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SpaceX grapples with failed Falcon 9 landing as Starlink launches slip

Late Falcon 9 booster B1059's failed Starlink-19 landing appears to have delayed all of SpaceX's near-term launch plans. (Richard Angle)

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The follow-on effects of SpaceX’s failed February 15th booster landing have begun to roll in, triggering at least one to two weeks of delays for several upcoming Starlink launches.

Already delayed a few days and leapfrogging an even more beleaguered Starlink-17 launch originally scheduled as far back as late January, SpaceX Falcon 9 booster B1059 lifted off for the sixth time without issue last Monday. The rocket seemed to perform fine, separating as planned around 150 seconds after launch and leaving Falcon 9’s expendable upper stage to continue on its way to orbit with a ~16-ton (~35,000 lb) batch of 60 Starlink satellites.

During B1059’s “reentry burn,” a period where Falcon boosters reignite three of their Merlin 1D engines to both slow down and create a sort of shield with the rocket exhaust that burn produces, something went wrong. Unusual sparks quite literally flew during and after the last few seconds of the burn and the bright flare produced by Falcon 9’s engines dissipated far slower than usual. Eventually, when B1059 was expected to fire up for one final landing burn, all that was visible from a live camera on SpaceX’s drone ship was two flashes of warm light.

It’s hard to say for sure without an official comment from SpaceX but those flashes may have been the drone ship camera capturing the mid-air breakup and fast-fire (or explosion) of the Falcon 9 booster some 20-30 seconds before a planned soft landing. The odd behavior observed during and after the reentry burn could have also indicated a partial loss of thrust in one or more of B1059’s three reentry engines.

Unofficial analysis of the telemetry data included in SpaceX’s public webcasts more or less aligns with that theory, suggesting that Falcon 9 B1059 reentry burn lasted a nominal duration but didn’t slow the rocket down as much as it should have. As a result, B1059 would have been traveling faster and at a lower altitude relative to a nominal Starlink mission, which is exactly what’s observed in a comparison between Starlink-18 and Starlink-19, virtually identical launches completed 11 days apart.

That same telemetry also suggests that Falcon 9 B1059 may have lost thrust before its first burn completed, possibly explaining why the timing of launch events on SpaceX’s webcast and an official SpaceX.com launch timeline began to drastically diverge after MECO. MECO itself occurred about five seconds behind that schedule, gradually ballooning to a difference of more than half a minute for Starlink satellite deployment an hour after launch.

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That observation increases the similarity between Starlink-5 and Starlink-19, both of which seemingly suffered a boost phase anomaly, off-nominal reentry burn performance, and booster loss well before landing. SpaceX’s Starlink-5 engine-out anomaly and failed booster landing grounded the company for about five weeks before it eventually returned to flight on April 22nd, 2020.

SpaceX appears to be working to mitigate the impact from Starlink-19 but a delay of at least 1-2 weeks is in order based on current schedules. Perhaps the most chronically delayed SpaceX launch of all time, Starlink-17 – originally scheduled to fly as early as “Jan. 29, Jan. 30, Jan. 31, Feb. 1, Feb. 2, Feb. 4, Feb. 5, Feb. 7, Feb. 17,” and Feb. 25 – is now on the calendar for no earlier than (NET) February 28th. Starlink-20, planned to launch in the last week of February, has been tentatively pushed to no earlier than March 7th. Both dates are assuredly subject – and likely – to change as SpaceX works to close out its Starlink-19 anomaly investigation and implement any necessary changes.

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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Elon Musk confirms Tesla FSD V14.2 will see widespread rollout

Musk shared the news in a post on social media platform X.

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Credit: Whole Mars Catalog/X

Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla will be implementing a wide rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) V14 with the system’s V14.2 update. Musk shared the news in a post on social media platform X. 

FSD V14.1.2 earns strong praise from testers

Musk’s comment came as a response to Tesla owner and longtime FSD tester AI DRIVR, who noted that it might be time to release Full Self-Driving to the fleet because V14.1.2 has already become very refined.

“95% of the indecisive lane changes and braking have been fixed in FSD 14.1.2. I haven’t touched my steering wheel in two days. I think it’s time, Tesla AI,” the longtime FSD tester wrote

AI DRIVR’s comment received quite a bit of support from fellow Tesla drivers, some of whom noted that the improvements that were implemented in V14.1.2 are substantial. Others also agreed that it’s time for FSD to see a wide release.

In his reply to the FSD tester, CEO Elon Musk noted that FSD V14’s wide release would happen with V14.2. “14.2 for widespread use,” Musk wrote in his reply

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Mad Max mode makes headlines

One of the key features that was introduced with FSD’s current iteration is Mad Max mode, which allows for higher speeds and more frequent lane changes than the previous “Hurry” mode. Videos and social media posts from FSD testers have shown the system deftly handling complex traffic, merging seamlessly, and maintaining an assertive but safe driving behavior with Mad Max mode engaged.

Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy recently noted in a post on X that Mad Max mode was built to handle congested daytime traffic, making it extremely useful for drivers who tend to find themselves in heavy roads during their daily commutes. With Musk now hinting that FSD V14.2 will go on wide release, it might only be a matter of time before the larger Tesla fleet gets to experience the notable improvements of FSD’s V14 update.

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Multiple Tesla Cybercab units spotted at Giga Texas crash test facility

The vehicles were covered, but one could easily recognize the Cybercab’s sleek lines and compact size.

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Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

It appears that Tesla is ramping up its activities surrounding the development and likely initial production of the Cybercab at Giga Texas. This was, at least, hinted at in a recent drone flyover of the massive electric vehicle production facility in Austin. 

Cybercab sightings fuel speculations

As observed by longtime Giga Texas drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer, Tesla had several covered Cybercab units outside the facility’s crash testing facility at the time of his recent flyover. The vehicles were covered, but one could easily recognize the Cybercab’s sleek lines and compact size. Tegtmeyer also observed during his flyover that production of the Model Y Standard seems to be hitting its pace.

The drone operator noted that the seven covered Cybercabs might be older prototypes being decommissioned or new units awaiting crash tests. Either scenario points to a ramp-up in Cybercab activity at Giga Texas, however. “In either case, this is another datapoint indicating production is getting closer to happening,” Tegtmeyer wrote on X, highlighting that the autonomous two-seaters were quite exciting to see.

Cybercab production targets

This latest sighting follows reports of renewed Cybercab appearances at both the Fremont Factory and Giga Texas. A test unit was recently spotted driving on Giga Texas’ South River Road. Another Cybercab, seen at Tesla’s Fremont Factory, appeared to be manually driven, suggesting that the vehicle’s current prototypes may still be produced with temporary steering controls.

The Tesla Cybercab is designed to be the company’s highest-volume vehicle, with CEO Elon Musk estimating that the autonomous two-seater should see an annual production rate of about 2 million units per year. To accomplish this, Tesla will be building the Cybercab using its “Unboxed” process, which should help the vehicle’s production line achieve outputs that are more akin to consumer electronics production lines.

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Teslas in the Boring Co. Vegas Loop are about to get a big change

Elon Musk has a big update for Teslas that operate within the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop.

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the boring company's vegas loop entrance
(Credit: Sam Morris, LVCVA/Las Vegas News Bureau)

Tesla vehicles operating in the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop are about to get a big change, CEO Elon Musk said.

In Las Vegas, the Boring Company operates the Vegas Loop, an underground tunnel system that uses Teslas to drop people off at various hotspots on the strip. It’s been active for a few years now and is expanding to other resorts, hotels, and destinations.

Currently, there are stops at three resorts: Westgate, the Encore, and Resorts World. However, there will eventually be “over 100 stations and span over 68 miles of tunnel,” the Vegas Loop website says.

The Loop utilizes Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to send passengers to their desired destinations. They are currently driven using the Full Self-Driving suite, but they also have safety drivers in each vehicle to ensure safety.

Tesla Cybertruck rides are crucial for Vegas Loop expansion to airport

Tesla and the Boring Company have been working to remove drivers from the vehicles used in the Loop, but now, it appears there is a set timeline to have them out, according to CEO Elon Musk:

Musk says the Boring Co. will no longer rely on safety drivers within the Teslas for operation. Instead, Tesla will look to remove the safety drivers from the cars within the next month or two, a similar timeline for what Musk believes the Robotaxi platform will look like in Austin.

In Texas, as Robotaxi continues to operate as it has since June, there are still safety monitors within the car who sit in the passenger’s seat. They are there to ensure a safe experience for riders.

When the route takes the vehicle on the highway, safety monitors move into the driver’s seat.

However, Tesla wants to be able to remove safety monitors from its vehicles in Austin by the end of the year, Musk has said recently.

In early September, Musk said that the safety monitors are “just there for the first few months to be extra safe.” He then added that there “should be no safety driver by end of year.”

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