News
SpaceX on track for new launch every other week after CRS-12 success
After Dragon successfully docked to the ISS Wednesday, the station’s crew wasted no time opening the hatch to distribute ice cream for all. The initiation of unloading marked CRS-12’s success, with the Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 launch vehicle performing nominally.
The launch of CRS-12 debuted SpaceX’s first Block 4 Falcon 9, carrying with it a variety of small upgrades and improvements. Most importantly, it is understood that the vehicle utilized Merlin engines that have been qualified for higher thrust, although that capability was not used on Monday. The upgrade in thrust, expected to add an additional 10% to the vehicle’s quoted “7,607 kN” thrust at sea level, will enable SpaceX to pursue recoveries during the launch of even heavier payloads. As is now almost routine, SpaceX also recovered the first stage at LZ-1, following some considerably dramatic aerobatics during the return.
Block 4 is a necessary incremental improvement as SpaceX looks to Block 5, which will feature far more visible and significant modifications. Block 5 is expected to conduct its first launch sometime in 2018, and signs point to its debut flight being the launch of SpaceX’s first Commercial Crew demonstration flight, scheduled for NET (No Earlier Than) February 2018.
Focusing on the nearer future, SpaceX will proceed into its first static fire attempt tomorrow ahead of the launch of Formosat-5 from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), expected to lift off on Thursday, August 24. If all goes well during that campaign, the next milestone will be a static fire ahead of the company’s launch of a USAF experimental spaceplane on September 7, with the static fire for that mission expected approximately a week before. SpaceX appears as dedicated as ever to a regular biweekly launch cadence, which was demonstrated earlier this year, culminating in the launch of three Falcon 9s in less than two weeks. Looking later into September, the only launch with a known date is Iridium-3, which will see SpaceX orbit the next 10 Iridium NEXT satellites from VAFB. The mission is tentatively scheduled for September 30th.
The X-37B experimental spaceplane SpaceX will launch for the USAF. (USAF)
While completing the missions of customers as quickly as possibly is SpaceX’s clear priority, the company also has multiple other goals that will likely make a consistent biweekly cadence more difficult. LC-40 is nearing readiness after a long campaign of refurbishment. Once complete, the pad will likely take over all commercial Falcon 9 launches. Following its activation, LC-39A will proceed through a period of modifications in anticipation of Falcon Heavy and Commercial Crew launches of Falcon 9. This is expected to take at least 60 days. Regardless, SpaceX has repeatedly made it clear that the goal is no launch downtime during the transition between pads. Info recently made public has indicated that SES-11, likely launching on a refurbished Falcon 9, would be the first mission to launch from LC-40 after its reactivation. SES-11 has since been delayed from sometime in September into “Q4 2017”, meaning that LC-40’s return to flight will likely happen no earlier than October.
Aside from Iridium-3’s launch, Elon Musk is also set to present a significant update to SpaceX’s Mars colonization efforts on September 29th. However you look at it, the last several months of 2017 leave fans of spaceflight with a vast array of milestones to look forward to.
-
Featured
Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss
Nevada granted Tesla’s robotaxi permit, but capped the fleet at just ten vehicles for now.
Tesla has received its robotaxi permit in Nevada, more than two months after regulators closed the public comment period on the company’s application. News of the approval surfaced Wednesday night when Tesla investor and longtime company watcher Sawyer Merritt posted a copy of the interim order, and the Nevada Transportation Authority’s own carrier registry now lists the permit, AVNC Permit 002 under Docket 26-05015, as active for Tesla Robotaxi, LLC.
Tesla asked Nevada in June for authority to run up to 5,000 vehicles in Clark County within a year, however the permit the NTA issued is initially capping Tesla at ten fully autonomous vehicles and confines them to a defined geofence along the Las Vegas Strip corridor. Any expansion of that operating area, or any increase to the fleet size, requires the NTA’s approval first.
Tesla has received its Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit in Nevada.
The Nevada Transportation Authority says that operations are limited to a maximum fleet of 10 fully autonomous vehicles and shall be conducted only within the Authority-approved Operational Design… https://t.co/Cxfd6GIfDk pic.twitter.com/iOO6wSZkHF
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 13, 2026
The order also sets rules that look more restrictive than what Tesla runs in Austin. Rides are barred on roads with posted speed limits above 45 miles per hour, pickups are off limits within a quarter mile of Harry Reid International Airport without separate authorization, and every vehicle has to carry visible “Robotaxi” markings while notifying riders before each trip that no one is driving. The order also requires “appropriate human supervision”, language that suggests Nevada isn’t ready to let Tesla offer the rides without a safety monitor that it has run in parts of Austin since January. As with standard protocol with robotaxi services, Tesla must report any accident, system failure, or vehicle that becomes stranded on a Nevada road within five business days.
Tesla is entering a market Nevada already knows well. Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi company, has run its own autonomous vehicle permit in the state since last year, building up to roughly 100 vehicles and 350,000 rides along the Strip. That history likely explains why the NTA started Tesla at ten cars rather than the fleet size the company asked for. The agency has a template for scaling a permit up once a company proves out its safety record.
-
Tesla’s Nevada application first surfaced in June, when the company filed for the permit alongside plans for a maintenance hub in southwest Las Vegas. The company has said it won’t meaningfully scale its robotaxi fleet anywhere until FSD v15 ships, expected in late 2026 or early 2027, which makes the ten vehicle cap less of a constraint today than it might look on paper. For now, Tesla has the legal right to start Nevada rides. Whether it starts before FSD v15 arrives is a separate question the permit doesn’t answer.
Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.
Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.
-
Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.
The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.
Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.
The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.
Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.
-
Elon Musk continues to tease the unveiling event for the Tesla Roadster, a continuing trend that has grown into a bigger game of “When” for fans who have been waiting years for the car to finally enter production.
A video shared on X of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that Musk appeared on last year, teasing the Roadster unveiling, was shared once again on the social media platform. The poster said the Roadster event will be “unforgettable.”
Musk agreed:
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2026
The timing is interesting because just yesterday, Musk said that we will be getting flying cars, and for years, Tesla has hinted that it could develop a SpaceX cold gas thruster package that would help the car float or fly for a short period of time.
It would be reasonable to assume Tesla’s major delays with this unveiling event are likely caused by the company’s need to break the rules and push the envelope on nearly everything. Last July, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, said:
-
“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind blowing. We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on and he got a little excited.”
The latest updates that Tesla has given us are that the Roadster is in design development, and it did have several potential dates for an unveiling event this year, including April. It was then pushed to August.
However, there are no clues as to when Tesla will be ready, and fans are certainly getting frustrated with the delays.
For what it is worth, Franz von Holzhausen told Jay Leno this week that the event would be “very soon.”
We sure hope.
Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss
Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup
