News
Boeing Starliner joins SpaceX’s Crew Dragon at the International Space Station
Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule has successfully rendezvoused, approached, and docked with the International Space Station for the first time, marking major several major milestones for NASA and its second Commercial Crew partner.
Starliner’s second orbital flight test (OFT-2) began as expected with a near-flawless May 19th launch on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. As thousands of employees and stakeholders held their collective breath, the uncrewed prototype safely detached from Atlas V’s Centaur upper stage and propelled itself the rest of the to a stable parking orbit. Two and a half years after their first attempt, Boeing and NASA were then finally able to send Starliner on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) and prepare for proximity operations.
Welcome #Starliner ! pic.twitter.com/F7KVIRO24c— Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) May 21, 2022
As previously discussed on Teslarati, Starliner making it through the first hour or so of flight without running into a catastrophic problem was already a huge milestone for Boeing and a massive improvement over the company’s last two orbital flight test attempts.
“The story of Starliner’s tortured orbital flight test (OFT) campaign began in earnest on December 20th, 2019, when an uncrewed prototype first attempted to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. A major software bug that could have been easily detected with even the most basic integrated hardware-in-the-loop prelaunch testing caused Starliner to lose control the moment it separated from Atlas V. After hundreds of seconds of unplanned burns of its many attitude control thrusters, Boeing finally regained control but Starliner no longer had enough propellant to safely reach the ISS.
Boeing would later catch and correct another unrelated software bug mere hours before Starliner’s planned reentry and recovery that, if undetected, could have caused the spacecraft’s capsule and service sections to crash into each other shortly after separation.
On July 30th, 2021, shortly before a different uncrewed Starliner was scheduled to reattempt the first Orbital Flight Test, the launch was aborted. Boeing and NASA later reported that 13 of Starliner’s 24 main oxidizer valves failed to open during a prelaunch test just a few hours before liftoff. It was eventually concluded that faulty Aerojet Rocketdyne-supplied valves and poor Boeing integration enabled water intrusion and extensive corrosion. The next OFT-2 launch attempt was delayed by almost ten months, as a result.”
Teslarati.com – May 19th, 2022
Instead of calamity, Starliner’s second OFT and third OFT attempt was mainly greeted with success. After reaching orbit, the spacecraft began raising and ‘phasing’ its orbit to rendezvous with the ISS and completed all the burns and navigation required without major issues. Finally, after several intentional test maneuvers and about an hour of unplanned troubleshooting, Starliner began its final approach and successfully docked with the ISS – joining a SpaceX Crew Dragon – at 8:28 pm EDT on May 20th (00:28 UTC 21 May).
Starliner’s successful docking made it the fourth, fifth, or sixth US spacecraft to reach the ISS, joining the Space Shuttle, three main variants of SpaceX’s Dragon, and Orbital ATK’s (now Northrop Grumman) Cygnus cargo vehicle. It also marked the first time that both NASA Commercial Crew Program vehicles have been simultaneously docked at the space station – a reassuring sign of a future with redundant access after years of Boeing delays forced SpaceX to temporarily become NASA’s sole source of astronaut transportation. While odds are good that SpaceX will ultimately be required to singlehandedly maintain NASA access to the ISS for seven six-month ‘expeditions’ (>3 years), Starliner’s thus-far-successful OFT2 mission significantly improves the odds that the Boeing spacecraft will be fully ready within a year or two.
Nonetheless, Starliner must still safely depart the ISS, lower its orbit, reenter Earth’s atmosphere, and safely touch down for recovery and reuse. Starliner has already accomplished all of those tasks during OFT1, but tensions will still be high. Additionally, Starliner’s performance during OFT2 has been far from perfect. Aside from a few minor issues with coolers and radiators, Boeing and NASA revealed that four of the spacecraft’s several dozen thrusters (two larger maneuvering/control thrusters and two smaller attitude control thrusters) – had failed by the time it was docked. During OFT1, as many as 13 thrusters failed as a result of minutes of unplanned burns, but Boeing was able to recover all but one before reentry.
Technically, that means that both missions have demonstrated the solid redundancy of Starliner’s propulsion systems, but NASA will undoubtedly demand that Boeing determine probable root causes and qualify fixes before greenlighting Starliner’s first Crewed Flight Test (CFT). For SpaceX, it took 14 months after Crew Dragon’s first near-flawless uncrewed debut for NASA to agree to proceed with a crewed flight test. However, during post-flight testing, the capsule that support Demo-1 catastrophically exploded, triggering a several-month investigation. The effect of a few failed thrusters is decidedly less severe, so Starliner might not have to wait as long for CFT. With any luck, that means that NASA will have two fully-redundant astronaut transport spacecraft available and operational by the end of 2023, if not earlier.
News
Tesla ‘Killer’ heads to the graveyard as AFEELA taps out
SHM has officially discontinued development of its highly anticipated AFEELA electric vehicles. On March 25, the joint venture between Sony and Honda announced it would halt the AFEELA 1 luxury sedan and a planned SUV model.
There have been many Tesla “Killers” over the years, all of which have either failed to dethrone the automaker from its dominance in the United States, or even make it to the market altogether.
The Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) project, known as AFEELA, is the latest to make it to the grave, as the company announced its intentions to abandon the project earlier this week, Bloomberg reported.
SHM has officially discontinued development of its highly anticipated AFEELA electric vehicles. On March 25, the joint venture between Sony and Honda announced it would halt the AFEELA 1 luxury sedan and a planned SUV model.
🚗 Tesla Killers Graveyard:
Sony-Honda AFEELA
The sleek, AI-packed luxury sedan with PlayStation integration. Officially cancelled in March 2026 after Honda scaled back its EV plans.Fisker Ocean
Stylish SUV with solar roof promises. Company filed for bankruptcy in 2024 amid… https://t.co/Om14UhISOy— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 26, 2026
The decision follows Honda’s March 12 reassessment of its electrification strategy, which scrapped several upcoming EV programs amid slowing demand, high costs, and shifting market conditions.
SHM stated that it could no longer rely on key Honda technologies and manufacturing assets, leaving “no viable path forward.” Reservation fees for early buyers in California are being fully refunded, and the joint venture’s future is now under review.
Launched with fanfare in 2022, the AFEELA was positioned as a tech-forward premium EV blending Honda’s engineering reliability with Sony’s entertainment and AI expertise.
Prototypes featured advanced autonomous driving systems, immersive in-cabin displays, and even PlayStation integration, earning it early media labels as a potential “Tesla Killer.”
Priced around $90,000, the sedan was slated for limited production at Honda’s Ohio plant with deliveries targeted for late 2026. Industry watchers saw it as a serious challenger to Tesla’s dominance in software, connectivity, and premium appeal.
Yet, like many ambitious EV projects, it fell victim to broader industry headwinds: softening consumer demand, persistent high interest rates, and intense competition from established players.
The AFEELA joins a long list of vehicles once hyped as “Tesla Killers” that failed to deliver. In the late 2010s, Fisker’s second act, the Ocean SUV, promised stylish design and solid-state battery tech but collapsed into bankruptcy in 2024 after production delays, quality issues, and financial shortfalls.
Faraday Future poured billions into the FF 91 luxury sedan, touting it as a hyper-tech rival with unmatched performance and features; the company delivered fewer than 100 vehicles before fading into obscurity.
Lordstown Motors’ Endurance electric pickup generated massive pre-order buzz and Wall Street excitement but imploded after exaggerated range claims, a factory sale, and eventual bankruptcy.
Even Lucid Motors’ Air sedan, frequently called a Tesla slayer for its superior range and luxury, has struggled with sluggish sales and missed growth targets despite strong reviews.
Rivian’s R1T and R1S trucks enjoyed similar early acclaim and a blockbuster IPO, yet production ramp-up challenges and profitability woes have prevented it from dethroning Tesla.
The AFEELA’s quiet demise underscores a harsh reality in the EV sector. While Tesla’s first-mover advantage in software, charging infrastructure, and brand loyalty remains formidable, legacy automakers and tech newcomers alike continue to underestimate the complexities of scaling affordable, desirable electric vehicles.
As market realities force tough choices, the graveyard of “Tesla Killers” grows longer, another reminder that innovation alone is rarely enough to topple an established leader.
Elon Musk
TIME honors SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell: From employee No. 7 to world’s most valuable company
Time Magazine honors Gwynne Shotwell as SpaceX reaches a $1.25 trillion valuation and eyes its IPO.
TIME Magazine has put SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell on its cover, and the timing could not be more fitting. Published today, the profile of Shotwell arrives at a moment when the company she has quietly run for more than two decades stands at the center of the most consequential developments in aerospace, artificial intelligence, and the future of human civilization.
Shotwell joined SpaceX in 2002 as its seventh employee and has never stopped expanding her role. She oversees day-to-day operations across multiple executive teams spanning Falcon, Starlink, Starship, and now xAI following SpaceX’s February 2026 merger with Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, a deal that made SpaceX the world’s most valuable private company at a reported valuation of $1.25 trillion. A highly anticipated IPO is expected in the second quarter of 2026.
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Her track record is historic. She oversaw the first landing of an orbital rocket’s first stage, the first reuse and re-landing of an orbital booster, and the first private crewed launch to Earth orbit in May 2020. She built the Falcon launch manifest from nothing to more than 170 contracted missions representing over $20 billion in business. Under her operational leadership, SpaceX completed 96 successful missions in 2023 alone and has now flown more than 20 crewed Falcon 9 missions. Starlink, which she championed as a financial pillar of the company long before it was a mainstream topic, now connects tens of millions of users worldwide and provided a critical communications lifeline to Ukraine following the 2022 invasion.
Elon Musk has never been shy about what Shotwell means to him and to SpaceX. When she shared her vision for worldwide internet connectivity through Starlink, Musk responded on X with a simple statement, “Gwynne is awesome.” It is a sentiment that has been echoed across the industry. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson once said of Musk: “One of the most important decisions he made, as a matter of fact, is he picked a president named Gwynne Shotwell. She runs SpaceX. She is excellent.”
Gwynne is awesome https://t.co/tiXtMWJmPE
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 28, 2024
Now, with Starship targeting its first crewed lunar landing under the Artemis program by 2028, an xAI integration underway, and a pending IPO that could reshape capital markets, Shotwell’s mandate has never been larger. She told Time that 18 Starships are already in various stages of construction at Starbase. “By 2028,” she said, gesturing across the factory floor, “these should be long gone. They better have flown by then.” If Shotwell’s history at SpaceX is any guide, they will.
Elon Musk
SpaceX’s IPO might arrive sooner than you think
Musk has hinted for years that an eventual public offering was inevitable, though he has stressed the need to maintain operational focus. Insiders have told outlets that the CEO is pushing for a significant retail investor allocation, reportedly more than 20 percent of shares, and tighter lock-up periods to limit early selling pressure.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is on the verge of one of the most anticipated Initial Public Offerings (IPO) in history.
However, a new report from The Information indicates the rocket and satellite giant is aiming to file its IPO prospectus with U.S. regulators as soon as this week, or early next week at the latest.
People familiar with the plans told The Information that advisers involved in the process expect the IPO could raise more than 75 billion dollars, potentially making it the largest stock market debut ever and eclipsing Saudi Aramco’s 29.4 billion dollar offering in 2019.
The filing would mark the formal start of what has long been rumored: SpaceX’s transition from a closely held private powerhouse to a publicly traded company.
The timing aligns with earlier signals.
In late February, Bloomberg reported that SpaceX was targeting a confidential IPO filing in March and a possible public listing in June, with a valuation north of 1.75 trillion dollars. At the time, the company’s private valuation hovered around 1.25 trillion dollars.
SpaceX considering confidential IPO filing this March: report
Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet constellation, has been the primary driver of that surge, now serving millions of customers worldwide and generating steady revenue. Recent Starship test flights and a record pace of Falcon launches have further bolstered investor confidence.
Musk has hinted for years that an eventual public offering was inevitable, though he has stressed the need to maintain operational focus. Insiders have told outlets that the CEO is pushing for a significant retail investor allocation, reportedly more than 20 percent of shares, and tighter lock-up periods to limit early selling pressure.
A June listing would give SpaceX immediate access to public capital markets at a moment when demand for space-related stocks remains high. It would also allow early employees and long-time investors to cash out portions of their stakes while giving everyday shareholders a chance to own a piece of the company behind reusable rockets, global broadband, and NASA contracts.
Of course, nothing is certain until the SEC filing appears. Market conditions, regulatory reviews, and Musk’s own schedule could still shift timelines.
Yet the latest word from The Information suggests the window has opened. If the filing lands this week, SpaceX’s roadshow could begin in earnest within weeks, setting the stage for what many analysts already call the IPO of the decade.
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TIME honors SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell: From employee No. 7 to world’s most valuable company
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