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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.”
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 is beginning to roll out Full Self-Driving Supervised v14.3.9 with a new active safety layer that can take control even when the driver is operating the car manually.
Tesla AI said the software can activate FSD on the driver’s behalf when an imminent collision is detected and Automatic Emergency Braking may not be enough. It may also engage if the system detects heavy distraction or an accidental FSD disengagement.
FSD Supervised v14.3.9 starting to roll out shortly
This release includes a new active safety feature set: FSD Supervised can now activate on your behalf when an imminent collision is detected and Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) may not be enough.
It may also engage if we…
— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) September 4, 2026
The capability is essentially Automatic Collision Evasion. However, unlike conventional AEB, which mainly applies the brakes in a straight line, this feature can use steering, braking, and acceleration together if the car calculates that stopping alone will not prevent impact and a safer path exists. The system may change lanes or move toward a shoulder when conditions allow, then continue driving after the immediate threat is handled rather than simply coming to a stop.
The intervention is meant as a last-resort safety net, not a replacement for attentive driving.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.7 early review: FSD saved me from an accident
Tesla’s own description still frames FSD as supervised assistance. Secondary reports on internal release notes say the feature can fire while the car is being driven manually if cabin-camera monitoring suggests the driver is not sufficiently attentive, such as reaching toward the back seat, or if FSD appears to have been turned off unintentionally.
After the emergency maneuver, the car is expected to alert the driver and request a return to manual control.
The safety case is straightforward. Many collisions happen in the last second because a driver is looking away, fumbles a control, or faces an obstacle that braking cannot fully solve. A system that can both recognize that AEB is insufficient and execute a coordinated evasive path can reduce those remaining high-severity events.
Re-engaging after accidental disengagement also addresses a practical failure mode: a small steering nudge that drops FSD at the worst moment. The advantage is a background safety net that uses the same vision stack already running in v14, instead of leaving the car solely to emergency braking once the driver is no longer in command.
The feature still depends on FSD being enabled and, according to reports, an active FSD purchase or subscription. It does not make the vehicle unsupervised. Drivers remain responsible, and Tesla has not published how often the system is expected to intervene or how it will handle false positives.
If the rollout is conservative and the false-alarm rate stays low, the update is a meaningful step: FSD is no longer only a feature the driver turns on. In the rare moments when disaster is already forming, it can step in.
Tesla launched the all-electric, steering wheel-less, and pedal-less Cybercab last night at a quiet and small event in downtown Austin, Texas.
The launch, which marked the beginning of unsupervised ride-hailing for Tesla’s Robotaxi platform with Cybercab, has already caught the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) who has more questions.
NHTSA opened an Audit Query (AQ) into the Cybercab’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) certification that Tesla gave the vehicle. Manufacturers self-certify vehicles much of the time to avoid excessive regulatory delays.
Tesla Cybercab interior, note the lack of steering wheel and pedals. (Credit: @niccruzpatane/X< /a>)
However, the agency needs more information; it said in a summary:
“On September 3, 2026, Tesla began commercial deployment with a small number of its Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas. Tesla notified the Agency that it certified those Cybercab vehicles as compliant with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Tesla also notified the Agency that it plans to gradually expand commercial deployment of the Cybercab to include additional vehicles and locations.”
It also went on to state that the Cybercab lacks traditional automotive controls, which is a groundbreaking move. The process is entirely new to the NHTSA, which gives the agency some leverage to put Tesla’s launch under a microscope:
“The vehicles lack permanently attached, conventional manual controls, such as a brake pedal, gas pedal, steering wheel, and mirrors. NHTSA is opening this AQ to examine the process and technical data on which Tesla relied when certifying the Cybercab and related issues. Among other things, NHTSA will consider the extent to which Tesla’s certification depended on determinations that certain FMVSS are inapplicable to the Cybercab.”
Tesla has added 45 Cybercab units to its fleet of Robotaxi-enabled cars in Austin, according to public documents the company submitted to the State of Texas over the past week. Enabling this level of self-driving is something Tesla has worked toward for many years, and now that it is finally here, it seems more than reasonable that regulatory agencies will have some questions.
Many outlets might try to frame this as a negative, but it is truly an agency looking to gain more information about groundbreaking tech that Tesla has been developing for years.
In an effort to keep riders, pedestrians, and property safe, any and all data accumulated from these first days, weeks, and months of rides will likely be shared with the NHTSA to enable broader rollout strategies across the United States and more in the future.
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Tesla Cybercab is coming to Asia this month as US service officially begins
Tesla Asia says Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai this month.
Tesla’s Cybercab is heading to Asia. The official Tesla Asia account posted on X Thursday, inviting Cybercab fans to “Come experience the future of autonomy in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai.” The post went up within hours of Tesla’s own Cybercab milestone in Texas, where the company said Thursday it had begun offering rides in across Austin.
Exact dates and venues for the Asia tour haven’t been released yet, though Tesla Hong Kong replied to the announcement with “Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong soon,” while Tesla Japan’s response pointed fans to a sign up page for updates. Neither post mentions test rides or a service area, and nothing so far suggests Tesla is launching Robotaxi operations in any of the four cities. Based on how Tesla has run past Cybercab tours, in Europe in late 2024 and at US shopping centers that same December, the Asia stops are almost certainly static displays at Tesla stores or public venues as a means to stimulate buzz for its future driverless ride-hailing service in the big cities.
Cybercab will be on display in Asia this month!
Come experience the future of autonomy in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai. pic.twitter.com/wGmmEastfX— Tesla Asia (@Tesla_Asia) September 4, 2026
The timing lines up with Tesla’s only prior Cybercab appearance in the region, a booth at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai last November, which Teslarati covered at the time. At that event, Tesla’s regional general manager for Shanghai framed the car as evidence of the company’s broader mission, a message Tesla has since formalized in its Master Plan Part IV, which states that “autonomous vehicles have the capacity to dramatically improve the affordability, availability and safety of transportation while reducing pollution, particularly in our increasingly dense global cities.” The same document is where Tesla lays out its “sustainable abundance” framing for Cybercab and Optimus alike, describing the two as the hardware behind an AI driven push to cut the cost of transportation and labor at scale.
Whether Cybercab actually operates as a robotaxi anywhere in Asia remains an open question, considering China has already pushed an autonomous ride-hailing market that’s run on homegrown players like Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony AI. For now, the four city tour reads as a marketing push timed to Austin’s momentum.
Tesla Full Self-Driving will now overtake manual driving to avoid disaster
Tesla Cybercab launch catches NHTSA’s attention who wants to know more
