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SpaceX launches astronauts on flight-proven rocket and capsule in spaceflight first

SpaceX has aced its third astronaut launch and second operational Crew Dragon mission. (SpaceX)

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For the first time in history, SpaceX has sent astronauts into space inside a reused Crew Dragon space capsule with the help of a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket booster, kicking off a new era of flight-proven human spaceflight.

Aside from NASA’s Space Shuttle, whose orbiter and solid rocket boosters were routinely refurbished for three decades, no other crewed spacecraft or rocket in the history of spaceflight has launched astronauts more than once. SpaceX, a private company, aims to change that and become the second entity of any kind to reuse a crewed spacecraft or rocket. Even more significantly, a successful launch would make Crew Dragon the first space capsule – and Falcon 9 the first liquid rocket – of any kind to be reused on an astronaut launch.

After high winds and seas hundreds or thousands of miles downrange scrubbed a Thursday, April 22nd attempt, weather cooperated on Friday, permitting a flawless liftoff at 5:49 am EDT (09:49 UTC). Excluding nature, the mission has been a flawless technical success from well before launch to well after liftoff, continuing to demonstrate SpaceX’s extraordinary expertise and the refined nature of Falcon 9 and Dragon.

A flight-proven SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft carried four astronauts into orbit – and into sunlight – early on Friday. (Richard Angle)

Now safely in orbit, Crew Dragon “Endeavor” (capsule C206) and astronauts Akihiko Hoshide, Thomas Pesquet, Shane Kimbrough, and Megan McArthur have a ~23-hour free-flight ahead of them as their SpaceX spacecraft autonomously works to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS). That rendezvous will require five major burns of Draco maneuvering thrusters, the first of which was completed around 40 minutes after reaching orbit.

Barring surprises, Crew Dragon C206 is scheduled to dock with the ISS for the second time no earlier than (NET) 5:10 am EDT (09:10 UTC) on Saturday, April 24th. If successful, the Crew-2 Dragon will join SpaceX’s Crew-1 Dragon at a docking port just a handful of meters away, marking the first time that two Crew Dragons have been simultaneously docked at the ISS.

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A bit less than five months ago, the first upgraded Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft – an uncrewed version of Crew Dragon – joined the same Crew-1 Dragon in orbit and at the ISS, marking a significant first for SpaceX. As the company itself made clear at the time, that milestone was expected to kick off a virtually uninterrupted one to two years of Dragon operations in space, meaning that every additional Crew or Cargo Dragon launch would make for two Dragons in orbit. Crew-2 is the second of those guaranteed dual-Dragon occurrences since Crew-1 launched and docked with the ISS in November 2020.

Pending an equally successful rendezvous with the ISS, Friday’s flawless Crew-2 launch means that the Crew-1 Dragon and astronauts Shannon Walker, Soichi Noguchi, Mike Hopkins, and Victor remain on schedule to depart the ISS and return to Earth on April 28th after six months in orbit. SpaceX’s next Dragon mission – Cargo Dragon 2’s second flight, CRS-22 – is scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) June 3rd, 2021.

Falcon 9’s upper stage engine plume catches orbital dawn before sunlight reaches the Florida coast. (Richard Angle)

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla brings Model Y L ‘Launch Series’ to the U.S. at $61,990

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Tesla has officially launched the Model Y L in the United States and Puerto Rico for $61,990. It is the longer-wheelbase version of the Model Y, and has been available in China since last year.

Tesla brings the Model Y L to the U.S. just months after it phased out the only pure SUV in its lineup, the Model X. It is slightly longer than the Model Y configurations that are already available in the U.S., and features a three-row, six-seat setup with Captain’s Chairs being among the many features that make this a truly fantastic offering.

The Model Y L is priced competitively at $61,990, and features 325 miles of range and a 0-60 MPH in just 4.4 seconds.

Tesla also added a handful of new features that are not available in even the Premium Model Y. Here’s a full list of its features:

  • Heated/Ventilated Front Seats with Powered Thigh Cushion
  • Heated/Ventilated Captain’s Seats in Second Row with Powered Armrests & One-Touch Fold
  • Heated Third-Row Seats with Power Recline, One-Touch Fold & Child Seat Anchors
  • Improved Airflow, Increased Efficiency, More Range
  • 89 cubic feet of trunk space
  • Upgraded Acoustic Glass and Suspension to Minimize Road Noise
  • Adaptive Damping for a Smooth, Stable Ride
  • Staggered Tires for Enhanced Grip
  • Larger Tailgate for Better Rear Visibility and Bigger Windows Overall
  • 16″ First Row and 8″ Second Row Touchscreens
  • 19-Speaker Immersive Tesla Audio
  • 50W Wireless Charging Pads with Active Cooling and Charging Ports for All Other Seats
  • FSD Supervised and Integrated Grok AI

Tesla is also delivering these first units as a “Launch Series,” which comes with additional features, such as:

  • Door Trim Puddle Lights
  • Suede Dashboard Wing
  • Exterior and Interior Badging
  • Floor Mats
  • Sill Plates

The launch of the Model Y L in the U.S. marks a huge offering from Tesla to U.S. consumers. People have been calling for Tesla to bring a larger car to the U.S., and it needed it more than ever now that the Model X is gone.

It is a huge accomplishment for Tesla to get the Model Y L to the U.S., and after reporting strong deliveries today, it will be interesting to see how this car impacts future quarterly delivery reports.

Deliveries for the Model Y L “Launch Series” are slated for September or October of this year.

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Tesla just told us twice that Model Y L is coming to the U.S.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla just told us twice that the Model Y L is coming to the U.S., and two social media posts definitely just tipped the company’s hand, as if they wanted it to be any other way.

The two social media posts basically confirm that the slightly longer version of the Model Y will be heading to the United States soon, and many have speculated that the company could launch the vehicle as soon as this weekend.

The first post was directly from Tesla, and it showed an incredibly long Dachshund, with words above that said, “Looking forward to the long weekend.”

Anyone who knows Tesla knows the company loves to troll its fans and have fun, and this is a perfect example of that. While not a direct acknowledgement, Tesla is very involved on social media, especially CEO Elon Musk’s platform X, and the company is well aware of what is being discussed within the community.

With recent sightings of Model Y L test mules in California, peeks of the vehicle at Giga Texas, and a large call for the car to come to the U.S., Tesla is simply stoking conversation with this.

However, the company also made another move that was recognized on social media. Tesla has a large gallery that includes photos of its products so media and others can use them. This gallery applies to the U.S. market specifically, unless otherwise specified.

Tesla uploaded a Model Y L to the Gallery last night:

This seems to be another indication that the Model Y L is coming to the United States.

Musk said last year that the Model Y L could make its way to the United States late this year, but it was not something that was set in stone by Tesla. The company definitely needs to establish something in the SUV market that is larger than the Model Y, and the Model Y L might be the answer.

Even still, there are consumers out there who would love Tesla to develop something even larger, like a competitor to the Tahoe or Expedition. Tesla has not really given much of an indication that it will go in that direction.

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Tesla is using vehicle microphones to improve build quality: here’s how

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is using the vehicles’ internal microphones to improve build quality, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy revealed recently.

It’s no secret that Tesla is always finding ways to make its manufacturing operations more efficient, accurate, and valuable. Constantly trying to make its cars better, the company has never placed any restrictions on what it will do to improve everything from panel gaps to paint.

As Teslas have been driving autonomously on the property of the Gigafactory Texas plant for a while now, Moravy revealed to Herbert Ong in a new interview that cars rolling off production lines now autonomously navigate themselves through a bumps, squeaks, and rattles (BSR) portion of the line. This helps to identify any loose or improperly installed internal parts.

The cabin’s microphones, which are used for a variety of things in ownership, simultaneously monitor any noises inside the vehicle while it rolls through the BSR portion of the production line. Moravy actually revealed that Tesla is trying to build “Full Self-Hearing,” an AI system that will detect minor imperfections so they can be corrected before delivery.

It’s no secret that build quality is something that Tesla struggled with as it scaled to a fully massive production operation that manufactures over 1.6 million vehicles per year. However, in recent years, especially, there have not been as many complaints. Tesla has truly improved upon its build quality and paint quality over the past several years, especially in the U.S.

Tesla’s ‘megacasts’ are key to massive build quality improvements

While those improvements have been evident, there are still some complaints; no automaker is perfect with this. But this step will now ensure that every single car that rolls off the production lines at Gigafactory Texas will be void of any creaks, squeaks, or squeals when it leaves the factory.

This measure is one of the most unique we’ve seen in terms of a strategy to avoid build quality issues, but it is not exclusive to Tesla.

Ford uses acoustic analysis AI to find abnormalities in seat motors, climate control units, and other components. Suppliers and OEMs will also use microphone arrays or particle velocity sensors in end-of-line stations.

The full interview with Lars Moravy is available below:

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