News
SpaceX’s third Falcon 9 launch in 31 hours aborted by “tiny helium leak”
SpaceX’s third Falcon 9 launch in a little over 31 hours was called off seconds before liftoff after the rocket’s onboard computer detected what Elon Musk says was a “tiny helium leak.”
SpaceX takes “no risks with customer satellites,” per the CEO, so the company has stood down from its October 6th launch attempt to inspect the rocket, analyze data gathered from tonight’s attempt, and ensure everything is in order. Barring surprises, SpaceX will attempt to launch Intelsat’s Galaxy-33 and Galaxy-34 geostationary communications satellites at the next earliest opportunity, a 69-minute window that opens at 7:06 pm EDT (23:06 UTC) on Friday, October 7th.
The abort ends an opportunity SpaceX had to launch three Falcon rockets faster than ever before, but the company was still able to crush a different (internal) record with two Falcon 9 launches in seven hours on October 5th. Thanks to its relentless pursuit of ever-higher launch cadences, SpaceX will likely have many opportunities to break its record of three launches in ~36 hours over the next several months.
Intelsat’s Galaxy-33/Galaxy-34 (G33/G34) mission would have been SpaceX’s third Falcon 9 launch in 31 hours and 20 minutes following the successful October 5th launches of Crew-5 (carrying four astronauts) at 12:00 pm EDT and Starlink 4-29 (deploying 52 Starlink satellites) at 7:10 pm EDT. The hat-trick record for a non-SpaceX vehicle appears to have been previously held by the Soviet R-7 rocket family, which completed three launches in 40 hours in March 1978.
SpaceX broke that record in June 2022 when it launched Starlink 4-19, SARah-1, and Globalstar FM15 a little over 36 hours apart. It will now have to wait for another opportunity to break its own record, though it likely won’t be too long as the company continues to target 60 launches in 2022 and “up to” 100 launches in 2023.
According to a SpaceX launch controller, Falcon 9’s first ill-fated Galaxy-33/Galaxy-34 launch attempt was aborted automatically when the rocket’s flight computer “identified higher than expected cryo helium decay.” SpaceX’s Falcon rockets burn a combination of cryogenic liquid oxygen and chilled rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1), but they carry composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) filled with high-pressure helium gas to keep their propellant tanks pressurized as they’re drained. If SpaceX’s much larger Starship rocket shares some similarities, the company may also use a system of “helium injection” [PDF] inside Falcon 9 to keep its cryogenic oxygen and chilled kerosene as cold as possible. Musk later simplified the cause of the abort to a “tiny helium leak,” but the location of the leak (inside or outside of the rocket) was not specified.
Two hours before that, the Crew Dragon spacecraft SpaceX launched the day prior successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS), delivering its ‘payload’ of four professional astronauts to the orbital outpost. One of those passengers is Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina, marking the first time an American spacecraft has ferried a Russian to the ISS in almost 20 years. That milestone has unfortunately been muddied and overshadowed by the country’s illegal, genocidal, and increasingly suicidal invasion of Ukraine.
Crew-5 is the seventh Crew Dragon to successfully transport astronauts to the ISS and SpaceX’s eighth crewed launch overall since May 2020. Flying for the second time, Crew Dragon capsule C210 docked on its first try after a smooth 29-hour rendezvous. About a week from now, another crew of four astronauts will board a different Crew Dragon spacecraft and return to Earth, handing off the ISS to Crew-5 and ending SpaceX and NASA’s Crew-4 mission.
SpaceX is scheduled to launch at least one more batch of astronauts for NASA in March or April 2023, meaning that the company is expected to singlehandedly ensure NASA access to the ISS for almost three full years. At the start of the Commercial Crew Program and for most of its development, NASA intended for partners SpaceX and Boeing to alternate, but Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is years behind schedule.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Boring Company opens Vegas Loop’s newest station
The Fontainebleau is the latest resort on the Las Vegas Strip to embrace the tunneling startup’s underground transportation system.
Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, The Boring Company, has welcomed its newest Vegas Loop station at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
The Fontainebleau is the latest resort on the Las Vegas Strip to embrace the tunneling startup’s underground transportation system.
Fontainebleau Loop station
The new Vegas Loop station is located on level V-1 of the Fontainebleau’s south valet area, as noted in a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. According to the resort, guests will be able to travel free of charge to the stations serving the Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as to Loop stations in Encore and Westgate.
The Fontainebleau station connects to the Riviera Station, which is located in the northwest parking lot of the convention center’s West Hall. From there, passengers will be able to access the greater Vegas Loop.
Vegas Loop expansion
In December, The Boring Company began offering Vegas Loop rides to and from Harry Reid International Airport. Those trips include a limited above-ground segment, following approval from the Nevada Transportation Authority to allow surface street travel tied to Loop operations.
Under the approval, airport rides are limited to no more than four miles of surface street travel, and each trip must include a tunnel segment. The Vegas Loop currently includes more than 10 miles of tunnels. From this number, about four miles of tunnels are operational.
The Boring Company President Steve Davis previously told the Review-Journal that the University Center Loop segment, which is currently under construction, is expected to open in the first quarter of 2026. That extension would allow Loop vehicles to travel beneath Paradise Road between the convention center and the airport, with a planned station located just north of Tropicana Avenue.
News
Tesla leases new 108k-sq ft R&D facility near Fremont Factory
The lease adds to Tesla’s presence near its primary California manufacturing hub as the company continues investing in autonomy and artificial intelligence.
Tesla has expanded its footprint near its Fremont Factory by leasing a 108,000-square-foot R&D facility in the East Bay.
The lease adds to Tesla’s presence near its primary California manufacturing hub as the company continues investing in autonomy and artificial intelligence.
A new Fremont lease
Tesla will occupy the entire building at 45401 Research Ave. in Fremont, as per real estate services firm Colliers. The transaction stands as the second-largest R&D lease of the fourth quarter, trailing only a roughly 115,000-square-foot transaction by Figure AI in San Jose.
As noted in a Silicon Valley Business Journal report, Tesla’s new Fremont lease was completed with landlord Lincoln Property Co., which owns the facility. Colliers stated that Tesla’s Fremont expansion reflects continued demand from established technology companies that are seeking space for engineering, testing, and specialized manufacturing.
Tesla has not disclosed which of its business units will be occupying the building, though Colliers has described the property as suitable for office and R&D functions. Tesla has not issued a comment about its new Fremont lease as of writing.
AI investments
Silicon Valley remains a key region for automakers as vehicles increasingly rely on software, artificial intelligence, and advanced electronics. Erin Keating, senior director of economics and industry insights at Cox Automotive, has stated that Tesla is among the most aggressive auto companies when it comes to software-driven vehicle development.
Other automakers have also expanded their presence in the area. Rivian operates an autonomy and core technology hub in Palo Alto, while GM maintains an AI center of excellence in Mountain View. Toyota is also relocating its software and autonomy unit to a newly upgraded property in Santa Clara.
Despite these expansions, Colliers has noted that Silicon Valley posted nearly 444,000 square feet of net occupancy losses in Q4 2025, pushing overall vacancy to 11.2%.
In Pennsylvania, we got between 10 and 12 inches of snow over the weekend as a nasty Winter storm ripped through a large portion of the country, bringing snow to some areas and nasty ice storms to others.
I have had a Model Y Performance for the week courtesy of Tesla, which got the car to me last Monday. Today was my last full day with it before I take it back to my local showroom, and with all the accumulation on it, I decided to run a cool little experiment: How long would it take for Tesla’s Defrost feature to melt 8 inches of snow?
Tesla’s Defrost feature is one of the best and most underrated that the car has in its arsenal. While every car out there has a defrost setting, Tesla’s can be activated through the Smartphone App and is one of the better-performing systems in my opinion.
It has come in handy a lot through the Fall and Winter, helping clear up my windshield more efficiently while also clearing up more of the front glass than other cars I’ve owned.
The test was simple: don’t touch any of the ice or snow with my ice scraper, and let the car do all the work, no matter how long it took. Of course, it would be quicker to just clear the ice off manually, but I really wanted to see how long it would take.
Tesla Model Y heat pump takes on Model S resistive heating in defrosting showdown
Observations
I started this test at around 10:30 a.m. It was still pretty cloudy and cold out, and I knew the latter portion of the test would get some help from the Sun as it was expected to come out around noon, maybe a little bit after.
I cranked it up and set my iPhone up on a tripod, and activated the Time Lapse feature in the Camera settings.
The rest of the test was sitting and waiting.
It didn’t take long to see some difference. In fact, by the 20-minute mark, there was some notable melting of snow and ice along the sides of the windshield near the A Pillar.
However, this test was not one that was “efficient” in any manner; it took about three hours and 40 minutes to get the snow to a point where I would feel comfortable driving out in public. In no way would I do this normally; I simply wanted to see how it would do with a massive accumulation of snow.
It did well, but in the future, I’ll stick to clearing it off manually and using the Defrost setting for clearing up some ice before the gym in the morning.
Check out the video of the test below:
❄️ How long will it take for the Tesla Model Y Performance to defrost and melt ONE FOOT of snow after a blizzard?
Let’s find out: pic.twitter.com/Zmfeveap1x
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 26, 2026
Elon Musk’s Boring Company opens Vegas Loop’s newest station
Tesla leases new 108k-sq ft R&D facility near Fremont Factory
