News
Boeing’s Starliner slightly delayed, but ready for launch
Boeing and NASA have once again delayed Starliner’s Crewed Flight Test to no earlier than May 1st, 2024.
The launch was originally targeted for mid-April, but this time, scheduling at the International Space Station is the reason for the delay, as the orbiting outpost is fairly busy at the moment.
There are currently 7 vehicles docked at the Space Station, including two Dragon capsules, a Cygnus resupply freighter, and 4 Soyuz capsules (2 Crew, 2 Cargo), so it’s understandable why NASA and Boeing would want to push the Starliner launch just slightly.
Boeing took a major step towards the launch of Starliner’s first crewed flight test when it began fueling the service module and crew capsule. This will enable the capsule to conduct burns to control itself while in orbit.
The capsule assigned to this mission is Spacecraft 3, aka Calypso, which flew the first Orbital Flight Test in 2019 and was unable to make it to the ISS due to numerous issues that arose after separating from the Atlas V second stage.
Starliner takes flight for the first time during OFT-1 in 2019 (Credit: Richard Angle)
For the first Crewed Flight Test, there will be 2 experienced NASA astronauts onboard. Commander Barry Wilmore and Pilot Sunita Williams. They will both be making their 3rd trip to space.
The current pair weren’t the first astronauts assigned to CFT-1, due to the ongoing delays, at various points, 4 other astronauts were assigned to the test flight, including Nicole Mann who ended up switching over to Crew 5 and taking a Crew Dragon capsule to the ISS.
During this most recent delay, Boeing took the time to finish removing the insulating tape that was found to be flammable, finish software reviews, and review a new soft link in the parachute system. The soft link is what connects the main line from the capsule to the risers up to the canopy.
There are currently no items under review that could potentially cause further lengthy delays.
During a recent press conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Flight Director Steve Lammers detailed what to expect before the flight.
The crew will perform a dry dress rehearsal, similar to what SpaceX does with Crew Dragon. However, the test will be completed inside United Launch Alliance’s Vertical Integration Facility, not at the launch pad.
The day before launch, the Atlas V rocket with Starliner stacked on top will be moved to the launch pad. In the last launch attempt, the rocket sat at the launch pad for a few days, enduring Florida thunderstorms, which led to moisture collecting in some of the Service Modules valves, causing a very significant delay to the Starliner program.
Starliner at LC-41 before the first OFT-2 attempt (Credit Richard Angle)
The hatch will be closed 1 hour and 24 minutes prior to launch, with the pad being cleared about with ~50 minutes remaining in the countdown.
This will be the first mission controlled by Houston after lift-off since the last Space Shuttle mission, STS-135.
There will be no live video from the capsule during ascent and transit to the ISS, Ed Van Cise, Starliner rendezvous flight director said the system is lacking the connection from the data to a transmission system. The recorded video will be downlinked after the capsule is docked.
The crew will dock with the ISS 24 hours after lift-off after conducting numerous tests of the Starliner systems.
The capsule will stay docked with the Space Station for a minimum of 8 days.
After undocking, the crew will perform more tests ahead of the de-orbit burn and eventual landing in the Western United States.
The capsule will land under parachutes, and the airbags will deploy just before touchdown to provide a soft landing for the crew.
All in all, this mission has been a long time coming for the company. The original contract called for six flights, and with the Atlas V being retired, there are currently no other human-rated launch vehicles (that are compatible) to launch Starliner, and if NASA wants to extend that contract with Boeing, ULA would need to get the approval to launch Starliner on Vulcan.
Questions or comments? Shoot me an email at rangle@teslarati.com, or Tweet me @RDAnglePhoto.
Tesla made a change to the Cybertruck, and nobody noticed. But to be fair, nobody could have, but it was revealed by the program’s lead engineer that it was aimed toward simplifying manufacturing through a minor change in casting.
After the Cybertruck was given a Top Safety Pick+ award by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), for its reputation as the safest pickup on the market, some wondered what had changed about the vehicle.
Tesla makes changes to its vehicles routinely through Over-the-Air software updates, but aesthetic changes are relatively rare. Vehicles go through refreshes every few years, as the Model 3 and Model Y did earlier this year. However, the Cybertruck is one of the vehicles that has not changed much since its launch in late 2023, but it has gone through some minor changes.
Most recently, Wes Morrill, the Cybertruck program’s Lead Engineer, stated that the company had made a minor change to the casting of the all-electric pickup for manufacturing purposes. This change took place in April:
We made a minor change on the casting for manufacturability in April. Our Internal testing shows no difference in crash result but IIHS only officially tested the latest version
— Wes (@wmorrill3) December 17, 2025
The change is among the most subtle that can be made, but it makes a massive difference in manufacturing efficiency, build quality, and scalability.
Morrill revealed Tesla’s internal testing showed no difference in crash testing results performed by the IIHS.
The 2025 Cybertruck received stellar ratings in each of the required testing scenarios and categories. The Top Safety Pick+ award is only given if it excels in rigorous crash tests. This requires ‘Good’ ratings in updated small and moderate overlap front, side, roof, and head restraints.
Additionally, it must have advanced front crash prevention in both day and night. Most importantly, the vehicle must have a ‘Good’ or ‘Acceptable’ headlights standard on all trims, with the “+ ” specifically demanding the toughest new updated moderate overlap test that checks rear-seat passenger protection alongside driver safety.
Tesla has entered an interesting situation with its Full Self-Driving suite in California, as the State’s Department of Motor Vehicles had adopted an order for a suspension of the company’s sales license, but it immediately put it on hold.
The company has been granted a reprieve as the DMV is giving Tesla an opportunity to “remedy the situation.” After the suspension was recommended for 30 days as a penalty, the DMV said it would give Tesla 90 days to allow the company to come into compliance.
The DMV is accusing Tesla of misleading consumers by using words like Autopilot and Full Self-Driving on its advanced driver assistance (ADAS) features.
The State’s DMV Director, Steve Gordon, said that he hoped “Tesla will find a way to get these misleading statements corrected.” However, Tesla responded to the story on Tuesday, stating that this was a “consumer protection” order for the company using the term Autopilot.
It said “not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.” It added that “sales in California will continue uninterrupted.”
This was a “consumer protection” order about the use of the term “Autopilot” in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.
Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) December 17, 2025
Tesla has used the terms Autopilot and Full Self-Driving for years, but has added the term “(Supervised)” to the end of the FSD suite, hoping to remedy some of the potential issues that regulators in various areas might have with the labeling of the program.
It might not be too long before Tesla stops catching flak for using the Full Self-Driving name to describe its platform.
Tesla Robotaxi goes driverless as Musk confirms Safety Monitor removal testing
The Robotaxi suite has continued to improve, and this week, vehicles were spotted in Austin without any occupants. CEO Elon Musk would later confirm that Tesla had started testing driverless rides in Austin, hoping to launch rides without any supervision by the end of the year.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) closed at an all-time high on Tuesday, jumping over 3 percent during the day and finishing at $489.88.
The price beats the previous record close, which was $479.86.
Shares have had a crazy year, dipping more than 40 percent from the start of the year. The stock then started to recover once again around late April, when its price started to climb back up from the low $200 level.
This week, Tesla started to climb toward its highest levels ever, as it was revealed on Sunday that the company was testing driverless Robotaxis in Austin. The spike in value pushed the company’s valuation to $1.63 trillion.
Tesla Robotaxi goes driverless as Musk confirms Safety Monitor removal testing
It is the seventh-most valuable company on the market currently, trailing Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta.
Shares closed up $14.57 today, up over 3 percent.
The stock has gone through a lot this year, as previously mentioned. Shares tumbled in Q1 due to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which pulled his attention away from his companies and left a major overhang on their valuations.
However, things started to rebound halfway through the year, and as the government started to phase out the $7,500 tax credit, demand spiked as consumers tried to take advantage of it.
Q3 deliveries were the highest in company history, and Tesla responded to the loss of the tax credit with the launch of the Model 3 and Model Y Standard.
Additionally, analysts have announced high expectations this week for the company on Wall Street as Robotaxi continues to be the focus. With autonomy within Tesla’s sights, things are moving in the direction of Robotaxi being a major catalyst for growth on the Street in the coming year.
Tesla made a change to the Cybertruck and nobody noticed
Tesla enters interesting situation with Full Self-Driving in California
