News
SpaceX ready for second ever reused Falcon 9 launch on June 19
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 “1029” is nearly ready to conduct its second commercial launch later this weekend after today’s successful static fire at Launch Complex 39A. Static fire was initially planned for June 13th but was delayed to the 14th and then the 15th, with the launch date also being delayed by two days to June 19th. This small delay is likely a result of launch pad readiness procedures taking a bit longer than intended.
Now scheduled with a window of 2-5 p.m. EST on June 19th, a successful launch will mark the second successful reuse of a Falcon 9 first stage and thus the second ever reuse of an orbital-class rocket. This particular first stage, 1029, is coincidentally symbolic in the sense that it launched SpaceX’s first mission after the Amos-6 failure last year, when a complex series of events led to a massive explosion that destroyed Falcon 9, the Amos-6 payload, and severely damaged the site it was to launch from. Elon Musk deemed it “the most difficult and complex failure” SpaceX had ever faced. It was all the more surprising that the company returned to flight just over four months later, in an industry in which failures of the same scale can result in launch vehicle groundings of multiple years (the Space Shuttle, Orbital ATK’s Antares).
1029 after recovery in the Pacific Ocean. 1 in the “1029” indicates that it is a first stage and 029 implies that it is the 29th Falcon 9 to be manufactured. SpaceX has recently begun to physically label each stage with their serial numbers between their landing legs. (SpaceX)
The best possible demonstration of a launch company’s confidence in their ability to spring back from a trying failure may well be a willingness to reuse the actual launch vehicle that marked their return to flight. And that is exactly what SpaceX is about to attempt with the second launch of 1029, which flawlessly orbited Iridum’s first set of ten NEXT satellites in the company’s return to flight after Amos-6.
Falcon 9 1029 will be tasked with placing the satellite in a geostationary transfer orbit, meaning that the satellite itself will use its own bi-propellant thrusters to reach its final geostationary orbit above Earth. With a mass estimated around 4000 kilograms, 1029 will very likely be able to attempt a recovery by landing on SpaceX’s West coast Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS), known as Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). There have also been reports of the mythical Optimus Prime robot conducting tests aboard OCISLY yesterday, hinting that this recovery may be the first time that the robot will be allowed to attempt to secure the recovered first stage after landing on the drone ship.
Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete—targeting June 19 launch of BulgariaSat-1 from historic Pad 39A pic.twitter.com/sndsLhKtwA
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 15, 2017
-->An automated method of securing recovered stages after landing has the potential to progress SpaceX’s goal of rapid reusability, and BulgariaSat-1 will mark the beginning of a schedule that has SpaceX attempting to launch Falcon 9 three times in 14 days, a truly impressive accomplishment even if delays stretch it out to 20+ days.
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- Optimus Prime roving around OCISLY on June 13th. (Brady Kenniston/NASAspaceflight.com)
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- Optimus Prime captured by helicopter while conducting tests in March earlier this year. (Source: Reddit /u/riddlerthc)
BulgariaSat-1 has lately been called Bulgaria’s first true satellite, but it is really the country’s second satellite. Manufactured and assembled by the Palo Alto, California-based Space Systems Loral (SSL), it will offer much broader coverage of the Europe and Balkans regions and provide high quality satellite television and telecommunications services in a bid to expand Bulsatcom’s market.
Much like cars are often built off of the same chassis, BulgariaSat-1 is based upon a communications satellite bus (SL-1300) that has flown successfully dozens of times and currently has dozens of active variants in geostationary orbits. BulgariaSat-1 will be the sixth SL-1300 derived satellite that SpaceX themselves have launched, and the company has four other SL-1300 satellite scheduled for launch in 2017 and 2018.
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Tesla will expand its factory shuttle service in Germany beginning January 4, adding direct rail trips from Berlin Ostbahnhof to Giga Berlin-Brandenburg in Grünheide.
With this initiative, Tesla aims to boost the number of Gigafactory Berlin employees commuting by rail while keeping the shuttle free for all riders.
New shuttle route
As noted in a report from rbb24, the updated service will run between the Berlin Ostbahnhof East Station and the Erkner Station at the Gigafactory. Tesla stated that the timetable mirrors shift changes for the facility’s employees, and similar to before, the service will be completely free. The train will offer six direct trips per day as well.
“The service includes six daily trips, which also cover our shift times,” Tesla stated. “The trains will run between Berlin Ostbahnhof (with a stop at Ostkreuz) and Erkner station to the Gigafactory.”
Even with construction continuing at Fangschleuse and Köpenick stations, the company said the route has been optimized to maintain a predictable 35-minute travel time. The upgrade follows earlier phases of Tesla’s self-funded shuttle program, which initially connected Erkner to the factory grounds before expanding to Berlin-Lichtenberg.
-->Tesla pushes for majority rail commuting
Tesla began production at Grünheide in March 2022, and the factory’s workforce has since grown to around 11,500 employees, with an estimated 60% commuting from Berlin. The facility produces the Model Y, Tesla’s best-selling vehicle, for both Germany and other territories.
The company has repeatedly emphasized its goal of having more than half its staff rely on public transportation rather than cars, positioning the shuttle as a key part of that initiative. In keeping with the factory’s sustainability focus, Tesla continues to allow non-employees to ride the shuttle free of charge, making it a broader mobility option for the region as the site’s output and workforce continue to scale.
News
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominate China’s real-world efficiency tests
The Tesla Model 3 posted 20.8 kWh/100 km while the Model Y followed closely at 21.8 kWh/100 km.
Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y once again led the field in a new real-world energy-consumption test conducted by China’s Autohome, outperforming numerous rival electric vehicles in controlled conditions.
The results, which placed both Teslas in the top two spots, prompted Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun to acknowledge Tesla’s efficiency advantage while noting that his company’s vehicles will continue refining its own models to close the gap.
Tesla secures top efficiency results
Autohome’s evaluation placed all vehicles under identical conditions, such as a full 375-kg load, cabin temperature fixed at 24°C on automatic climate control, and a steady cruising speed of 120 km/h. In this environment, the Tesla Model 3 posted 20.8 kWh/100 km while the Model Y followed closely at 21.8 kWh/100 km, as noted in a Sina News report.
These figures positioned Tesla’s vehicles firmly at the top of the ranking and highlighted their continued leadership in long-range efficiency. The test also highlighted how drivetrain optimization, software management, and aerodynamic profiles remain key differentiators in high-speed, cold-weather scenarios where many electric cars struggle to maintain low consumption.
Xiaomi’s Lei Jun pledges to continue learning from Tesla
Following the results, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun noted that the Xiaomi SU7 actually performed well overall but naturally consumed more energy due to its larger C-segment footprint and higher specification. He reiterated that factors such as size and weight contributed to the difference in real-world consumption compared to Tesla. Still, the executive noted that Xiaomi will continue to learn from the veteran EV maker.
“The Xiaomi SU7’s energy consumption performance is also very good; you can take a closer look. The fact that its test results are weaker than Tesla’s is partly due to objective reasons: the Xiaomi SU7 is a C-segment car, larger and with higher specifications, making it heavier and naturally increasing energy consumption. Of course, we will continue to learn from Tesla and further optimize its energy consumption performance!” Lei Jun wrote in a post on Weibo.
-->Lei Jun has repeatedly described Tesla as the global benchmark for EV efficiency, previously stating that Xiaomi may require three to five years to match its leadership. He has also been very supportive of FSD, even testing the system in the United States.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk reveals what will make Optimus’ ridiculous production targets feasible
Musk recent post suggests that Tesla has a plan to attain Optimus’ production goals.
Elon Musk subtly teased Tesla’s strategy to achieve Optimus’ insane production volume targets. The CEO has shared his predictions about Optimus’ volume, and they are so ambitious that one would mistake them for science fiction.
Musk’s recent post on X, however, suggests that Tesla has a plan to attain Optimus’ production goals.
The highest volume product
Elon Musk has been pretty clear about the idea of Optimus being Tesla’s highest-volume product. During the Tesla 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Musk stated that the humanoid robot will see “the fastest production ramp of any product of any large complex manufactured product ever,” starting with a one-million-per-year line at the Fremont Factory.
Following this, Musk stated that Giga Texas will receive a 10 million-per-year unit Optimus line. But even at this level, the Optimus ramp is just beginning, as the production of the humanoid robot will only accelerate from there. At some point, the CEO stated that a Mars location could even have a 100 million-unit-per-year production line, resulting in up to a billion Optimus robots being produced per year.
Self-replication is key
During the weekend, Musk posted a short message that hinted at Tesla’s Optimus strategy. “Optimus will be the Von Neumann probe,” the CEO wrote in his post. This short comment suggests that Tesla will not be relying on traditional production systems to make Optimus. The company probably won’t even hire humans to produce the humanoid robot at one point. Instead, Optimus robots could simply produce other Optimus robots, allowing them to self-replicate.
-->The Von Neumann is a hypothetical self-replicating spacecraft proposed by the mathematician and physicist John von Neumann in the 1940s–1950s. The hypothetical machine in the concept would be able to travel to a new star system or location, land, mine, and extract raw materials from planets, asteroids, and moons as needed, use those materials to manufacture copies of itself, and launch the new copies toward other star systems.
If Optimus could pull off this ambitious target, the humanoid robot would indeed be the highest volume product ever created. It could, as Musk predicted, really change the world.
Tesla is improving Giga Berlin’s free “Giga Train” service for employees
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominate China’s real-world efficiency tests
