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NASA plans to purchase another seat on Russian Soyuz after SpaceX
NASA and SpaceX are preparing to launch astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade. The collaboration is designed to give NASA more flexibility when it comes to launching crewed missions.
When the agency’s storied shuttle program came to an end in 2011, it left NASA dependent upon Russian rockets as its sole means of transporting astronauts to and from the space station. But the arrangement, which costs NASA roughly $85 million per seat, was always intended as a temporary solution.
NASA wanted to support a burgeoning commercial market, so it turned to private industry to build its next-generation space taxi. To that end, in 2014, the agency selected two companies — SpaceX and Boeing — to transport future crews. Each company would design and build its spacecraft capable of carrying humans. Six years later, SpaceX is set to become the first commercial company to transport astronauts, as its inaugural crewed flight prepares to take off on May 27.
The mission, known as Demo-2, is a flight test that will be used to certify the Dragon spacecraft for routine astronaut transport to and from the space station. During the mission, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will pilot the craft to the space station, where it will dock itself to the orbital outpost.
Their time on station is still to be determined, but the duo will make the most of their orbital stay. Not only will they evaluate how Dragon performs at different stages of the mission, but they will also assist fellow NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy with routine maintenance and station keeping.
Once Crew Dragon has been cleared to ferry people regularly, it will give NASA the flexibility to carry out missions of many different durations. To date, crews have spent anywhere from a couple of weeks in space, all the way up to a year. Their time on orbit is typically limited by the spacecraft that brought them, but by having multiple vehicles capable of flying to and from the space station, gives agencies around the world greater flexibility in mission planning.
Currently, NASA is in talks to purchase one more seat on a Russian Soyuz that would fly this fall. As it stands now, Chris Cassidy is the sole NASA astronaut on station, joined by two Russian colleagues. However, that leaves the station understaffed. Simply maintaining the orbital outpost is more than one crew member can handle. (A full space station crew is six.)
Behnken and Hurley are scheduled to launch on May 27 and will stay on station for as many as 110 days. That’s because their ride is only certified to stay in space that long. The harsh space environment wears on hardware, and the Crew Dragon’s solar arrays contain sensitive electronics that have a limited space life.
So what happens when Behnken and Hurley come home? At this point, the schedules are a little unclear, but Cassidy could remain on station by himself until the next crew can launch. While preparing for Demo-2, SpaceX is currently finishing construction on the capsule that will carry its first official crew. Four astronauts will fly on Crew Dragon sometime late this year or early next year, providing a fresh batch of astronauts.
In the meantime, NASA wants to make sure it will be able to have access to the space station, so it’s in talks with Roscosmos to buy one more seat. After that deal is made, NASA has a much different idea for the future of its partnership with the Russian space agency. During a series of briefings in advance of Demo-2, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine expressed how he hoped in the near future that NASA and Roscosmos could set up a trade agreement.
This would mean that U.S. astronauts would still fly on a Russian Soyuz and vice versa. Only instead of money exchanging hands, the two agencies would simply trade seats on each other’s vehicles. The first international partner to fly on a Crew Dragon will be Soichi Noguchi of the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), who will join NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Shannon Walker as part of the Crew-1 mission.
Tesla has extended its Bay Area ride-hailing service to include pickups and drop-offs at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The update, shared via the company’s official channels on July 21, allows users in the region to request rides directly to and from one of California’s busiest airports.
The expansion builds on Tesla’s secured limousine permit for SFO operations. Public records show the permit became effective March 20, 2026, and remains active through January 31, 2027. Tesla vehicles operating the service now display authorized limousine permits issued by the City and County of San Francisco.
Our Bay Area rideshare service now goes to SFO ✈️
— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) July 21, 2026
Tesla’s ride-hailing program in California relies on Model Y vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) technology. Human safety drivers remain present in compliance with state regulations, distinguishing the service from fully driverless operations.
The Bay Area geofence covers a broad area spanning north of San Francisco to south of San Jose, offering extensive connectivity across the region.
UPDATE: Elon Musk reveals why Tesla didn’t say ‘Robotaxi’ upon California launch
This SFO addition follows earlier progress at other Bay Area airports. Tesla previously expanded service to San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) in late 2025. The company had engaged with SFO, SJC, and Oakland International Airport officials as early as September 2025 to secure necessary approvals for passenger transport.
The service provides a new option for travelers seeking electric, app-based transportation integrated with Tesla’s ecosystem. Rides are booked through Tesla’s dedicated ride-hailing application, which handles matching, routing, and payments. Pricing follows standard ride-hailing models, with potential adjustments based on distance, time, and demand.
Tesla’s California ride-hailing program launched in July 2025 with an initial invite-only rollout in the Bay Area. It started alongside operations in Austin, Texas, marking the company’s second major U.S. market.
The Bay Area remains a primary focus in California, with service centered on high-demand corridors connecting residential, commercial, and now major transportation hubs. This latest airport integration represents a practical step in Tesla’s broader mobility ambitions within the state.
Tesla has officially revealed its 2026 Summer Update, which comes with a variety of crazy new features, including Navigation fixes that owners have been wanting for months.
Tesla routinely releases a larger update with the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter updates, where it ships a variety of new features, bug fixes, and other additions to customer cars.
The 2026 Spring Update featured things like “Hey Grok” voice assistance, a redesigned self-driving app, Unreal Engine visual upgrades, and more.
🚨 TESLA’S SUMMER UPDATE FOR 2026 IS HERE:
Featuring:
✅ Self-Driving Stats in Mobile App
✅ Caraoke with Scoring
✅ Automatic Navigation
✅ Preferred Routes
✅ Set Arrival Energy from Mobile App
✅ Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App
✅ Rear Display Lock
✅ Other Improvements
🔌… https://t.co/C9IW3egEhH— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 21, 2026
Tesla’s Summer Release has about ten new features; we’ll show you each and detail them below:
New Grok Voice Commands
“Grok can now make phone calls, search and play music, adjust climate, open the glovebox, and answer questions about your Tesla.”
Self-Driving Stats in Mobile App
“View and share self-driving stats from the mobile app.”
Caraoke With Scoring
“Caraoke now scores your singing while in Park. High scores are saved to your Tesla profile.”
Automatic Navigation
“Automatic Navigation now adapts to your routine.
In addition to Home, Work, and upcoming calendar events, your vehicle can now suggest and route to places you visit regularly – like a school drop-off on the way to work, or the gym on the way home.”
Preferred Routes
“For a more personalized experience, navigation now prioritizes routes that you’ve taken before”
Set Arrival Energy from Mobile App
“Set your desired Arrival Energy from your phone.”
Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App
“Skip the USB drive and upload a custom wrap of your car from the mobile app. Instructions for creating a custom wrap here: https://github.com/teslamotors/custom-wraps.”
Rear Display Lock
“Kids can watch content on the rear screen, but only the front row can control it through the rear screen app.”
Other Improvements
- Find Superchargers by name when searching for a destination
- Add Apple Music songs to queue from search and artist page
- Set your preferred zoom level for the Self-Driving visualization
- Intro animations for new Model 3 and Y
Tesla’s reason for Starlink integration on Cybercab might surprise you, as the company’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, finally shed some light on the reason they are putting a satellite internet terminal on its ride-hailing-geared vehicle.
On Monday, Tesla officially confirmed that it would integrate Starlink V5 terminals into Cybercab vehicles, something many Tesla fans had figured the company would do, as the vehicle is primarily geared toward giving rides without any passenger intervention.
Starlink V5 directly integrated in Cybercab pic.twitter.com/FxzTtzjB6I
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 20, 2026
The ability to access the internet would allow riders to work or play in the car with their devices. It seemed like a more-than-reasonable feature to add to the Cybercab, which made its way off the production lines for the first time earlier this year.
Tesla reveals first vehicle model to receive Starlink integration
However, the move is not for the rider, as Elluswamy confirmed on Monday night. Instead, it’s actually for Tesla to be able to have a constant connection to the cars in the Robotaxi fleet so it can troubleshoot issues, contact riders, or resolve other issues.
Elluswamy said:
“It is still not required for safe operation of the vehicle. Connectivity is primarily meant for navigation, customer service and, in general, fleet management.”
It is still not required for safe operation of the vehicle. Connectivity is primarily meant for navigation, customer service and, in general, fleet management.
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) July 20, 2026
Many initially assumed the option of constant connectivity would be enabled on the Cybercab for passenger entertainment or work. With the Cybercab, passengers won’t be doing anything but enjoying the ride, so it seemed more than logical that they would be hanging out with Starlink internet access as an amenity.
However, Tesla’s primary concern with Robotaxi is safety, and nailing these first unsupervised rides is a crucial step to setting a good narrative on how effective driverless transportation can be.
Being able to get in touch with passengers or a vehicle if something is wrong is a crucial part of the overall experience, and preventative measures are being taken by Tesla to ensure a smooth process, even in the worst-case.
Tesla expands ridesharing service in California to new hotspot
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
