Connect with us

News

SpaceX debuts converted Falcon Heavy booster on spectacular Italian satellite launch

Published

on

For the first time, SpaceX has converted a flight-proven Falcon Heavy side core into a Falcon 9 booster and successfully launched the reborn rocket, carrying an Italian Earth observation satellite to orbit with one of the most visually spectacular Falcon launches in recent memory.

After a tortured campaign of four scrubbed or aborted launch attempts between January 27th and 30th, Falcon 9 finally lifted off from SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) LC-40 pad at 6:11 pm EST (23:11 UTC) on Monday, January 31st. The converted Falcon Heavy booster performed perfectly on its first solo mission, successfully carrying a Falcon upper stage and Italy’s CSG-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Earth observation satellite to an altitude of 70 km (~45 mi) and a velocity of ~1.7 km/s (Mach 5) – effectively the edge of space.

Liftoff. (Richard Angle)
Falcon 9 produces an iconic artificial nebula as its two stages ignite and head in opposite directions. (Richard Angle)

Thanks to near-perfect weather and the timing of the launch about 15 minutes after sunset, Falcon Heavy side core B1052’s first mission as a Falcon 9 booster wound up producing some of the best views of a SpaceX launch in the company’s history. As the rocket ascended, the sky continued to darken for local ground observers. It wasn’t long before Falcon 9’s shiny, white airframe ascended into direct sunlight, which created some extraordinary contrast against the darkening sky for tracking cameras near the launch site.

MECO, stage separation, second stage startup, and first stage boostback. (SpaceX)

Thanks to the near-perfect conditions and the skill of one particular camera operator, webcast viewers were left with some of the best remote views of booster main engine cutoff (MECO), stage separation, and second stage startup ever recorded – let alone broadcast live. Additionally, the timing of the launch worked out such that the dusk Florida sky was still lit up when booster B1052 touched down at SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral Landing Zone (LZ-1) for the third time.

Falcon booster B1052 stuck its third successful land-landing. (SpaceX)

Almost exactly an hour after liftoff, Falcon 9’s upper stage successfully deployed CSG-2 into a polar sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) around 600 km (375 mi) above Earth’s surface, capping off SpaceX’s fourth launch this year. Known as Starlink 4-7, SpaceX’s next launch could occur as early as 1:56 pm EST (18:56 UTC) on Tuesday, February 1st – potentially less than 20 hours after CSG-2. Just ~25 hours after that Another Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to attempt to launch the United States’ NROL-87 spy satellite(s) from SpaceX’s West Coast launch site around 12:18 pm PST (20:18 UTC), Wednesday, February 2nd. A third Falcon 9 mission – Starlink 4-7 – is also expected to launch sometime later this week.

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.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey endorses Elon Musk Tesla pay package

Dorsey framed the pay package as an engineering and governance crossroads for Tesla.

Published

on

Twitter co-founder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey has publicly backed Elon Musk’s leadership ahead of Tesla’s pivotal shareholder vote, which is expected to be decided later today at the company’s 2025 annual meeting. 

Dorsey framed the pay package as an engineering and governance crossroads for Tesla.

Dorsey’s public nod framed as an engineering defense of Musk

In a post on X, Dorsey weighed in on Tesla’s post about being in a “critical inflection point.” As per the Twitter-co-founder, the vote on Musk’s 2025 performance award is not about compensation. Instead, it’s about ensuring the path for the company’s engineering in the coming years. 

“This is not about compensation. it’s about ensuring a principled (and exciting!) engineering approach to the company’s future,” Dorsey wrote on his post, later stating that users of Cash app with TSLA shares would be able to vote for the CEO’s proposed 2025 performance award. 

Elon Musk appreciated Dorsey’s endorsement, responding to the Twitter co-founder’s post with a heart emoji. Musk has been pretty thankful for the support for is fellow tech executives, also thanking Michael Dell recently, who also advocated for its proposed 2025 performance award.

Advertisement

Musk’s support

While Elon Musk’s 2025 performance award has received opposition from proxy advisors such as Glass Lewis and ISS, it has received quite a lot of support from longtime bulls such as ARK Invest, and, more recently, Schwab Asset Management following calls from TSLA retail shareholders. 

“Schwab Asset Management’s approach to voting on proxy matters is thorough and deliberate. We utilize a structured process that focuses on protecting and promoting shareholder value. We apply our own internal guidelines and do not rely on recommendations from Glass Lewis or ISS. In accordance with this process, Schwab Asset Management intends to vote in favor of the 2025 CEO performance award proposal. We firmly believe that supporting this proposal aligns both management and shareholder interests, ensuring the best outcome for all parties involved,” Charles Schwab told Teslarati.

Continue Reading

News

Here’s what changed in the Tesla Cybercab since last year’s unveiling

The latest sightings suggest that the fully autonomous two-seater is now moving closer to production.

Published

on

Credit: wudapig/Reddit

An apparent production-ready prototype of the Tesla Cybercab has been spotted testing in public, and it revealed several subtle but notable design updates compared to its 2024 prototype. 

The latest sightings suggest that the fully autonomous two-seater is now moving closer to production.

Subtle design refinements

The new photo of the Cybercab prototype was initially posted on the r/TeslaLounge subreddit, where it proceeded to receive numerous responses. As per the user who posted the image, the photo was taken in California, and the vehicle was reportedly fitted with a steering wheel. 

Based on the image, the Cybercab appears to have received a revised tail design, which now rises slightly, likely to improve aerodynamics. Tesla also appears to have shortened the rear body panel below the lighting section. Other updates include a slightly redesigned rear bumper, red reflectors repositioned farther from the wheel arches, and unpainted side repeater cameras that seemed to have been moved slightly forward, likely for better visibility.

The Cybercab’s B-pillar has also been shifted forward and now sits slightly lower, accompanied by larger door panels that likely make entry and exit easier. The vehicle’s tires are no longer painted either, nor do they have an extended wheel cover. Interestingly enough, the prototype was also fitted with side mirrors, though these are likely just for regulatory testing purposes and would be removed in the vehicle’s final production version.

Advertisement

An In-and-Out tease

At the end of October, the Tesla AI team teased some of the Cybercab’s progress with a lighthearted “Animal Style” Halloween post featuring the autonomous two-seater being driven through an In-N-Out drive-through by employees in costume. Longtime Tesla watchers noted that the In-and-Out photos continue a long-standing tradition of Tesla driving its prototypes through the fast food chain’s drive-throughs.

The In-and-Out photos of the Cybercab also revealed some updates that have been implemented on the vehicle’s front end. These included what appears to be segmented DRLs and headlamps, actual turn signals, and a splitter that’s a lot sharper. Some noted that the vehicle looks sharper than the prototypes from last year’s We, Robot event, but this also resulted in the Cybercab looking a bit less “Cyber” now.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla MultiPass in Europe expands, allowing ease of access to non-Tesla chargers

Published

on

Credit: TeslaCharging | X

The Tesla MultiPass program in Europe is expanding to new countries. The program was launched earlier this year to assist Tesla owners in having an easier charging experience at non-Tesla EV chargers.

In September, Tesla launched the MultiPass program to owners in the Netherlands, which aimed to enable charging for Tesla owners at third-party stations using the app or keycard. It was developed to avoid having to use multiple apps for each charging manufacturer.

Tesla launches MultiPass to simplify charging at non-Tesla stations

Both access and payment would be performed through the Tesla app, streamlining the entire process.

Today, Tesla expanded the program to Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Belgium, building on its initial rollout and partnering with companies like Fastned to improve EV roaming coverage across the continent.

The program is still in its early stages, and it appears to have some issues, which were highlighted by owners.

Some state that the different designs between chargers can create a bit of a hassle, especially as some do not properly display charging rates and inconsistent pricing displays.

Additionally, Tesla’s Trip Planner and other route planner integrations are not as descriptive as they should be, so some owners suggested reliability and visibility improvements.

Tesla partnered with Electrify America, Rivian’s Adventure Network, and other networks to expand charging availability and make options more readily available.

Tesla’s Supercharger presence in Europe has expanded quite a bit over the past few years, but EVs are much more prevalent there than they are here in the U.S. The company has done a great job of growing the Supercharger presence this year, and there are currently over 11,000 stalls on the continent.

This year, Tesla added 200 total stations and roughly 1,250 total stalls, a 16 percent increase from last year. Europe also has a high concentration of V4 Superchargers, as nearly 42 percent of the stalls on the continent are V4, giving higher charging rates of up to 500 kW.

Continue Reading

Trending