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NASA wants SpaceX to dock Dragons at new Russian space station ‘node’
State media agency RIA says that NASA and Roscosmos are negotiating an agreement that would eventually allow SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and other future visiting vehicles to dock to a new Russian ‘node’ module recently installed on the International Space Station (ISS).
Prichal – Russian for “pier” – was successfully launched into orbit on a Soyuz 2.1 rocket on November 24th. A tug derived from the space agency’s uncrewed Progress resupply ship delivered the decade-old module to the ISS two days later, culminating in a successful docking on November 26th. Weighing almost four tons (3890kg/8600lb), Prichal is a 3.3m (~11ft) wide spherical pressure vessel whose sole purpose is to receive visiting cargo and crew vehicles and (in theory) enable further expansion of the space station’s Russian segment.
It remains to be seen if Roscosmos will be able to complete and launch any of several new planned space station modules in time for doing so to still make sense. Aside from a significant amount of uncertainty as to whether Russia will actually continue to support its ISS segment beyond 2030, Roscosmos has had a nightmarish time preparing the last two “new” segments – Prichal and Nauka. Nauka, a habitation and laboratory module, was originally planned to launch in 2007. Only fourteen years later – in July 2021 – did Roscosmos finally manage to finish and launch the module, which then proceeded to perform a long, uncommanded thruster firing that could have easily damaged or destroyed the entire station on the same day it arrived.
Meanwhile, work on Prichal began in 2007 and the module was initially expected to launch in 2013. Concerted development began in 2010 and construction was completed by 2014. Planned to be an extension of Nauka, Prichal was subsequently forced to spend almost seven years in storage before it was finally brought out of the closet and launched in November 2021.
Now, while odds are firmly against Prichal ever supporting another Russian ISS module, the ‘node’ still has plenty of potential operating solely as a docking hub or (per its namesake) a pier. Outfitted with six docking ports, one of which now connects it to Nauka and the rest of the ISS, the other five ports are effectively free to be used by any arriving Russian spacecraft – including Progress cargo ships, Soyuz crew vehicles, and next-generation Orel (Eagle) spacecraft. However, according to Roscosmos and state media outlet RIA, SpaceX’s Crew and Cargo Dragons and other US spacecraft set to use the western International Docking Adapter (IDA) standard could be added to the list of possible tenants.
To allow a spacecraft fitted with IDA to dock to one of Prichal’s four radial “ASP-GB” ports, some kind of adapter would first need to be designed, constructed, launched, and installed. The specifics of that work are likely what’s being “negotiated” – namely how Roscosmos will be compensated for building its portion of that hypothetical adapter. NASA would likely procure and provide a new IDA port, while Russia would build the ASP-GB connection. As is common for the ISS program, compensation would likely come in the form of services rendered rather than a direct payment, with NASA perhaps launching an extra Russian cosmonaut or providing a larger portion of supplies for a set period.
If realized, the addition of a third IDA port at the International Space Station would make life significantly easier for NASA. Even now, with just two spacecraft (Crew and Cargo Dragon) to worry about, NASA is forced to very carefully schedule arrivals and departures and has already had to have SpaceX perform multiple Crew Dragon port relocation maneuvers to prepare for the arrival of other Dragons. In the near future, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and semi-annual private Crew Dragon missions to the ISS will also enter the fray, making the scheduling and sequencing of spacecraft arrivals and departures even more challenging.
The US ISS segment really only has two ports still available for conversion to the IDA standard and both are needed to ensure safe, redundant cargo deliveries from uncrewed Cygnus and (as early as next year) Dreamchaser spacecraft throughout the 2020s. Ultimately, that means that an agreement to place a third IDA on the Russian segment is the only clear way NASA can give itself breathing room for the next decade of IDA spacecraft operations.
Tesla flexed one incredible Robotaxi metric during the Q2 Earnings Call that skeptics have to hate to hear. The company’s platform has already driven more than 380,000 miles of unsupervised ride-hailing across several states with no notable incidents.
During the company’s Q2 Earnings Call on Wednesday, Vice President of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said:
“First of all, I’d like to state that the Robotaxi program has been operating extremely well. Especially in terms of safety, the program has had an impeccable safety record. We have driven more than 380,000 miles of unsupervised Robotaxi, now across six cities in two different states. We have had zero notable incidents. Any reports have been of other actors impacting us when we were stationary. I like to emphasize how safe the operation has been so far. Zero notable incidents over 380,000 miles.”
Elluswamy’s claim over Robotaxi miles is a significant milestone for Tesla in the grand scheme, especially considering this is a sizeable number of miles without any incident.
0 notable incidents across over 380,000 miles traveled by Robotaxi
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 22, 2026
Tesla’s self-driving approach is much different than that of other companies. Tesla has maintained that vision is the only thing needed to have a solid and effective self-driving suite. Many self-driving companies utilize things like LiDAR, sensors, and other elements to improve performance, but Elluswamy sent a jab at those who believe it’s needed.
“Historically, the so-called experts have always claimed that you need LiDARs, radars, HD maps, and the entire kitchen sink to drive safely. Here we show that such is not true. You can have safe, comfortable, and affordable autonomy with just cameras. This record should be a huge validation of Tesla’s entire AI approach.”
The feat of accumulating this many miles without any driver behind the wheel is impressive. The thing is, Tesla is also doing this across several different locations, with varying traffic rules, pedestrian levels, weather patterns, and other important factors.
While Tesla is not ready to roll out an unsupervised platform completely, it is a slow but steady indication that the company is well on its way to figuring things out.
The company’s attitude toward expansion is slow, safe, and controlled, and despite this huge milestone, it will still be some time until we see Tesla truly unleash unsupervised rides more aggressively.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
SpaceX’s Starship flew successfully Friday, landing both stages and deploying its first Starlink V3 satellites.
Starship’s thirteenth test flight delivered exactly what SpaceX needed with a clean liftoff, two successful stage recoveries, and the first real payload the vehicle has ever carried to space. Booster 20 and Ship 40 lifted off at 5:51 p.m. CT from Starbase, and by the time the mission wrapped roughly an hour later, both halves of the rocket had done exactly what they were supposed to do.
Booster 20 separated from Ship 40 a few minutes into the flight and stuck a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about six minutes after liftoff. That is a meaningful turnaround from Flight 12 in May, when the booster lost several engines during its boostback burn before a hard water landing attempt.
Starship as seen from Starlink satellites pic.twitter.com/e2hvfmnewh
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2026
Starship 40’s performance was arguably the bigger win. The vehicle deployed the first 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites Starship has ever carried, then flew a suborbital arc to a landing in the Indian Ocean that SpaceX commentator Dan Huot called the company’s softest splashdown yet. “This is a dream scenario for this team that’s trying to get this heat shield data,” Huot said on the live broadcast, according to Space.com’s live coverage. “I’m a little over the moon right now. Wow. Lucky number 13.”
Unlike the mass simulators SpaceX flew on Flight 12, these were production Starlink V3 satellites, meant to extend solar arrays and antennas and attempt to link with the broader constellation before reentering minutes later. Getting real hardware through a full deploy sequence on only the second flight of the V3 generation keeps Starship on schedule for the payload work NASA is counting on for future Artemis lunar landings.
What an awesome launch, really seems like everything went super well and it was all incredibly smooth.
SpaceX is awesome. Very interested to see how the market will respond on Monday pic.twitter.com/KSHmyBfV55
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 25, 2026
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 25, 2026
The flight also arrives at a moment when SpaceX needed a win. SPCX has traded below its $135 IPO price since mid-July, as Teslarati reported when the mission slipped to Friday, and short interest has climbed to roughly a third of the tradable float. A clean flight will not fix a balance sheet, but it does answer the one question SpaceX absolutely needed answered this week: whether the fixes made after the July 16 abort would hold up under real flight conditions. They did, on both stages, on the first try after the redesign.
SpaceX has not set a target date for Flight 14, though the company has said it wants to push toward an orbital attempt on the next mission. After Friday, that goal looks a lot more within reach.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.
The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:
Tesla Diner opened exactly 1 year ago. Inspiring that futuristic places like this exist.
It’s our highest usage Supercharger in the world: 21.2 GWh delivered in a year, 1.6k sessions/day.
Top 10 Superchargers by energy delivered: https://t.co/9YvJ8lw696 pic.twitter.com/koB3AUJHws
— Max (@MdeZegher) July 21, 2026
On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.
Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.
Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand
Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.
Tesla flexes incredible Robotaxi metric that skeptics will hate
SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before
