this would be the first project where the pair, or anyone, would film out of this world.
&#8220;When a producer proposes something crazy to you, like, let&#8217;s try to shoot a movie in outer space, and NASA and SpaceX sign on, and Tom Cruise signs on… you&#8217;re just a little bit more receptive,&#8221; Liman told <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/doug-liman-interview-covid-tom-cruise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thrillist</a>.
Inside sources told Variety that Cruise could earn between $30 million and $60 million for his role as a producer and star of the film.
Cruise also made film history recently with “Top Gun: Maverick” becoming Paramount Pictures’ highest earning film at the domestic box office, surpassing the $600 million milestone.

“Top Gun: Maverick” Japan Premiere Red Carpet

Tom Cruise To Make History Becoming First Civilian To Walk In Space

Hollywood

International Space Station (ISS)

Tom Cruise

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nasa">NASA</a> intentionally crashed an un-crewed vending machine-sized spacecraft into an asteroid Monday to test our defenses should a similar object ever threaten planet Earth.
What sounds like a rehashed plot of the late 90&#8217;s classic end-of-the-world drama &#8220;Armageddon,&#8221; or Netflix&#8217;s latest version of a doomsday story, &#8220;Don&#8217;t Look Up&#8221; — the national space agency took a giant leap in planetary defense for the first time in history by hurtling a spacecraft toward an asteroid known as Didymos, and it&#8217;s moonlet Dimorphos.
&#8220;We&#8217;re embarking on a new era of humankind, an era in which we potentially have the capability to protect ourselves from something like a dangerous, hazardous asteroid impact,&#8221; Lori Glaze, director of NASA&#8217;s Planetary Science Division, said according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/dart-nasa-asteroid-mission/index.html">CNN</a>. &#8220;What an amazing thing. We&#8217;ve never had that capability before.&#8221;
NASA&#8217;s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) officially became the world&#8217;s first mission to successfully test technology that would &#8220;defend earth against an incoming killer asteroid,&#8221; Bill Nelson, NASA&#8217;s 14th administrator, said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBillNelson/status/1574416019199868930">video</a>.
&#8220;One of our main reasons at NASA that we exist is not only that space is the place,&#8221; Nelson said. &#8220;But we also look back at the home planet, and we tried to benefit life here on planet Earth.
&#8220;We only have one home, so we ought to take care of it,&#8221; he added.
Nelson said DART would soar at 15,000 miles an hour only to intersect the asteroid the size of an Egyptian pyramid at about 7 million miles away to slightly move its trajectory away from Earth.
DART initially launched in November 2021 with a briefcase-sized CubeSat designed by the Italian Space Agency attached to it to capture images and videos upon impact, according to CNN. Such images are expected to be streamed in the coming weeks and months.
Other space technology that captured the aftermath included the James Webb Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, and NASA&#8217;s Lucy mission.
Space.com <a href="https://www.space.com/nasa-dart-asteroid-impact-preview">reports</a> neither Dimorphos nor Didymos pose a threat; the DART mission would not change that regardless of its outcome.
Still, the mission was meant to test the theory that the technique could be used for prevention in the event of an asteroid heading straight for Earth.
NASA officials in a news conference Monday said following the mission that there are more than 27,000 near-Earth asteroids in all shapes and sizes, none of which are on a direct impact course with Earth at the moment.
Rep. Don Beyer, the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee chairman, dubbed the DART mission &#8220;a historic success.&#8221;
&#8220;The risk of impact from asteroids and other hazardous space objects is low, but the damage would be immense,&#8221; Beyer said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDonBeyer/status/1574542355012931584">tweet</a> shortly after officials announced the mission&#8217;s success.
He added that &#8220;developing the capability to prevent impact is a key long-term objective.&#8221;

US-NASA-SPACE-DART

NASA Celebrates Successful Test Launch Of Spacecraft Technology Designed To Defend Earth From An ‘Incoming Killer Asteroid’

Asteroid

Italy

James Webb Telescope

SpaceX launched 54 Starlink satellites into orbit on Sunday evening following five days of weather delays.
The Falcon 9 rocket carried the satellites into low Earth orbit, releasing them just 15.5 minutes into the flight that departed from Florida&#8217;s Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
&#8220;This was the sixth launch and landing of this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, and now one Starlink mission,&#8221; SpaceX <a href="https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl4-34/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> in a description of the mission.
The Elon Musk-led company confirmed the deployment of the Starlink devices, which are designed to provide internet communications to areas outside of traditional coverage reached by mobile phone networks. A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlQHF_yBkMQ">live stream</a> of the liftoff was provided online for viewers, with more than 220,000 views as of Monday morning.
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Liftoff! <a href="https://t.co/UHR1nXob8t">pic.twitter.com/UHR1nXob8t</a>
&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1571655207011995651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The Falcon 9&#8217;s first stage booster returned to the Just Read the Instructions drone ship, a floating landing pad off the coast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean.
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Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship <a href="https://t.co/qXvgp8kMeH">pic.twitter.com/qXvgp8kMeH</a>
&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1571657372157763586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The private space flight company also provided a video of the satellites being released into orbit, offering multiple camera views of the launch and flight.
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Watch Falcon 9 launch 54 Starlink satellites to orbit → <a href="https://t.co/bJFjLCilmc">https://t.co/bJFjLCilmc</a> <a href="https://t.co/iW2zxylKN1">https://t.co/iW2zxylKN1</a>
&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1571653665420705792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
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SpaceX has now conducted 180 total launches since its start, with 118 total reflights in its pursuit of reusable rocket technology, according to its <a href="https://www.spacex.com/launches/">website</a>. The Sunday launch also follows a <a href="https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl4-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mission</a> on September 10 that sent 34 Starlink satellites into orbit along with the AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 satellite.
The company has now sent more than 3,200 satellites into orbit, with approval for up to 12,000 Starlink devices. Another 30,000 satellites are under consideration through an application with an international regulator, <a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-group-4-34-launch-rocket-landing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> Space.com.
The launch was also part of a recent surge in activities for SpaceX. The company ended August with an announcement that NASA had agreed to a $1.4 billion deal for five additional astronaut missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
“NASA has awarded five additional missions to Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, for crew transportation services to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract,” NASA said in a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-awards-spacex-more-crew-flights-to-space-station" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
The additional plans bring NASA’s <a href="https://www.govconwire.com/2022/09/spacex-gets-1-4b-nasa-contract-modification-for-5-more-iss-crewed-missions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">total contract value</a> with SpaceX to approximately $4.93 billion. The agreement also allows for the potential of adding additional human flight services in the future.
SpaceX and T-Mobile also announced an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musks-spacex-to-end-cellphone-dead-zones-worldwide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreement</a> last month in an effort to eliminate cellphone dead zones. Using Starlink satellites, Musk&#8217;s company plans to offer service in the half-million square miles currently unreached by networks in the United States.
“The important thing about this is that it means there are no dead zones anywhere in the world for your cell phone,” Musk tweeted.
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Starlink V2, launching next year, will transmit direct to mobile phones, eliminating dead zones worldwide
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1562956451538014209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Musk added that the second-generation satellites supporting the network would launch in 2023 and said that Tesla vehicles would be able to use the service.
SpaceX has also signed a recent <a href="https://presscenter.rclcorporate.com/press-release/167/royal-caribbean-group-to-use-spacexrsquos-starlink-in-an-industry-first-to-provide-high-speed-internet-onboard-full-cruise-fleet-/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreement</a> with Royal Caribbean to offer Starlink internet services on cruise ships. The service is expected to roll out during the first quarter of 2023.

SpaceX Launches 54 Starlink Satellites Into Orbit Following Weather Delays

Florida

Starlink

NASA has agreed to a $1.4 billion deal with Elon Musk&#8217;s SpaceX for five additional astronaut missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
The newly extended agreement will add to past expeditions by SpaceX.
&#8220;NASA has awarded five additional missions to Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, for crew transportation services to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract,&#8221; NASA said in a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-awards-spacex-more-crew-flights-to-space-station" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on Wednesday.
&#8220;The CCtCap modification brings the total missions for SpaceX to 14 and allows NASA to maintain an uninterrupted U.S. capability for human access to the space station until 2030, with two unique commercial crew industry partners,&#8221; it added.
The additional plans bring NASA&#8217;s <a href="https://www.govconwire.com/2022/09/spacex-gets-1-4b-nasa-contract-modification-for-5-more-iss-crewed-missions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">total contract value</a> with SpaceX to approximately $4.93 billion. The agreement also allows for the potential of adding additional human flight services in the future.
SpaceX has used its Crew Dragon capsule for five crewed missions since 2020, becoming the first private company to launch humans into orbit.
The next SpaceX crew mission to be announced is Crew-5, scheduled for October 3 from Kennedy&#8217;s Launch Complex 39A. NASA is inviting digital content creators to attend the special launch that will carry four astronauts to the ISS.
The participating crew members include &#8220;NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, commander; Josh Cassada, pilot; and mission specialists Koichi Wakata, of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina,&#8221; according to a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/experience-the-launch-of-nasa-s-spacex-crew-5-mission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from NASA.
In July, SpaceX <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-spacex-launch-climate-science-research-more-to-space-station" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> its most recent ISS mission carrying 5,800 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies, and other cargo. The mission marked the 25th commercial launch by NASA.
Among the experiments on board was a project by scientists growing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/researchers-grow-stem-cells-aboard-international-space-station-in-new-study" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stem cells in space</a> in an effort to discover new ways to produce large batches of certain stem cells to treat a variety of diseases. Researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles are behind the program that delivered stem cells to the ISS.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/first-all-private-astronaut-crew-blasts-off-to-international-space-station" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, in April, NASA and SpaceX launched the first all-private crew to the ISS from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

International Space Station

NASA Strikes $1.4 Billion Deal With Elon Musk’s SpaceX For Five More Missions

NASA Strikes $1.4 Billion Deal With SpaceX For Five More Missions

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