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SpaceX’s second upgraded Dragon set to launch new solar arrays to the ISS
An all-new Falcon 9 rocket and upgraded Cargo Dragon spacecraft have rolled out to Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A (Pad 39A) ahead of SpaceX’s second CRS2 space station resupply launch for NASA.
Scheduled to lift off no earlier than (NET) 1:29 pm EDT (17:29 UTC) on Thursday, June 3rd, the mission – known as CRS-22 – will be the first of up to four Falcon 9 launches scheduled this month. Cargo Dragon 2 debuted in December 2020 as part of CRS-21 and returned to Earth five weeks later, marking SpaceX’s third near-flawless inaugural launch of a new spacecraft. Heavily based on Crew Dragon, which first flew in March 2019, Cargo Dragon 2 is nevertheless significantly modified to optimize it for its exclusively cargo-oriented role.
That includes the removal of internal components, windows, and – most notably – Crew Dragon’s system of SuperDraco abort thrusters to make more room and free up more mass for non-astronaut cargo.
Atop new Falcon 9 booster B1067, CRS-22 will lift off with more than 3300 kg (7300 lb) of cargo in tow. Aside from the usual science equipment, space suit parts, and consumables, CRS-22 will also carry part of a significant new upgrade planned for the International Space Station’s (ISS) basic power generation capabilities. Known as ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays, the new space station solar arrays are a direct follow-on to an experiment -ROSA – launched to the ISS on another Cargo Dragon in 2017.

As the name implies, unlike virtually all other modern spacecraft solar arrays, which generally unfold as a number of flat panels, ROSA is flexible and deploys by unrolling. In theory, that allows for superior packing density to fit more power generation capacity in any given space-constrained launch. Indeed, many modern flagship communications satellites have begun to utilize roll-out solar arrays to expand their power supplies.
At the scale of the new ISS arrays, ROSA’s benefits are less clear, but improvements in solar cell efficiency still mean that six smaller iROSA arrays will be comparable to the ISS’ eight current solar wings.


While massive in their deployed state, each of the original eight ISS solar wings weigh approximately 1100 kg (2400 lb) and initially generated up to 31 kilowatts of power. Each iROSA will weigh around 690 kg (~1550 lb) at liftoff and generate a maximum of 20 kW – offering an almost identical mass efficiency of ~35 kg per kW as the existing arrays. Those new solar arrays will partially interfere with the station’s older arrays but both sets will continue to work, ultimately improving ISS power generation capabilities by 20-30%.
All six arrays will launch on Cargo Dragon missions CRS-22, CRS-25, and CRS-26, likely completing the ISS solar upgrade sometime in Q4 2022. iROSA will be one of the heaviest unpressurized payloads ever launched as cargo on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
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Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas
Images and video of the Cybercab fleet were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Tesla appears to be assembling a growing number of Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas as preparations continue for the vehicle’s mass production. Recent footage shared online has shown over 30 Cybercabs being transported by trucks or staged near testing areas at the facility.
The images and video were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Interestingly enough, Tegtmeyer noted that many of the Cybercabs being loaded onto transport trucks were still equipped with steering wheels. This suggests that the vehicles are likely testing units rather than the final driverless configuration expected for the company’s Robotaxi service.
The vehicles could potentially be headed to testing sites across the United States as Tesla prepares to expand its Robotaxi fleet.
Additional footage captured at Gigafactory Texas also showed the Cybercab’s side and rear camera washer system operating as vehicles were being loaded onto transport trucks.
The growing number of Cybercabs at Giga Texas comes amidst the company’s announcement that the first production Cybercab has been produced at the facility. Full Cybercab production is expected to begin in April.
The vehicle is expected to play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions as the company looks to expand autonomous ride-hailing operations beyond its early deployments using Model Y vehicles.
Tesla has also linked Cybercab production to its proposed Unboxed manufacturing process, which assembles large vehicle modules separately before integrating them. The approach is intended to reduce production costs and accelerate output.
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab’s ramp will likely begin slowly due to the number of new components and manufacturing steps involved. However, he stated that once the process matures, Cybercab production could scale quickly.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI, creator of Grok and Grokipedia, celebrates its third birthday
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has marked its third anniversary. The update was shared in a post from the xAI Memphis account on social media platform X.
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
As per xAI, it has built three massive data centers in the city, launched a coherent cluster of 330,000 GBs, created over 3,000 jobs, and paid over $30 million in taxes to local communities.
xAI’s Memphis operation has become a key part of the company’s infrastructure as the company works to train and deploy its Grok artificial intelligence models. Elon Musk has been quite optimistic about Grok’s potential, noting in the past that the large language model might have a shot at achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI).
xAI’s Memphis’ crown jewel is its Colossus supercomputer cluster. The project was announced in 2024 and has since become the home of one of the world’s largest AI compute facilities. The first phase of Colossus reached its initial 100,000 GPU operational milestone in just 122 days, or just about four months.
Industry figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have praised the facility, noting that projects of similar scale typically take two to four years to complete.
xAI has cited Memphis’ central location, skilled workforce, and industrial infrastructure as key reasons for selecting the city as the home of its AI training operations. The company has also emphasized plans to expand the site further as it scales compute capacity for Grok and future AI models.
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Tesla Sweden’s Megapack Supercharger near Arlanda continues to aggravate IF Metall union
The charging site, located in Arlandastad outside Stockholm, appears to be operating despite ongoing union blockade measures tied to Tesla’s labor dispute in the country.
Tesla Sweden’s Megapack-powered Supercharger station near Arlanda Airport has continued to aggravate Swedish labor union IF Metall. The charging site, located in Arlandastad outside Stockholm, appears to be operating despite ongoing union blockade measures tied to Tesla’s labor dispute in the country.
Comments about the site were shared by IF Metall representatives in remarks to Swedish publication CarUp.
The Arlandastad location includes eight Tesla Superchargers powered by a Megapack battery system. Unlike traditional charging stations that rely on direct grid connections, the site uses a large battery installation to store electricity and power the chargers.
According to the Swedish publication, the setup allowed the station to come online despite sympathy measures from Sweden’s electricians’ union, which has attempted to prevent companies from cooperating with Tesla as part of the broader labor conflict.
IF Metall press manager Jesper Pettersson indicated that the union was not aware that the Superchargers had already been connected and activated.
“We do not know the details around this. But it is further proof of how Tesla systematically finds loopholes to circumvent the sympathy measures through active strikebreaking. Every time this happens it gives us reason to sharpen our conflict measures,” Pettersson said.
Union representatives also noted that the Megapack appears to be charged using electrical cables routed through nearby terrain, though the exact power source remains under review.
The Megapack-powered site has then prompted questions from Swedish labor unions about how electricity is being supplied to the system.
IF Metall has submitted a report to Sweden’s Energy Market Inspectorate asking the regulator to review whether the electricity supply arrangement complies with national regulations. The Megapack is reportedly charged using electricity from a local company, though the provider has not been publicly identified.
Peter Lydell, an ombudsman at IF Metall, previously stated that Swedish law limits electricity trading to companies with proper authorization.
“The legislation states that only companies that engage in electricity trading may supply electricity to other parties. You may not supply electricity without a permit, then you are engaging in illegal electricity trading. That is why we have reported this…
“This is about a company that helps Tesla circumvent the conflict measures that exist. It is clear that it is troublesome and it can also have consequences,” Lydell said.
IF Metall and Tesla Sweden’s conflict has been going on for over two years now.