News
Boeing, NASA attempt Starliner landing after missing intended orbit
During the early morning hours of Friday, December 20th, at Space Launch Complex – 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station United Launch Alliance successfully launched a uniquely configured, rated for human spaceflight Atlas V rocket topped with the Boeing Starliner crew capsule to complete its inaugural Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station (ISS).
However, following the stunning sunrise launch and successful spacecraft separation, Starliner experienced an anomaly with an automated mission event timer which hindered a crucial orbital insertion burn from being completed.
The missed burn and the resulting domino effect of consequences cut Starliner’s journey short. In a joint media teleconference held Saturday, December 21st including NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Boeing senior vice president of Space and Launch Jim Chilton, and deputy manager of NASA Commercial Crew Steve Stich, it was confirmed that just 48 hours following launch Starliner is expected conclude the test flight and return for a controlled landing at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Initially, Starliner was expected to spend approximately 8 days docked on orbit with the ISS for a return journey tentatively scheduled to occur on December 28th. The lack of orbital insertion and consequential overuse of fuel consumed by smaller incremental burns performed throughout the day on Friday to place Starliner in a safe orbit all but guaranteed that the spacecraft would miss its opportunity to rendezvous and autonomously dock with the ISS, a pivotal objective of the orbital test flight. A fact that was later confirmed on Twitter by Bridenstine.
During the teleconference, Starliner was described as a healthy spacecraft that had in fact achieved circular safe orbit approximately 250km above sea level, lower than would have been achieved had the initial burn occurred as planned. As docking with the ISS was completely out of reach and Starliner remained under tight constraints of how long it could maintain free orbital flight, Boeing and NASA teams jointly decided to bring Starliner home as soon as possible.
While Starliner remained on orbit Friday and Saturday, flight controllers completed many OFT mission objectives. A number of the achievements were outlined in a statement posted to Boeing’s Starliner updates webpage.
“Entry, descent, and landing is not for the faint of heart.” – Jim Chilton
While many OFT mission objectives were successfully met during the dramatically cut short mission the entire goal of Starliner still remains. After all, Starliner is designed to ferry human astronauts safely to and from the ISS. A huge part of that is re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere and landing under survivable conditions.
Enough of Starliner’s fuel was preserved to afford multiple opportunities to safely land. Two opportunities to land at the planned site of White Sands Space Harbor on the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This location may sound familiar as it is the same location where a different Starliner test capsule recently completed a pad abort test.
NASA and Boeing teams are targeting a landing attempt on Sunday 7:57 am EST (1257 GMT). Should it be needed a backup landing attempt at 3:48 pm EST (848 GMT) in the same location is also available. An anthropomorphic test dummy dressed in Boeing’s recognizable blue spacesuit inside the capsule nicknamed “Rosie the Rocketeer” is wired up with sensors to collect data reflecting the conditions a human astronaut would experience during descent.
NASA will livestream the landing attempt and recovery efforts on NASATV beginning at 5:45 am EST (1045 GMT).
Check out Teslarati’s newsletters for prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket launch and recovery processes.
News
Tesla looks to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market
Tesla has been transparent that it is prioritizing safety, but it believes it can expand to basically any geographical location within the United States and find success with its Robotaxi suite. CEO Elon Musk said it could be available to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year.
Tesla is looking to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market, as the company was spotted testing validation vehicles in one region where it has not yet launched its ride-hailing service.
After launching Robotaxi in Austin in late June, Tesla followed up with a relatively quick expansion to the Bay Area of California. Both service areas are operating with a geofence that is expansive: In Texas, it is 173 square miles, while in the Bay Area, it is roughly 400 square miles.
Tesla has been transparent that it is prioritizing safety, but it believes it can expand to basically any geographical location within the United States and find success with its Robotaxi suite. CEO Elon Musk said it could be available to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year.
There have been plenty of reports out there that have speculated as to where Tesla would land next to test Robotaxi, and Nevada, Florida, Arizona, and New York have all been in the realm of possibility. These regions will need to approve Tesla for regulatory purposes before Robotaxi can officially operate.
Tesla is still testing and performing validation in several regions, and in Tempe, Arizona, things are moving forward as a Model Y with a LiDAR rig was spotted performing ground truth for the platform:
🚨 BREAKING: Just caught Tesla Robotaxi test vehicles cruising in Tempe, AZ! Rollout coming soon! pic.twitter.com/Oanw0Zx5pP
— Adub08 (@adub0808) September 10, 2025
With the LiDAR unit, many followers of the self-driving and autonomy space might wonder why Tesla uses these apparatuses during validation, especially considering the company’s stance and vision-based approach.
LiDAR is used for “ground truth,” which is basically a solidification or confirmation of what the cameras on the car are seeing. It is a great way to essentially confirm the accuracy of the vision-based suite, and will not be used on Robotaxi units used within the ride-hailing suite.
The Robotaxi platform was made available to the public earlier this month, as Tesla launched its app for iOS users.
Tesla Robotaxi app download rate demolishes Uber, Waymo all-time highs
Downloading the app allows you to join a waitlist, giving you the opportunity to utilize and test the Robotaxi platform in either Austin or the Bay Area.
News
Tesla hacker finds lifesaving FSD suggestions in 2025.32.3
The feature could drastically reduce instances of drivers operating their vehicles while distracted or exhausted.
A Tesla hacker has shared references to what could very well be lifesaving FSD suggestions in software update 2025.32.3.
The feature could drastically reduce instances of drivers operating their vehicles while distracted or exhausted.
New FSD features
As per longtime Tesla hacker @greentheonly, the EV maker’s drowsiness and lane departure suggestions in 2025.32.3 reference FSD. The hacker shared two alerts that specifically suggest the use of FSD, such as “Lane drift detected. Let FSD assist so you can stay focused,” and “Drowsiness detected. Stay focused with FSD.”
The hacker noted that the updated messages in 2025.32.3 are quite interesting because Tesla still advises drivers to be fully alert when using FSD Supervised. Thus, it is quite interesting to see the company advising users to use FSD when they seem unfocused or tired. That being said, FSD is still a supervised solution for now, but the system itself is already very capable, so the company’s updated alerts are not surprising.
Steps to FSD Unsupervised
Such warning messages would definitely make more sense once Tesla actually rolls out FSD Unsupervised. The system seems to be just waiting for regulatory approval for now, considering that it is already being used in vehicles that are coming off the production line at the Fremont Factory and Giga Texas. Tesla is also now using a driverless system for its Robotaxi services in Austin, as well as its autonomous ride-hailing service in the Bay Area.
For now, Tesla is hard at work preparing for the impending rollout of FSD V14, which Elon Musk has stated will be a notable improvement from the already-impressive performance of FSD V13. As per Musk, Teslas running FSD V14 will feel “sentient.” He also noted that the system “feels alive.”
Elon Musk
Elon Musk assures Tesla investors he will enhance his security detail
Musk’s comments were posted on X in the aftermath of the slaying of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has assured TSLA investors that he would be enhancing his security detail.
Musk’s comments were posted on X in the aftermath of the slaying of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Aggressive critics
Kirk was slain during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University as part of Turning Point USA’s first event on a tour of college campuses, as noted in a Politico report. Kirk was a notable voice in the conservative movement and a close ally of the Trump administration, which led to aggressive critics openly wishing him harm.
Elon Musk, due to his contributions to the Trump campaign and his later work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has also attracted a substantial amount of vitriol from critics. Tesla owners and the company itself suffered attacks due to critics’ anger towards Musk, with several stores and cars being vandalized or victimized in arson attacks.
Despite having stepped back from his work with DOGE, Musk remains a target among critics online, with some still calling for the CEO to get the “Luigi Mangione” treatment. These sentiments were notable after Kirk’s slaying, with some users on platforms such as Reddit and Bluesky arguing that Musk or Donald Trump should be next after Kirk.
Concerns and assurances
In the aftermath of Kirk’s slaying, numerous Tesla retail investors called on the company’s Board of Directors to bolster Elon Musk’s security detail. With some social media users openly calling for Musk to be slain next, such a request made sense. This was highlighted by Tesla investor Alexandra Merz, who called on the Tesla Board to drastically increase the company’s budget for Elon Musk’s security, which currently stands at just $3.3 million annually, or about $235,000 per month.
In response to the Tesla investor’s comments, Musk responded that he would “definitely need to enhance security.” Musk’s response was well appreciated by the Tesla and electric vehicle community as a whole, with some users on X stating that the CEO must be kept safe.
Musk is a key part of Tesla, and this was highlighted in the company’s proposed 2025 CEO performance award, which outlines a path towards the company attaining a market cap of $8.5 trillion. In its filing, Tesla highlighted that Elon Musk’s leadership is a fundamental part of the company and its future.
Tesla looks to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market
Tesla hacker finds lifesaving FSD suggestions in 2025.32.3
Elon Musk assures Tesla investors he will enhance his security detail
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