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SpaceX competitor ULA readies for final launch of 30-year-old Delta II rocket

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Long-time SpaceX competitor United Launch Alliance (ULA) is nearly ready for the final launch of its Boeing subsidiary’s Delta II family of rockets, culminating a nearly 30-year history mostly dominated by routine success.

If completed without failure, the launch of NASA’s ICESat-2 satellite – built to track global ice-sheet variation with a huge space-based laser – will mark Delta II’s 100th consecutive success and the rocket’s 153rd fully successful launch overall, an immensely impressive and laudable achievement regardless of the vehicle’s lack of competitive advantage in the modern launch industry.

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Shockingly tiny when compared with modern launch vehicles like Delta IV, Atlas V, and Falcon 9, Delta II measures roughly 39 meters (~128 ft) tall, 2.4 meters (8 ft) in diameter, and weighs 160 metric tons (~350,000 lb) when fully fueled, just over half as tall and significantly less than 30% as heavy as SpaceX’s Falcon 9.

Contracted by NASA in 2013, Delta II’s ICESat-2 launch cost the agency roughly $97 million (2013 USD), although the cost of launch has shrunk in relation to the satellite, which suffered at least $200 million of overruns and 12+ months of delays due to difficulties developing the spacecraft’s impressive space-based LIDAR system. For comparison, NASA contracted a Falcon 9 launch (for the TESS exoplanet observatory, launched in April 2018) from SpaceX for $87 million in 2016, while the USAF has secured several launch contracts with SpaceX for far more complex GPS satellite launches at a cost of almost exactly $97 million apiece.

Aging rockets, changing markets

Put simply, the contrast in capabilities offered for equivalent prices soundly demonstrates exactly why Delta II is being phased out. Although capable of better performance with a third upper stage and nine much larger solid rocket boosters (SRBs), that ‘Heavy’ variant of Delta II cost NASA an incredible $150 million per launch in 2009. For the versions of Delta II closer to $100 million per launch, the rocket is able to place 2500-3200 kg (5500-7000 lb) in low Earth orbit and not much at all to any higher energy destinations, which demand a third stage or a heavier rocket. At a comparable price (or much lower in SpaceX’s case), Atlas V and Falcon 9 are able to launch far larger payloads to far higher orbits.

This was by no means the case when Delta II debuted in 1989, and the McDonnell Douglas-built rocket readily earned its impressive reputation as a relatively reliable, capable, and (more or less) affordable launch vehicle compared alongside other rockets available in the ’90s. Delta II wound up as a ULA rocket (sort of) thanks to Boeing and McDonnell Douglas’ 1997 corporate merger, followed in 2006 by Lockheed Martin and Boeing’s cooperative formation of the United Launch Alliance. ULA thus operates Delta II, Delta IV, and Atlas V, all featuring multiple variants and very few distinguishing capabilities when compared amongst themselves.

 

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The cost of maintaining all those highly duplicative rockets and unique factories and engineering expertise is fundamentally unnatural and reliant upon some sort of noncompetitive market forces (i.e. launch monopolies assured through “block buys” of multiple rockets from NASA and the US military), forces that have been mortally challenged by SpaceX’s reintroduction of competition to the American launch industry.

ICESat-2 is scheduled to launch on Delta II on Saturday, September 15th at 5:46 AM PDT/12:46 UTC. Stay tuned for more information on ICESat-2’s giant space LIDAR payload and mission goals, as well as Teslarati photographer Pauline Acalin’s photos of the fairly historic rocket launch.


For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!

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 echoes worries over Tesla control against activist shareholders

Elon Musk has spoken on several occasions of the “activist shareholders” who threaten his role at Tesla.

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Credit: xAI | X

Elon Musk continues to raise concerns over his control of Tesla as its CEO and one of its founders, as activist shareholders seem to be a viable threat to the company in his eyes.

Musk has voiced concerns over voting control of Tesla and the possibility of him being ousted by shareholders who do not necessarily have the company’s future in mind. Instead, they could be looking to oust Musk because of his political beliefs or because of his vast wealth.

We saw an example of that as shareholders voted on two separate occasions to award Musk a 2018 compensation package that was earned as Tesla met various growth goals through the CEO’s leadership.

Despite shareholders voting to award Musk with the compensation package on two separate occasions, once in 2018 and again in 2024, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick denied the CEO the money both times. At one time, she called it an “unfathomable sum.”

Musk’s current stake in Tesla stands at 12.8 percent, but he has an option to purchase 304 million shares, which, if exercised, after taxes, he says, would bump his voting control up about 4 percent.

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However, this is not enough of a stake in the company, as he believes a roughly 25 percent ownership stake would be enough “to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned,” he said in January 2024.

Musk’s concerns were echoed in another X post from Thursday, where he confirmed he has no current personal loans against Tesla stock, and he reiterated his concerns of being ousted from the company by those he has referred to in the past as “activist shareholders.”

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Elon Musk explains why he wants 25% voting share at Tesla: “I just want to be an effective steward of very powerful technology”

The CEO said during the company’s earnings call in late July:

“That is a major concern for me, as I’ve mentioned in the past. I hope that is addressed at the upcoming shareholders’ meeting. But, yeah, it is a big deal. I want to find that I’ve got so little control that I can easily be ousted by activist shareholders after having built this army of humanoid robots. I think my control over Tesla, Inc. should be enough to ensure that it goes in a good direction, but not so much control that I can’t be thrown out if I go crazy.”

The X post from Thursday said:

There is a concern that Musk could eventually put his money where his mouth is, and if politicians and judges are able to limit his ownership stake as they’ve been able to do with his pay package, he could eventually leave the company.

The company’s shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve Musk’s pay package. A vast majority of those who voted to get Musk paid still want him to be running Tesla’s day-to-day operations. Without his guidance, the company could face a major restructuring and would have a vastly new look and thesis.

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People are already finding value in Tesla Robotaxi services

Tesla initially launched its Robotaxi service in Austin, though the company more recently launched it in the Bay Area.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Robotaxi service is still in its earliest days, but some consumers are already finding surprising value in the autonomous ride-hailing system. 

This was hinted at in recent comments on social media platform X. 

Robotaxi Ramp

Tesla initially launched its Robotaxi service in Austin, though the company more recently launched it in the Bay Area. Tesla’s geofence for its Robotaxi service in the Bay Area is massive, covering several times the area that is currently serviced by rival Waymo. 

As noted by the EV community members on social media, going end-to-end in Tesla’s Bay Area geofence would likely take over an hour’s worth of driving. That’s an impressive launch for the Robotaxi service in California, and considering Tesla’s momentum, its California geofence will likely grow substantially in the coming months.

Secret Advantage

As noted by Tesla owner and photographer @billykyle, the Tesla Robotaxi service actually has key advantages for people who travel a lot for their work. As per the Tesla owner, using a Robotaxi service would give back so much of his time considering that he gets about 5-7 shoots per day at times. 

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“I’ve been reflecting on how much of a game changer this is. As a photographer that runs my own business, servicing clients all around the Philadelphia area, I could ditch having a car and let an autonomous vehicle drive me between my 5-7 shoots I have per day. This would give me so much time back to work and message clients,” the photographer wrote in a post on X.

The Tesla owner also noted that the Robotaxi service could also solve issues with parking, as it could be tricky in cities. The Robotaxi service’s driverless nature also avoids the issue of rude and incompetent ride-hailing drivers, which are unfortunately prevalent in services such as Uber and Lyft. Ultimately, just like Unsupervised FSD, Tesla’s Robotaxi service has the potential to reclaim time for consumers. And as anyone in the business sphere would attest, time is ultimately money.

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Tesla Robotaxi and Supercharger Diner are killing a dreaded consumer tradition

Tesla is still just charging strictly for its services–while asking for zero tips.

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Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer/X

Tesla’s Robotaxi service and its newly launched Supercharger Diner are killing a longtime but increasingly dreaded consumer tradition in the United States. Based on videos taken of consumers using the Robotaxi service in the Bay Area, Tesla is still just charging strictly for its services–while asking for zero tips.

Tesla Services with Zero Tips

When Tesla launched the Robotaxi pilot in Austin, users quickly noticed that the company was not allowing riders to leave a tip for the service. If one were to try leaving a tip after a Robotaxi ride, the app simply flashes an image of Tesla’s meme hedgehog mascot with a “Just Kidding” message. 

At the time, this seemed like a small tongue-in-cheek joke from the electric vehicle maker. The initial Robotaxi pilot in Austin was rolled out on a small scale, after all, and some social media users speculated that tipping may eventually just be introduced to the service.

But upon the opening of the Tesla Supercharger Diner, consumers also observed that the facility does not allow tipping. Tesla’s notice is simple: “Gratuity: Tesla covers tipping for staff.” This means that employees who work at the Tesla Diner make enough to not rely on gratuities from consumers. 

And with the launch of the Robotaxi service in the Bay Area, users observed once more that Tesla is still not allowing tipping. This was highlighted by longtime Tesla owner @BLKMDL3, who shared a video of the Tesla Robotaxi app also briefly displaying the hedgehog mascot with a “Just Kidding” message when he tried leaving a tip.

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Out of Control

As noted in a report from The Guardian, tipping has been a longstanding business practice in the United States, were service workers typically make less than the federal minimum wage. With this system in place, service workers end up relying on gratuities to make ends meet. This was understandable, but after the pandemic, tipping culture ended up going out of control.

On platforms such as Reddit, users have also complained about services like Uber asking for large tips for using their services. Consumers have also shared shocking experiences involving some services that ask for tips. These include self-checkout counters, drive-throughs, hotdog stands, drug stores, a bottled water stall at a jazz festival, an airport vending machine, a used bookstore, a cinema box office, and a children’s arcade, among others.

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