News
SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft arrives at space station on second to last mission
SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon has successfully rendezvoused with the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s CRS-19 resupply mission, marking what is almost certainly the spacecraft’s second to last orbital launch.
On December 5th, new Falcon 9 booster B1059 lifted off from SpaceX’s LC-40 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) launch pad with a fresh upper stage and twice flown Cargo Dragon capsule C106 atop it. A little over nine minutes after launch, B1059 prepared to be robotically secured on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) while Cargo Dragon – now in orbit – separated from Falcon 9’s upper stage and headed on its merry way.
Cargo Dragon’s 20th orbital mission and 19th trip to the ISS, CRS-19’s twice-flown spacecraft commanded the deployment of its two solar arrays, primed its Draco maneuvering thrusters, and opened up its Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) bay. Using star trackers, inertial measurement devices, and lasers, Dragon then proceeded to precisely deliver itself to the ‘door’ of the space station before gradually approaching.
Astronauts aboard the ISS then manually guided Canadarm2 – a massive robotic arm externally attached to the space station – towards Cargo Dragon as it used its thrusters to essentially hover in place, ultimately grabbing the spacecraft with a sort of mechanical hand. At that point, Dragon effectively became a part of the ISS and astronauts monitored the subsequent (and mostly automated) process of using Canadarm2 to fully berth spacecraft with the station.
After berthing, astronauts are able to equalize the pressure between the ISS and visiting spacecraft and open the hatch, gaining access to whatever cargo it was loaded with prior to launch. Alternatively, visiting vehicles can also dock with the International Space Station, a process controlled entirely by the arriving spacecraft, a bit like berthing but with almost all of the risk on its shoulders. All Russian spacecraft currently use this method, as do Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
As it turns out, CRS-19 – partially hinted at in the name – is the second to last launch of SpaceX’s Dragon 1 (Cargo Dragon), which become the first commercial spacecraft capable of reentering Earth’s atmosphere in 2010 and rendezvousing with a space station in 2012. Five months later, SpaceX launched CRS-1 – its first operational resupply mission – and the rest is (more or less) history.
In the seven years since CRS-1, Cargo Dragon – including CRS-19 – has now flown 18 successful space station resupply missions and delivered more than 90,000 lb (50,000 kg) to its ever-changing crew of astronauts. Cargo Dragon has undergone at least two significant upgrades and suffered its fair share of mishaps, but has still successfully completed its mission every time it reached orbit.
NASA’s CRS1 SpaceX contract ultimately called for a total of 20 Cargo Dragon missions to the ISS, although more could technically be added retroactively if both entities were to decide they were needed. Currently, the plan is for CRS-20 – Cargo Dragon’s next launch – to be the spacecraft’s last orbital mission and is scheduled no earlier than March 2020.
After CRS-20, SpaceX – via its subsequent CRS2 NASA contract – means to introduce a version of Crew Dragon (Dragon 2) modified for cargo-only missions, optimally taking flight-proven Crew capsules and reusing them as Cargo Dragon 2s.
SpaceX recently revealed that the first Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft will unexpectedly not feature Crew Dragon’s complex SuperDraco abort system, a feature that has recently created several roadblocks. However, this dramatically simplifies Dragon 2 and means that SpaceX is still quite confident that the upgraded cargo spacecraft will be ready for its launch debut next year.
Known as CRS-21, that mission will see SpaceX’s CRS launches move from LC-40 to Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A pad in order to enable extremely late and convenient cargo-loading via Pad 39A’s Crew Access Arm (CAA), to be primarily used by astronauts boarding Crew Dragon. Similarly, Cargo Dragon 2 will dock with the ISS instead of using Dragon’s current berthing route, nominally requiring less hands-on astronaut time for each resupply mission.
Cargo Dragon will be missed but will forever remain a major piece of commercial spaceflight history. Dragon 2 will likely toe the line for the first half of the next decade, but SpaceX ultimately wants to get its generation Starship launch vehicle online as soon as possible – a feat that will make all Falcon and Dragon vehicles redundant if things go as planned.
Check out Teslarati’s newsletters for prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket launch and recovery processes.
Tesla has initiated Cybertruck deliveries in a new region for the first time, as the all-electric pickup has officially made its way to the United Arab Emirates, marking the newest territory to receive the polarizing truck.
Tesla launched orders for the Cybertruck in the Middle East back in September 2025, just months after the company confirmed that it planned to launch the pickup in the region, which happened in April.
I took a Tesla Cybertruck weekend Demo Drive – Here’s what I learned
By early October, Tesla launched the Cybertruck configurator in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, with pricing starting at around AED 404,900, or about $110,000 for the Dual Motor configuration.
This decision positioned the Gulf states as key early international markets, and Tesla was hoping to get the Cybertruck outside of North America for the first time, as it has still been tough to launch in other popular EV markets, like Europe and Asia.
By late 2025, Tesla had pushed delivery timelines slightly and aimed for an early 2026 delivery launch in the Middle East. The first official customer deliveries started this month, and a notable handover event occurred in Dubai’s Al Marmoom desert area, featuring a light and fire show.
Around 63 Cybertrucks made their way to customers during the event:
First @cybertruck deliveries in the UAE 🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/sN2rAxppUA
— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) January 22, 2026
As of this month, the Cybertruck still remains available for configuration on Tesla’s websites for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Middle Eastern countries like Jordan and Israel. Deliveries are rolling out progressively, with the UAE leading as the first to see hands-on customer events.
In other markets, most notably Europe, there are still plenty of regulatory hurdles that Tesla is hoping to work through, but they may never be resolved. The issues come from the unique design features that conflict with the European Union’s (EU) stringent safety standards.
These standards include pedestrian protection regulations, which require vehicles to minimize injury risks in collisions. However, the Cybertruck features sharp edges and an ultra-hard stainless steel exoskeleton, and its rigid structure is seen as non-compliant with the EU’s list of preferred designs.
The vehicle’s gross weight is also above the 3.5-tonne threshold for standard vehicles, which has prompted Tesla to consider a more compact design. However, the company’s focus on autonomy and Robotaxi has likely pushed that out of the realm of possibility.
For now, Tesla will work with the governments that want it to succeed in their region, and the Middle East has been a great partner to the company with the launch of the Cybertruck.
Tesla has officially launched public Robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas, without a Safety Monitor in the vehicle, marking the first time the company has removed anyone from the vehicle other than the rider.
The Safety Monitor has been present in Tesla Robotaxis in Austin since its launch last June, maintaining safety for passengers and other vehicles, and was placed in the passenger’s seat.
Tesla planned to remove the Safety Monitor at the end of 2025, but it was not quite ready to do so. Now, in January, riders are officially reporting that they are able to hail a ride from a Model Y Robotaxi without anyone in the vehicle:
I am in a robotaxi without safety monitor pic.twitter.com/fzHu385oIb
— TSLA99T (@Tsla99T) January 22, 2026
Tesla started testing this internally late last year and had several employees show that they were riding in the vehicle without anyone else there to intervene in case of an emergency.
Tesla has now expanded that program to the public. It is not active in the entire fleet, but there are a “few unsupervised vehicles mixed in with the broader robotaxi fleet with safety monitors,” Ashok Elluswamy said:
Robotaxi rides without any safety monitors are now publicly available in Austin.
Starting with a few unsupervised vehicles mixed in with the broader robotaxi fleet with safety monitors, and the ratio will increase over time. https://t.co/ShMpZjefwB
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) January 22, 2026
Tesla Robotaxi goes driverless as Musk confirms Safety Monitor removal testing
The Robotaxi program also operates in the California Bay Area, where the fleet is much larger, but Safety Monitors are placed in the driver’s seat and utilize Full Self-Driving, so it is essentially the same as an Uber driver using a Tesla with FSD.
In Austin, the removal of Safety Monitors marks a substantial achievement for Tesla moving forward. Now that it has enough confidence to remove Safety Monitors from Robotaxis altogether, there are nearly unlimited options for the company in terms of expansion.
While it is hoping to launch the ride-hailing service in more cities across the U.S. this year, this is a much larger development than expansion, at least for now, as it is the first time it is performing driverless rides in Robotaxi anywhere in the world for the public to enjoy.
Tesla has scheduled its Earnings Call for Q4 and Full Year 2025 for next Wednesday, January 28, at 5:30 p.m. EST, and investors are already preparing to get some answers from executives regarding a wide variety of topics.
The company accepts several questions from retail investors through the platform Say, which then allows shareholders to vote on the best questions.
Tesla does not answer anything regarding future product releases, but they are willing to shed light on current timelines, progress of certain projects, and other plans.
There are five questions that range over a variety of topics, including SpaceX, Full Self-Driving, Robotaxi, and Optimus, which are currently in the lead to be asked and potentially answered by Elon Musk and other Tesla executives:
- You once said: Loyalty deserves loyalty. Will long-term Tesla shareholders still be prioritized if SpaceX does an IPO?
- Our Take – With a lot of speculation regarding an incoming SpaceX IPO, Tesla investors, especially long-term ones, should be able to benefit from an early opportunity to purchase shares. This has been discussed endlessly over the past year, and we must be getting close to it.
- When is FSD going to be 100% unsupervised?
- Our Take – Musk said today that this is essentially a solved problem, and it could be available in the U.S. by the end of this year.
- What is the current bottleneck to increase Robotaxi deployment & personal use unsupervised FSD? The safety/performance of the most recent models or people to monitor robots, robotaxis, in-car, or remotely? Or something else?
- Our Take – The bottleneck seems to be based on data, which Musk said Tesla needs 10 billion miles of data to achieve unsupervised FSD. Once that happens, regulatory issues will be what hold things up from moving forward.
- Regarding Optimus, could you share the current number of units deployed in Tesla factories and actively performing production tasks? What specific roles or operations are they handling, and how has their integration impacted factory efficiency or output?
- Our Take – Optimus is going to have a larger role in factories moving forward, and later this year, they will have larger responsibilities.
- Can you please tie purchased FSD to our owner accounts vs. locked to the car? This will help us enjoy it in any Tesla we drive/buy and reward us for hanging in so long, some of us since 2017.
- Our Take – This is a good one and should get us some additional information on the FSD transfer plans and Subscription-only model that Tesla will adopt soon.
Tesla will have its Earnings Call on Wednesday, January 28.
Tesla begins Cybertruck deliveries in a new region for the first time
BREAKING: Tesla launches public Robotaxi rides in Austin with no Safety Monitor
