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SpaceX kicks off orbital Starship launch pad construction in Texas

Elon Musk says that SpaceX has begun building its first orbital-class Texas launch hardware. (NASASpaceflight - bocachicagal)

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5 years ago

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CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that SpaceX is already well into the process of building an orbital-class Starship launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas.

After much ado about nothing and a multi-day fan skirmish over whether a new SpaceX construct was meant for a water tower or launch pad, the debate can finally be brought to a close. As of almost two weeks ago, it was just shy of guaranteed that the concrete foundation SpaceX was working on would be wildly excessive for a water tower, turning it into a question of whether it would be a suborbital or orbital-class test stand for Starship.

Now, Musk has confirmed – somewhat surprisingly – that the foundation will ultimately support an “orbital launch mount” capable of hosting what will eventually be the largest and most powerful rocket ever built.

All the way back in September 2019, SpaceX actually broke ground on a separate orbital-class Starship launch pad at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A). Despite rapid progress over the next several months, work on Pad 39A’s Starship additions abruptly ground to a halt in Q1 2020 and has yet to restart.

The start of a Starship launch mount at Pad 39A is pictured here in December 2019.
An official render of SpaceX’s circa 2019 Starship launch mount design. (SpaceX)
SpaceX’s latest orbital-class Starship pad work is seen here on August 25th, 2020.

The beginnings of the 39A Starship launch mount closely resembled a conceptual design published as part of an official 2019 SpaceX video. However, in a twist that isn’t actually much of a surprise for long-time followers of SpaceX, the company’s new orbital South Texas launch mount looks almost nothing like 2019 pad renders or the incomplete metalwork at Pad 39A.

In other words, SpaceX – probably lead by Musk himself – has substantially redesigned Starship’s orbital-class launch facilities and/or changed its approach to pad development for the next-generation rocket.

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Hexagonal symmetry all the way down to the mount’s foundation pilings suggests that SpaceX’s new Starship pad design will begin with the bare minimum needed for a sturdy launch pad. SpaceX may change the design for Super Heavy but Starship’s thrust section is attached to a skirt with six strengthened sections that host landing legs and hold-down clamps. The sheer heft of ~2m (~6 ft) wide steel and rebar columns – soon to be filled with concrete – and pilings at least as wide and more than 30m (100 ft) deep certainly hints at a final structure capable of surviving the fury of Starship’s Super Heavy booster.

Barring additional changes, Super Heavy will be as tall as the entirety of a Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy rocket – first stage, second stage, and payload fairing included. Powered by up to 31 Raptor engines, the Super Heavy booster will produce upwards of 72,000 kN (16,000,000 lbf) of thrust at liftoff – nine times the thrust of Falcon 9, triple the thrust of Falcon Heavy, and double the thrust of Saturn V (the most powerful liquid-fuel rocket ever to reach orbit). Combined with Starship, the full stack will weigh roughly 5000 metric tons (11 million lbs) fully fueled. For the purpose of static fire testing and final vehicle checks after ignition but before liftoff, a Super Heavy-class launch mount will need to withstand more than 7200 tons (~16 million lbf) of force.

Meanwhile, SpaceX could be just a few days away from Starship SN6’s hop debut just beside SpaceX’s ongoing orbital launch mount construction, while an 80m (~260 ft) tall Super Heavy booster assembly building may have reached its full height earlier this week.

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla Model Y reclaims elusive sales title in competitive market

As more EVs have entered the market and some at better prices, Tesla’s Model Y has been put up against some very attractive options.

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4 hours ago

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October 25, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

The Tesla Model Y reclaimed an elusive sales title in one of the most competitive markets it is in, outpacing key rivals and formidable competitors to regain the crown it once was a shoe-in for.

As more EVs have entered the market and some at better prices, Tesla’s Model Y has been put up against some very attractive options.

This is especially prudent in Europe and China, where domestic car companies have been offering attractive and cheap EVs as Tesla alternatives.

However, in September, the Model Y was able to battle back and take over the top sales spot for EVs in Europe.

In September, it had 25,938 sales, and although it was an 8.6 percent decrease compared to the same month in 2024, it was enough to be labeled the best-selling car in the European market, Automotive News reported.

500-mile test proves why Tesla Model Y still humiliates rivals in Europe

There are four vehicles that have been atop the European EV sales rankings for any given month this year: the Renault Clio, which has three titles, the Dacia Sandero, which has won four monthly sales titles, and the Volkswagen T-Roc, which was the best-selling car in the market in August.

The Clio captured the number-two spot in September with 20,146 sales.

Despite a strong September showing for the Model Y, which was its first monthly sales crown of the year, the vehicle has not been a top-three EV in Europe this year. That is still led by the Sandero, Clio, and T-Roc.

Despite that, Tesla’s Model Y is still likely to be one of the best-selling vehicles in the world, if not the best, for the year.

In the United States, it has dominated EV sales charts and has been one of the most popular cars in the region. The same goes for China, where the Model Y has more competition than in Europe, but is so attractive because of its premium look and feel, as well as its tech offerings.

The Model Y has been the best-selling car globally for the past two years, outpacing widely popular gas and EV models from around the world.

Tesla also just finished up its best three-month sales period in its history, delivering just shy of half a million vehicles from July to September.

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Tesla dashcam video shows crazy plane crash avoidance maneuver

Published

4 hours ago

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October 25, 2025

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Credit: @davidbellow | X

A Tesla captured video of a crashing plane on an Oklahoma highway, as a shocking video shows a small aircraft coming across a local roadway, with various cars ducking to avoid it.

On October 23, an Oklahoma National Guard OA-1K Skyraider II turboprop plane crashed during a training mission after an engine failure. Both crew members escaped unharmed, but they were not the only ones at risk of injury.

A Tesla Dashcam video shared by a friend of the car’s owner shows the vehicle narrowly avoiding an impact with the plane, swerving left, then back onto its side of the road. It appears to be a serious miracle:

David Bellow, the person who posted the video of the Tesla avoiding the plane, claims it was Full Self-Driving that performed the maneuver, but it is not confirmed. This is what he said:

There are a few hints that suggest it could be Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite, but it is important to note that neither the company, the driver, nor the friend has confirmed this.

The first hint is the vehicle’s maneuver and subsequent reaction. The car suddenly swerves to the left, which any human would do, but how the vehicle continues to travel as if nothing had happened seems to solidify the idea that FSD could have been involved in avoiding the plane.

Nevertheless, this does not confirm that FSD was in control.

My Tesla did this on FSD (Supervised) v14.1 and the internet went crazy

Most people would likely have stopped in their tracks after avoiding an aircraft while driving.

However, this is not enough proof to definitively say FSD was responsible for the avoidance.

Additionally, the “Jump to Event” button is activated in the video, suggesting that FSD was in control. The vehicle gives this option when something major has occurred, including human intervention.

Regardless of whether the car was on FSD or was controlled manually, it is pretty crazy to have this piece of dashcam footage.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving got a minor feature that’s a massive improvement

“Brake Confirm for the Start Self-Driving button is now defaulted off. When disabled, Start Self-Driving will not require you to press and release the brake to confirm engagement.”

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5 hours ago

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October 25, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite seems to get better with every single release. However, it is also making it more seamless and easier than ever to use for passenger travel, thanks to a recent feature that has flown under the radar.

Tesla started rolling out its v14 iteration of the Full Self-Driving suite a few weeks ago to Early Access Program (EAP) members, and it finally started making its way to the public for the first time earlier this week.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.1 first impressions: Robotaxi-like features arrive

The wide rollout of Tesla v14.1.3 was long-awaited, as its capabilities were flexed by the handful of people lucky to have it. However, those sitting with v13.2.9 were still eager to get to their hands on the new FSD version, especially considering it came with a lot of cool upgrades.

One of which is flying under the radar and not getting as much attention as it should. Although it is a minor feature change from v13, Tesla has made FSD more seamless than ever with a simple fix that it started utilizing with v14.

With v14.1.1, Tesla started rolling out the removal of the “Brake Confirm” feature, which required drivers to touch the brake to activate Full Self-Driving. This is now an optional feature, as it now is defaulted to the off position by the car.

The release notes for the feature state:

“Brake Confirm for the Start Self-Driving button is now defaulted off. When disabled, Start Self-Driving will not require you to press and release the brake to confirm engagement.

You can enable Brake Confirm in Autopilot > Brake Confirm.”

Simply put, you no longer need to touch the brake to confirm your intention to use Full Self-Driving, which is a small but very effective fix.

It makes your car much more active in terms of overall activation, and it is definitely a quicker and more streamlined departure from your current location than ever before.

Here’s a good look at how quick it is:

@teslarati With Tesla Full Self-Driving v14, there is no delay when you start FSD. Press “Start Self-Driving” and you’re on your way #fyp #viral #tesla #teslafsd #fsdv14 ♬ original sound – TESLARATI

The feature is small, but it is very noticeable with your first uses of FSD v14. Eventually, it will become even more streamlined as Tesla solves self-driving and autonomy, as it will require zero human intervention to get started, which means the “Start Self-Driving” button will also be removed.

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