Connect with us

News

SpaceX Starship test tank set for destructive finale after ‘cryo proof’

SpaceX is set to intentionally destroy another Starship test tank on the path to orbital launches. (NASASpaceflight - bocachicagal)

Published

on

SpaceX’s fourth Starship test tank is set for a destructive finale after completing a “cryo proof” pressure test on Thursday.

SpaceX’s newest Starship test tank – SN7.1 – is the second in a series of two planned prototypes, both designed to test the viability of using a new steel alloy to build future Starships and Super Heavy boosters. CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX is technically customizing its own steel alloy for Starship production but Musk’s comments and the results from SN7 testing in June 2020 point towards an offshoot of 304L with minor metallurgical tweaks.

Prior to SN7’s test campaign, Musk revealed that the main goal of the new alloy was to reduce the brittleness of Starship tanks and any adjacent steel components under cryogenic conditions (i.e. extreme cold). Ultimately, SN7 appeared to confirm that the new alloy’s behavior was far more forgiving under cryogenic loads, reaching what were believed to be record pressures before the tank finally burst on June 24th.

Following in SN7’s footsteps, SN7.1 is much closer to an actual Starship prototype.

“SN7.1 is significantly more complex than its sibling and will test a ~304L Raptor mount (thrust puck) and skirt section. The forces and general conditions those new parts will be subjected to are substantially different than most of what SN7 was subjected to, meaning that there is a chance that 304L steel is actually worse in some scenarios.

With any luck, though, SN7.1’s test campaign – scheduled to begin as early as 9pm CDT (UTC-5), September 10th – will be a flawless success, proving that SpaceX’s new steel alloy is superior to 301 for all Starship-related applications. If that’s the case, Starship SN8 – the first full new-alloy prototype – will likely be fully outfitted with a nosecone and header tanks before beginning acceptance testing later this month.”


Teslarati.com — September 10th, 2020

Advertisement

For SN7.1, increased ductility could theoretically be a mixed bag. Assuming SpaceX has also built the thrust puck out of 304L-adjacent steel, it may end up being too squishy under the extreme forces it will be subjected to. At full throttle, the thrust of three Raptor engines will compress the thrust puck – a cone with dimensions roughly the same as a large circular table – with the equivalent force of a ~600 metric ton (1.3 million lb) weight.

On September 10th, SpaceX put SN7.1 through its paces, performing a cryogenic proof test with liquid nitrogen (LN2) while the tank was still installed on the simple steel frame used to support it during production and transport. That simple decision offers a brief glimpse at the extensive planning that allows SpaceX to optimize for speed and efficiency while still conducting successful tests. While SpaceX could have technically installed SN7.1 directly onto a brand new launch mount custom-built for the exact kind of testing expected, the company instead left the tank on its build stand – much cheaper and far easier to replace than the former.

Technically, moving directly to the launch mount would have slightly simplified the test process, but a tank rupture during a routine cryogenic proof test could have extensively damaged or destroyed the mount, requiring weeks of work to build a full replacement. After SN7.1 successfully completed a cryogenic pressure test on September 10th, SpaceX simply lifted it off its work stand and installed it on a custom-built launch mount.

A partial view of Starship SN7.1’s work stand (center) and a more complex, expensive launch mount and test stand (left). (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)

As early as 9pm CDT (UTC-5) on September 14th, SpaceX will once again load SN7.1 with liquid nitrogen. This time around, the tank – after reaching flight pressures of 7.5 to 8+ bar (110-120+ psi) – will be subjected to the simulated thrust of three Raptor engines by a series of hydraulic rams. Based on a public schedule of road closures, at least two tests are planned. The first will likely put SN7.1 through a range of Raptor thrust scenarios and profiles under the same tank pressures needed for orbital Starship flights. If that test is successful, SpaceX may move SN7.1 back to its work stand before intentionally pressurizing the tank until it bursts sometime around September 17th.

Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.

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.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla’s new Safety Report shows Autopilot is nine times safer than humans

Tesla released its Vehicle Safety Report for Q3 2025, and it showed that one crash was recorded every 6.36 million miles drive in which drivers were using Autopilot technology.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s new Safety Report for Q3 shows Autopilot technology contributed to accident frequency that was nine times lower than the national average.

Tesla released its Vehicle Safety Report for Q3 2025, and it showed that one crash was recorded every 6.36 million miles drive in which drivers were using Autopilot technology.

This is a stark contrast from the most recent data made available by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which shows there is an automobile crash approximately every 702,000 miles.

The figure for Q3 2025 is slightly lower than the one that Tesla released in Q3 2024, which eclipsed 7 million miles between accidents for drivers using Autopilot technology.

Over the past seven quarters, Q1 has been Tesla’s strongest showing with the Vehicle Safety Report, with Q4 being the weakest. This is usually attributed to weather and driving conditions deteriorating toward the end of the year.

Q1 2024 was Tesla’s best performance so far, with one crash every 7.63 million miles.

Tesla releases Vehicle Safety Report for Q1 2024

Autopilot and Full Self-Driving have been a major focus of Tesla over the past few years, and recent versions have improved on what has already proven to be an extremely safe way to travel, as long as it is used correctly.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite is a suitable way to allow the vehicle to navigate through any traffic setting and has been widely effective for day-to-day travel. With the data Tesla gets from its use across its vehicle fleet, it gets more refined and more accurate with every passing mile.

The company has teased the potential for completely unsupervised Full Self-Driving releases in the future, but Tesla has to solve autonomy before it can offer anything like that to the public.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla looks to enter a new continent, new job posting shows

Tesla is present on five of the seven continents: North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. In South America, Tesla currently operates only in one country, Chile, but is looking to expand to more areas.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla is looking to enter Africa for the first time, launching operations on a new continent and expanding its vehicle business operations.

Tesla is present on five of the seven continents: North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. In South America, Tesla currently operates only in one country, Chile, but is looking to expand to more areas.

First Tesla Model Y Performance Spotted In Africa

Although the company has not launched anything in Africa, a new job posting indicates that Tesla is looking to launch there for the first time.

According to a new posting on Tesla’s Careers website, it is looking for a full-time Country Sales & Delivery Leader in Casablanca, Morocco:

“The Country Sales & Delivery Leader is responsible for driving the sales and delivery strategy and daily operations across the country. They will hire and develop the best people leaders and ensure the development of the highest performing teams. The Field Sales & Delivery Leader will take accountability for achieving ambitious sales and delivery targets and ensure the business performs on key success criteria, including but not excluded to market growth, customer satisfaction, operational excellence, and employee deployment and retention. In addition to driving business performance across sales & delivery, the Field Sales & Delivery is expected to act as an ambassador for Tesla in the market, as well as provide critical perspective and guidance on decisions impacting outcomes within their market to increase Tesla’s market share.”

Back in July, Tesla officially registered its presence in the Moroccan market with the $2.75 million initial capital investment, according to The Habari Network.

The move marked a formal attempt at market entry for the EV maker, and it could signal even more opportunities through its other business operations, like energy.

Morocco is looked at as one of the countries in Africa that is most prone to transition toward EVs, as its government has focused on renewable energy and strategic investments in transportation.

It also has local production advantages, as Renault operates a plant in Morocco.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla investors want answers to these five questions during Q3 Earnings

These are the top five questions that have been asked and voted for by investors of the company, and what we think about them.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is preparing to report its earnings for the third quarter of 2025 this afternoon. Investors are looking for answers regarding the Robotaxi launch, energy division, potential future vehicle releases, Optimus, and demand stimulation without the tax credit.

Using the investor platform Say, Tesla allows investors to ask questions for the earnings call.

Tesla Q3 2025 earnings: What analysts expect

These are the top five questions that have been asked and voted for by investors of the company, and what we think about them:

  • What are the latest Robotaxi metrics (fleet size, cumulative miles, rides completed, intervention rates), and when will safety drivers be removed? What are the obstacles still preventing unsupervised FSD from being deployed to customer vehicles?
    • What we think: Tesla should release some metrics about Robotaxi operation, but it has been cryptic about fleet size and other statistics in the past. Additionally, CEO Elon Musk said Safety Drivers should be removed ‘by the end of the year,’ and we imagine this will be reiterated during the call. Regarding Unsupervised FSD, Tesla has stated that safety is its priority moving forward with the FSD rollout and Robotaxi as well.

 

  • What is demand/backlog for Megapack, Powerwall, Solar, or energy storage systems? With the current AI boom, is Tesla planning to supply power to other hyperscalers?
    • What we think: This is perhaps the only question of the five that Tesla will be totally forthcoming with, as it usually does not reveal vehicle plans or data on these earnings calls. However, it will be interesting to see if the company has any plans to supplement the increasing AI plans with its energy products. Energy falls under the radar with a lot of its achievements, so it really could be a major focus of this call if this question gets answered.

 

  • What are the plans for new car models? Will Tesla build compact car models leveraging the unboxed Cybercab platform? Will Tesla build a traditional SUV and pickup truck on the Cybertruck platform?
    • What we think: Tesla does not unveil or release plans about projects on earnings calls, so we doubt there will be much color here from executives. Considering Tesla has put so much weight on autonomy in the U.S., we’re not necessarily convinced it will plan to do much more than Cybercab, and SUV and pickup trucks will likely be built on a different platform as well, if they’re offered at all. Musk isn’t sure about bringing the Model Y L to the U.S. market due to the “advent of self-driving.”

 

  • What are the present challenges in bringing Optimus to market, considering app control software, engineering hardware, training general mobility models, training task-specific models, training voice models, implementing manufacturing, and establishing supply chains?
    • What we think: This will likely be where Tesla teases the capabilities of Optimus Gen 3, and comes up with some sort of rough date where it could show off the new design. Tesla has been using Optimus in its factories and other internal operations, so it’s likely we’ll hear some stories about that as well. Tesla is looking to refine the Optimus design so it is useful and capable in residential applications, and its hands are likely the biggest bottleneck as they are arguably the most crucial part of the product.

 

  • Can you talk about demand stimulation avenues beyond affordability? Given the state of global politics, can Tesla’s brand elevate above the divisiveness and return global perception back to our inspirational roots of ludicrous performance, environmental good, and superior safety?
    • What we think: Tesla is going to flex its new Standard offerings now, and the company has been transparent that Musk’s political involvement will wind down in a timely manner, according to the proxy it released when it revealed his pay package. 
Continue Reading

Trending