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SpaceX plans to launch its 14th Starship test flight as early as September 22 from Texas, pending regulatory approval, marking the first attempt to send the vehicle into orbit. The mission will carry 26 large V3 Starlink satellites to a 275 km orbit, with the upper stage aiming to complete six orbits over roughly 10 hours.
SpaceX announced its 14th Starship test flight for September 22, targeting a 75-minute launch window starting at 7:15 a.m. CT. For the first time, the mission will attempt to place Starship's upper stage into Earth orbit while deploying 26 third-generation Starlink satellites.
Researchers at Curtin University analyzed 76 million radio images over 29 days using a prototype SKA-Low station and detected 112,534 unauthorized emissions from 1,806 Starlink satellites within the exact frequency band needed to study cosmic dawn hydrogen signals. The leakage, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, comes not from intentional Starlink transmissions but from unplanned electronic interference radiating through satellite hardware, including periodic 13-kHz tones near 137 MHz.
SpaceX's Starship 40 flew a suborbital test from Starbase, Texas, to the Indian Ocean in about 65 minutes on July 24, deploying and later intentionally destroying 20 Starlink V3 satellites to validate the deployment system. Unlike prior test flights, this upper stage survived splashdown mostly intact, and SpaceX says retrieving and shipping it back to Texas will take several months.
xAI-affiliated SpaceXAI is giving Memphis and Southaven, Mississippi residents 50% off Starlink internet plans and waiving the upfront cost of its new V5 hardware kit, following criticism over unpermitted gas generators powering its AI data centers. About 2,000 households have signed up since the July launch, a small fraction of the roughly 250,000 households in the Memphis area. A similar promotion is running in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana.
xAI is offering a 50% discount on Starlink residential internet plans to residents near its Memphis and Southaven data centers, along with free hardware for its new Starlink V5 rental kit, saving up to $349 upfront. The company says roughly 2,000 people have signed up since the promotion began in late June, even as it faces criticism over unpermitted gas turbines powering its facilities.
None of the 16 Rassvet satellites Russia launched in June reached their planned 870-km orbit, with several drifting as low as 300-400 km and two already re-entering the atmosphere, according to the Institute for the Study of War citing N2YO tracking data. The March batch of 16 satellites also had issues, with one lost and only 12 reaching proper altitude, undermining Bureau 1440's plan to build a Starlink competitor.
Russia's Bureau 1440 has launched 32 Rassvet satellites in two batches this year, but none have reached their intended 500-mile orbit. Tracking data shows most satellites topped out near 300 miles, several stopped maneuvering entirely, and at least three have already reentered or appear headed for reentry.
The Starlink Mini X kit ships with a separate Router Mini, but the dish already includes built-in Wi-Fi 5 that covers up to 1,200 square feet and supports 128 devices. The Router Mini instead adds Wi-Fi 6 with a larger 1,300-square-foot range and support for 235 devices, and can run in mesh mode alongside the built-in radio via wireless or Ethernet link.
Elon Musk confirmed that SpaceX is constructing a foundry in Bastrop, Texas, dedicated to casting turbine blades and vanes, a notoriously difficult manufacturing bottleneck in gas turbine production. Musk said the in-house casting operation could cut up to 18 months off the timeline for bringing new natural gas turbines online, supplementing solar power as SpaceX and Tesla scale up 100GW/year of solar capacity.
Sharge has released the Shargeek 300, a metal unibody power bank with a 24,000mAh battery that outputs up to 300W, enough to charge two laptops and a phone simultaneously. It features a translucent housing with RGB lighting, a 1.9-inch display showing real-time charging data via its Sentinel battery management system, and is currently priced at $199 through a launch deal on Amazon.
Ukraine has granted Elon Musk its highest state honor in recognition of Starlink's role supporting the country's military and communications. The move comes as Ukrainian officials continue pressing Musk to extend Starlink coverage into Russian territory.