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NASA says SpaceX astronaut launch debut is still on track despite pandemic, engine failure
Despite a global pandemic and Falcon 9’s first in-flight engine failure in almost eight years, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine remains confident that SpaceX and the space agency are still on track for Crew Dragon’s astronaut launch debut.
For the third time in about a month, NASA has officially confirmed that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon ‘Demo-2’ mission – the company’s first astronaut launch ever – is still tracking towards a liftoff in May 2020. While there are several good reasons to expect further delays, Bridenstine acknowledged and discounted those pressing risks in an April 9th interview with Spaceflight Now, explicitly stating that “if [Demo-2 does] slip, it’ll probably be into June. It won’t be much.”
Excluding several minor to moderate technical risks that have popped up in recent weeks, this suggests that the NASA administrator is also confident that one of the biggest sources of imminent schedule uncertainty – closed-door paperwork completion and joint reviews – will actually be smooth sailing.
On March 2nd, 2019, Falcon 9 lifted off for the first time with SpaceX’s upgraded Crew Dragon spacecraft on its inaugural orbital launch. Known as Demo-1, the mission was ultimately a flawless success, with Dragon performing exactly as expected throughout launch, orbit-raising, space station rendezvous, docking, departure, deorbit, reentry, and splashdown operations.
As Crew Dragon’s only orbital launch and space station docking, it also serves as the best and only glimpse into how long the more nebulous review and paperwork aspects of launch preparation can take. For Demo-1, Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon rolled out to Launch Pad 39A and completed a successful static fire on January 24th, 2019. The mission was then scheduled for launch no earlier than (NET) February 23rd and wound up being pushed back another week to March 2nd. In almost every case, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch less than a week after a successful preflight static fire and do not attempt a static fire until a given rocket and payload are both ready to go.
If there were technical challenges that lead to that six-week delay between Crew Dragon’s Demo-1 static fire and launch, they have never been broached publicly, making it more likely that NASA spent at least a month simply finishing up final paperwork and reviews. Hopefully, that substantial gap was mainly due to the fact that it was the first time NASA and SpaceX had to work together to launch Crew Dragon.
For Crew Dragon’s second Falcon 9 launch, successfully completed on January 19th, 2020, the rocket wrapped up its static fire test on January 11th — a major improvement compared to Demo-1. That suborbital In-Flight Abort (IFA) test isn’t directly comparable to Crew Dragon’s orbital launch debut, but it does encourage at least a little confidence that Demo-1’s six-week review period was an outlier.
Thankfully, Bridenstine says that all major Crew Dragon issues have been effectively closed out or are very close to closure as of April 2020. A SpaceX contractor was recently forced to prematurely drop a Crew Dragon parachute test vehicle on March 25th, destroying the mockup capsule before it could complete two final tests. The NASA administrator now says that all parties have agreed to complete those tests with a different mockup and will use a C-130 cargo plane instead of a helicopter.
Bridenstine is also confident that the coronavirus pandemic – hampering almost all forms of industry in every afflicted country – will also have little to no impact on Crew Dragon’s astronaut launch debut schedule. NASA and SpaceX have put in place strict new rules and changed a number of procedures to further mitigate risk, helped by the fact that astronaut launches to the International Space Station (ISS) already operate with cleanliness and disease prevention as a major priority.
Finally, the NASA administrator also stated that SpaceX’s March 18th in-flight engine failure was “not going to impact our commercial crew launch,” confirming that SpaceX already has “a really good understanding of” what went wrong. Most likely, this means that Falcon 9 B1048’s stumble was directly related to the fact that the booster was flying for the fifth time – a first for a SpaceX rocket and orbital-class rocket boosters in general. Crew Dragon Demo-2 will be Falcon 9 booster B1058’s first launch.
Ultimately, while there are certainly good reasons to remain skeptical of NASA’s increasingly frequent assurances that Crew Dragon’s astronaut launch debut remains on track for late-May or June 2020, there are at least as many good reasons to stay confident.
Tesla Full Self-Driving is going to be getting a major parking upgrade. That’s according to CEO Elon Musk, who detailed a crafty new feature that will improve parking preferences, removing a layer of human input.
Musk said that upcoming releases of Full Self-Driving will “remember your parking preferences.” It will go to the location you prefer, based on where you’ve parked in the past, instead of taking the first spot available, which is where the suite is currently.
The CEO went on to explain that destination parking is “by far” the biggest reason for intervention during FSD operation. We’d have to believe this is true; many takeovers in my Model Y, which runs the latest version of FSD as it is in the Early Access Program, are due to parking because it chooses a spot I do not want to be in.
Many times, as soon as I enter a parking lot, I take over and park manually. I prefer to park away from the entrance of wherever I am, away from cars. Too many lessons learned over the years from people with free-swinging doors.
Upcoming releases of FSD will remember your parking preferences, so that the car goes to the right location at your home, office, school drop off, etc.
Destination parking is by far the biggest reason people now intervene with FSD. Critical safety interventions are extremely…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2026
We’d imagine these new updates will also solve things like parking orientation. Let’s say when you arrive at work, you always park in the third spot in the third row, and you prefer to back in. It seems as if Musk is implying that your car will now do this, learning from takeovers and aiming to eliminate the need to manually park whenever possible.
This is a major upgrade because parking is a major shortcoming of FSD currently. We’ve requested things like manual input of parking preferences, choosing to park far away, first available, or away from cars, for example.
This is a big reason Parking Preferences with Supervised FSD will be so valuable.
If possible, parking a little further away and being distant from people like this is worth it. https://t.co/1YqQLgnfTz pic.twitter.com/3Ac71KQiQ3
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 7, 2026
However, some have used the option of dropping a pin at the location you’d like to park at your destination. This has worked some of the time, but FSD will still choose to park in whatever it sees first.
Musk did not give a timetable for when the improvements would be released, but it is likely to come soon. Tesla has been releasing a new FSD version every few weeks, so we may not have to wait long to test it.
In a remarkable demonstration of how advanced vehicle technology can intersect with family care and rapid response, a Tesla Model Y equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised helped save a driver’s life during a severe heart attack. The incident, which occurred on November 15, 2025, highlights the life-saving potential of Tesla’s connected ecosystem.
John Brandt, 55, was driving his new 2026 Model Y Launch Edition on Interstate 20 from Atlanta toward Birmingham early that morning. He had recently received the FSD v14.1.3 update. Around 3:50 a.m., he began experiencing severe chest pain. Barely conscious and unable to safely control the vehicle, John managed to call his son, Jack Brandt.
FSD Supervised remained engaged, keeping the car steadily on course while John reached out for help.
As an authorized driver on his father’s Tesla account, Jack quickly sprang into action from his own phone. He located Tanner Medical Center in Carrollton, Georgia—a facility equipped for cardiac emergencies—via Google Maps and shared the destination directly through the Tesla app.
A Model Y driver started experiencing a medical emergency with chest pain mid-drive & called his son.
His son then remotely rerouted the car – which had FSD Supervised enabled – to the nearest hospital & let them know the vehicle was en route. ER staff were standing by on… pic.twitter.com/yi1tHISK9y
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) June 16, 2026
The Model Y responded immediately, rerouting: it took the next exit, turned around on I-20, navigated local roads, and pulled directly up to the emergency room entrance. Jack also alerted hospital staff that a heart attack patient was en route in a Tesla.
Doctors diagnosed John with a massive STEMI heart attack, requiring immediate intervention on three blocked arteries. They later confirmed that without the swift reroute, John likely would not have survived—whether he had pulled over to wait for an ambulance or attempted to continue driving. He received life-saving treatment and is now recovering fully.
Tesla shared the story on X, including an interview video featuring John and Jack reflecting on the event. John described the terrifying onset of symptoms, while Jack detailed the ease of remote intervention thanks to the app’s features. Only authorized users with vehicle access can change navigation destinations, adding a layer of security and family coordination.
This case underscores Tesla’s emphasis on connectivity and supervised autonomy. Features like remote navigation allow loved ones to assist in real-time emergencies, while FSD handles complex driving tasks reliably. Tesla notes that FSD Supervised requires active driver supervision and is not fully autonomous; this was a specific incident, not a general emergency protocol.
The story has resonated widely, with many praising Tesla’s technology for bridging gaps in critical moments. Jack previously shared details on social media in February 2026, and Tesla’s recent post has amplified its reach. As vehicles become smarter and more connected, such integrations could redefine personal safety on the road—turning cars into proactive partners in health crises.
For Tesla owners, the incident serves as a powerful reminder to add trusted family members as authorized drivers and explore FSD capabilities. While no technology replaces professional medical care, this blend of AI-assisted driving and seamless app control proved invaluable. John’s survival stands as a testament to innovation that prioritizes human life.
In a bold declaration on X, xAI CEO Elon Musk announced that its model will be capable of creating full movies by the end of the year. Quoting an xAI post showcasing a stunning AI-generated trailer for Homer’s The Odyssey, Musk simply stated: “Full movies by the end of the year.”
The quoted video, created entirely with the newly released Grok Imagine Video 1.5, demonstrates the rapid strides in AI video generation. Crafted by creator David Thompson, the 2-minute-plus trailer reimagines the ancient epic in the style of a 1970s classical Hollywood blockbuster. It features 36 meticulously consistent shots that form a cohesive narrative world.
Full movies by the end of this year https://t.co/kkBrngWA0X
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2026
Its realistic nature is truly mind-blowing, and it’s pretty amazing to think that it cool to think it could create an entire movie soon.
The trailer reimagines The Odyssey as a whole, and opens with a concept board outlining the vision: a retelling of the story using 35mm film aesthetics, classical framing, and other elements.
There are a handful of things that truly outline Grok’s capabilities:
- Scale and Physics: A bloodied Spartan helmet rests on a sandy battlefield amid smoke, marching armies, and flocks of birds. Horses gallop, chariots charge, and warriors clash with believable weight and motion.
- Emotional Depth and Dialogue: Close-ups capture intense expressions, as characters deliver lines like a warrior’s grief-stricken speech on a rocking ship.
- Cinematic Workflow: It’s hard to believe AI created this trailer, as editing and suspense are clearly detailed in this trailer
Now, why is this a big deal? AI has been a real threat to the way movies have been made over the past several decades. It’s no secret that the various AI platforms out there are becoming more capable, but Musk has said that he believes things would be “watchable” by the end of this year, and by the end of 2027, Grok would be able to create “really good” movies.
There are several issues that remain, most notably the ability to remain cohesive throughout the length of a film, energy requirements, copyright questions for training data, and artistic intent. Hollywood has created some of the greatest cinematic masterpieces over the past 100 years, but 2026 could be the year AI not only assists but also independently authors cinema.
Tesla Full Self-Driving is getting a major parking upgrade, Elon Musk says
Tesla Full Self-Driving and App Connectivity save life in medical emergency
