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Rocket Lab set for Electron’s 9th launch as work continues on reusability, new US launch pad
Over the last several weeks, US spaceflight company Rocket Lab has posted major updates about its ongoing work on LC-2 – the company’s second orbital launch complex – and offered a number of glimpses behind the scenes of preparations for Electron’s 9th orbital launch attempt.
That attempt will be streamed by Rocket Lab and could occur as early as October 17th, delayed from the 15th due to unfavorable weather conditions.
Prior to announcing booster recovery efforts – much like SpaceX and the Falcon 9 – the company broke ground on their first US-based launch facility, to be located at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia. Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) will join the company’s lone orbital Launch Complex 1 (LC-1) – New Zealand’s first and only orbital launch site – and is meant to enable Rocket Lab to eventually reach a biweekly-to-weekly launch cadence with Electron.
In a statement posted to the company’s social media accounts, Rocket Lab proudly announced that it is working alongside Virginia Space teams to construct LC-2 and its associated Integration and Control Facilities. The future pad recently reached a major milestone as workers installed LC-2’s 66-ton Electron launch platform, to be followed soon after by the installation of the mount’s 44 foot tall (13.4m) strongback, itself weighing 7.6 tons. This marks the beginning of the end of construction efforts at the complex and Rocket Lab is still working towards completion sometime in December 2019. Inaugural pad testing and shakedown operations are expected to begin immediately after, followed by LC-2’s first Electron launch sometime in early 2020.
The US launch facilities will closely resemble Rocket Lab’s New Zealand pad both in appearance and operation: Electron will be rolled horizontally to the launch mount to be lifted vertical after installation on the strongback. A high-pressure water deluge system will protect the mount from Electron and deaden some of the acoustic energy created by the booster.
Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand 2017 (Rocket Lab)
Although Rocket Lab is an American company headquartered in Huntington, CA, it has never launched from the United States. The addition of a second launch complex is expected to drastically increase Electron’s launch cadence, while also lowering the burden placed on companies who would otherwise have to transport spacecraft internationally. In a statement, David Pierce – director of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Wallop Flight Facility – said that “the company’s Electron rocket helps fill a key national need for providing more – and more frequent – launch opportunities for small satellites, and NASA’s Launch Range at GSFC/Wallops, which has enabled commercial space operations for decades, is poised and ready to support these missions.”
Rocket Lab previously worked with NASA to support the Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa)-19 mission in December of 2018. So far, Rocket Lab has supported many small companies by launching a total of 39 satellites to orbit. A launch facility located in the US will allow the company to expand its customer base and open up opportunities for more US government launch contracts.
The new US-based launch facility will allow Rocket Lab to expand its employee roster by hiring up to 30 new team members in positions supportive of launch operations including engineering, launch safety, and administration. Launch Complex 2 has been certified to fly Electron up to 12 times a year – specifically supporting government contracts – while Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand has been certified for up to 120 launches per year.
Electron’s 9th launch – nicknamed “As the Crow Flies” – is scheduled for liftoff no earlier than (NET) October 15th and will be a dedicated commercial mission for startup Astro Digital. It will serve as an orbital launch attempt for Astro’s “Corvus” satellite bus and will test the world’s most powerful small electric propulsion system. In a recent blog post, Rocket Lab Senior Vice President of Global Launch Services Lars Hoffman stated that “the mission is a perfect example of the tailored, responsive and precise launch service sought by an increasing number of small satellite operators.”
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On October 4th, the 9th flight-qualified Electron rocket completed a routine wet dress rehearsal (WDR) – loading the vehicle with propellant and counting down to launch (sans ignition) – at LC-1. A few days later, Astro Digital’s spacecraft was integrated with a Curie-powered kick stage and encapsulated inside Electron’s carbon fiber payload fairing.
As of now, everything is smoothly on track for Electron’s ninth launch. Of note, the Flight 9 Electron booster is outfitted with a new telemetry system designed to gather a huge amount of data about the reentry environment the booster experiences, data that will be used to reinforce the booster and prepare for its first recovery attempts.
Due to the volume of data that will be produced, Electron will quite literally eject small data capsules that will then be recovered by boat in the Pacific Ocean. If all goes well and the data returned looks promising, Rocket Lab could attempt its first Electron recoveries – nominally grabbing the parasailing booster mid-air with a helicopter – at some point in early 2020.
Check out Teslarati’s newsletters for prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket launch and recovery processes.
Tesla has launched a new Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y vehicles in the United States, meaning you can now power devices like laptops or light strings with your vehicle’s battery.
It appears the capability will be available for any Model Y Premium trim, including those that were purchased prior to the Adapter being launched. It will also only impact Juniper Model Y vehicles, so the first-gen owners will unfortunately not have access to this capability.
If your Model Y was purchased before Tesla renamed the trim levels to “Premium” and “Standard,” it does not seem to be compatible. My Model Y is technically a Premium build, as it is the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive. However, Tesla says it is not compatible with my vehicle.
🚨 Tesla has launched the Outlet Adapter for Model Y Premium in the U.S., enabling V2L capability for all Premium trims (that’s what it appears to be as it is available for purchase with all Premium trims)
It’s available for $80. 2.4kW max power and rated for 120v, 20A pic.twitter.com/lDxlVIk5s8
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 14, 2026
For $80, you can now utilize your car as a portable charger for small appliances or devices. This is perfect for things like tailgates, concerts, or camping, as you can now plug in devices that you might use. Those string lights for camping? That laptop for the other games that are on at the tailgate?
They’ll both utilize energy from your Tesla’s battery to be powered. This is the first time Tesla has expanded the capability to vehicles outside of the Model Y Performance and Cybertruck. However, this feature has been highly requested by owners for an extended period of time.
Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter in China last year:
Tesla China rolls out Model Y L V2L adapter, and it’s free for early owners
You will need the Mobile Connector to operate the Outlet Adapter: the Outlet Adapter will plug into the main housing of the Mobile Connector, where the appropriate adapter to charge your vehicle will plug in.
It is rated for 120 volts and 20 amps, and has a max power rating of 2.4kW.
You can buy it here from Tesla for $80.
Tesla is nearing its long-awaited unveiling of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, a new report from The Information claims, as the company has said several times this year that the event would take place “soon.”
Now, it appears there is movement on Tesla’s end regarding when it will happen.
The report says that Tesla will unveil the Roadster as soon as this month with a SpaceX version that will utilize cold-gas thrusters to help the vehicle float for a short period of time. This is something CEO Elon Musk has talked about with the Roadster for years.
🚨 The Information is reporting this morning that Tesla is ready to unveil the “flying” Roadster as soon as this month
It’s almost here, folks. pic.twitter.com/IdL4atsucQ
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 14, 2026
Additionally, due to the delays, Tesla explored “a variety of designs” for the Roadster, potentially planning to abandon the design it showed off for the first time in 2017 and adopting an entirely new aesthetic.
According to The Information, Tesla considered utilizing a repurposed Model S Plaid and even wanted to upgrade the look to something like a Lamborghini Countach.
We’ve heard all of these things before, including teases about the date and how “soon” the Roadster will finally be ready to be shown off to the world (for the second time). Musk said that the event would occur in April, then May, then Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen continued to say it would be coming “soon.”
We do expect to see the Roadster by the end of the year, and now with this new report swirling, it appears it could be sooner rather than later.
The wait has been incredibly long, but there is likely a good reason for it. Tesla’s desire to make the Roadster the craziest vehicle on the road was non-negotiable, and it likely took a lot of time and resources to develop and perfect into something that was safe and suitable for a vehicle like this.
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Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss
Nevada granted Tesla’s robotaxi permit, but capped the fleet at just ten vehicles for now.
Tesla has received its robotaxi permit in Nevada, more than two months after regulators closed the public comment period on the company’s application. News of the approval surfaced Wednesday night when Tesla investor and longtime company watcher Sawyer Merritt posted a copy of the interim order, and the Nevada Transportation Authority’s own carrier registry now lists the permit, AVNC Permit 002 under Docket 26-05015, as active for Tesla Robotaxi, LLC.
Tesla asked Nevada in June for authority to run up to 5,000 vehicles in Clark County within a year, however the permit the NTA issued is initially capping Tesla at ten fully autonomous vehicles and confines them to a defined geofence along the Las Vegas Strip corridor. Any expansion of that operating area, or any increase to the fleet size, requires the NTA’s approval first.
Tesla has received its Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit in Nevada.
The Nevada Transportation Authority says that operations are limited to a maximum fleet of 10 fully autonomous vehicles and shall be conducted only within the Authority-approved Operational Design… https://t.co/Cxfd6GIfDk pic.twitter.com/iOO6wSZkHF
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 13, 2026
The order also sets rules that look more restrictive than what Tesla runs in Austin. Rides are barred on roads with posted speed limits above 45 miles per hour, pickups are off limits within a quarter mile of Harry Reid International Airport without separate authorization, and every vehicle has to carry visible “Robotaxi” markings while notifying riders before each trip that no one is driving. The order also requires “appropriate human supervision”, language that suggests Nevada isn’t ready to let Tesla offer the rides without a safety monitor that it has run in parts of Austin since January. As with standard protocol with robotaxi services, Tesla must report any accident, system failure, or vehicle that becomes stranded on a Nevada road within five business days.
Tesla is entering a market Nevada already knows well. Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi company, has run its own autonomous vehicle permit in the state since last year, building up to roughly 100 vehicles and 350,000 rides along the Strip. That history likely explains why the NTA started Tesla at ten cars rather than the fleet size the company asked for. The agency has a template for scaling a permit up once a company proves out its safety record.
Tesla’s Nevada application first surfaced in June, when the company filed for the permit alongside plans for a maintenance hub in southwest Las Vegas. The company has said it won’t meaningfully scale its robotaxi fleet anywhere until FSD v15 ships, expected in late 2026 or early 2027, which makes the ten vehicle cap less of a constraint today than it might look on paper. For now, Tesla has the legal right to start Nevada rides. Whether it starts before FSD v15 arrives is a separate question the permit doesn’t answer.
Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.
Tesla Roadster unveiling nears, and it will fly: The Information
