Reading up on Falcon 9
5 deep · digging since dec 19, 25
- SpaceX & the Sentient Sun
SpaceX's strategy to build a Mars city, lunar factories, and orbital AI data centers is driven by Iain M. Banks' Culture utopia, with Falcon 9 and Starlink funding the stack.
- SpaceX is starting to move on from the world's most successful rocket - Ars Technica
SpaceX plans to reduce Falcon 9 launches from 165 in 2025 to roughly 140-145 in 2026 as it shifts focus and launch infrastructure toward the larger Starship rocket.
- SpaceX has spent more than $15 billion on Starship
The disclosure of SpaceX's $15 billion Starship development costs comes ahead of its $1.75 trillion IPO, with Flight 12 in May 2026 a critical test.
- A Falcon 9 rocket will hit the Moon this summer at seven times the speed of sound - Ars Technica
A Falcon 9 upper stage from a January 2025 launch will strike the Moon's near side on August 5 at 5,400 mph, astronomers say.
- The inside story of SpaceX’s historic rocket landing that changed launch forever - Ars Technica
Ten years after SpaceX's first Falcon 9 landing, the inside story details how the company overcame the CRS-7 launch failure and risky propellant densification to achieve rocket reuse.