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SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, Falcon 9 likely ready for astronaut launch debut in 10 weeks, says Musk

Crew Dragon capsule C203 and Falcon 9 booster B1046 arrived in Florida around October 3rd ahead of SpaceX's critical In-Flight Abort (IFA) test. (SpaceX)

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According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket meant to support the company’s first-ever astronaut launch should be ready for flight as early as December 2019.

His implication is clear: after Crew Dragon’s In-Flight Abort (IFA) test and flight preparations are complete and the hardware is integrated in Florida, ready for launch, the bulk of delays beyond that point will rest heavily on how expeditiously NASA is willing and able to complete the paperwork and reviews still in the way.

Perhaps the single biggest point of uncertainty for Crew Dragon’s astronaut launch debut (Demo-2) is the completion of the spacecraft’s crucial IFA test, a high-altitude, high-velocity abort meant to demonstrate safe crew escape capabilities even at the most stressful point of launch. Assuming Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon perform flawlessly during that challenging test and NASA concurs after reviewing the results, the only major obstacles remaining for Demo-2 will be the pace of NASA’s reviews and paperwork completion.

Confirmed by a recent NASA tweet with photos of the hardware, the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon assigned to the IFA arrived in Florida in the first few days of October, right on schedule. As Musk notes, thrice-flown Falcon 9 booster B1046 must first complete a routine static fire test, while SpaceX also needs to prepare Pad 39A for flight after several months of downtime.

Additionally, SpaceX is deep into the process of constructing dedicated Starship launch facilities at Pad 39A, meaning that loose construction equipment and materials are scattered across a large section of the pad’s apron. Much of that may have to be relocated or secured before Falcon 9 can safely introduce its own form of storm-force winds to the area.

According to NASA, the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule that will support SpaceX’s In-Flight Abort (IFA) test both arrived in Florida within the last several days. (SpaceX)

Meanwhile, SpaceX confirmed more than a month ago that the Falcon 9 booster assigned to support Crew Dragon’s inaugural astronaut launch has already completed a routine static fire acceptance test in McGregor, Texas. On September 28th, CEO Elon Musk also stated that the Demo-2 Crew Dragon spacecraft would likely arrive in Florida in November 2019, likely a strong estimate given that he also forecast the IFA Crew Dragon’s arrival in October. The latter capsule arrived in Florida approximately five days after Musk’s statement.

Traditionally, one might assume that NASA’s flight-readiness is closer to the truth than SpaceX’s, owing to the space agency’s decades of experience and (in)famously methodical approach to spaceflight safety. However, at this point in time, it’s impossible to accurately conclude that NASA or SpaceX’s due diligence is superior. Crew Dragon capsule C201 suffered a massive explosion in April 2019, ripping the spacecraft to pieces as a result of a valve’s fault design, a failure that would have almost certainly killed any astronauts onboard.

SpaceX’s first spaceworthy Crew Dragon capsule prepares for its first Falcon 9-integrated static fire and a post-recovery test fire three months later. (SpaceX)

Neither NASA or SpaceX foresaw that failure mode, despite dozens of agonizingly detailed reviews over years of work, (supposedly) constant NASA oversight, and months upon months of delays to Crew Dragon’s Demo-1 launch debut as NASA and SpaceX worked to completed yet more reviews and paperwork. This is all to say that it remains as frustratingly unclear as ever whether NASA’s reviews and paperwork – likely to delay Crew Dragon’s astronaut launch debut well into Q1 or even Q2 2020 – are worth more than the trouble

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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 confirms Grok 4 launch on July 9 with livestream event

The rollout will be accompanied by a livestream at 8 p.m. Pacific Time.

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Credit: xAI/X

Elon Musk has officially confirmed that Grok 4, the latest version of xAI’s large language model, will launch on July 9. The rollout will be accompanied by a livestream at 8 p.m. Pacific Time, hosted on xAI’s official account on X.

xAI goes straight to Grok 4

Back in May, leaks indicated that xAI was getting ready to ship Grok 3.5. Considering Musk’s recent comments, however, it appears that the artificial intelligence startup would be focusing on the large language model’s fourth iteration instead. As noted in a Financial Express report, users on X have sighted references to Grok 4 in the lead up to the update’s launch, such as “grok-4-prod-mimic” and “Grok 4 Code.”

Musk’s Grok 4 announcement comes as AI competition intensifies between major players including OpenAI, Google, and xAI. With Musk’s Colossus supercomputer fully operational in Memphis, xAI appears to be accelerating its AI product roadmap.

Musk pushes Grok toward political neutrality

Grok 4’s launch also follows a recent controversy involving political bias, as noted in a CNN report. Last week, Grok responded to a user on X stating that political violence in the U.S. since 2016 had come more from the political right than the left. The chatbot noted in a later reply that its answer was based on information from sources like Reuters, the Journal of Democracy, and University of Maryland studies. 

Musk stated that Grok’s response was a “major fail.” “Major fail, as this is objectively false. Grok is parroting legacy media. Working on it,” he wrote in a post on X. By the end of June, Musk noted that he was “grinding all night with the xAI team” and that they were making “good progress.” He also stated that the model “Will be called Grok 4. Release just after July 4th. Needs one more big run for a specialized coding model.”

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Tesla opens massive solar Supercharger station in California

The Supercharger opened to customers ahead of Fourth of July weekend, while Tesla continues phase two of construction on the site.

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Credit: Tesla Charging | X

Tesla has officially launched the first several Supercharging posts at a massive station in California, notably including solar canopies and grid-scale batteries to offer completely renewable charging.

Last week, Tesla announced on X that it opened the first 84 Supercharger stalls of a planned 168-stall station in Lost Hills, California. Additionally, the massive Supercharger project features 11MW of solar canopies and 10 Megapack batteries for off-grid charging powered entirely by solar energy.

Tesla completed the first phase of the project just days ahead of the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend, adding that initial construction took just eight months. In addition to the remaining charging stalls, Tesla says it’s building a set of lounge areas, renderings of which can be seen below alongside current photos of the site.

Notably, the site also includes V4 charging posts for the company’s latest available charging speeds, and it’s located near the busy junction between I-5 and Highway 46 in Kern County.

“Thank you [Kern County] and [PG&E] for collaboration and approvals,” Tesla wrote in a follow-up post.

Credit: Tesla Charging | X

Credit: Tesla Charging | X

Credit: Tesla Charging | X

Credit: Tesla Charging | X

READ MORE ON TESLA SUPERCHARGERS: Tesla launches ultra-fast V4 Superchargers in China for the first time

Testing at the LA Diner, plus Musk update on potential Tesla solar Gigafactory

The huge Tesla Supercharger station completed phase one of construction fairly quickly, especially given how long Tesla has been working on its unique Los Angeles diner, drive-in, and Supercharger location. Still, the company was seen performing some testing at the nearly-completed charging station earlier this month, and will reportedly be holding a job fair.

Elon Musk also responded on Monday morning to a post on X, suggesting that Tesla is “thinking about” building a U.S.-based solar Gigafactory in order to help support increased power needs with AI growth, and to bolster domestic solar production.

Tesla is building a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country

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Tesla driver walks away from major accident with minor injuries

The driver sustained only minor injuries, and the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation.

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Credit: CHP Los Banos (via Facebook)

The driver of a Tesla Model Y survived and walked away from a harrowing accident on Monday in California, only sustaining minor injuries despite the vehicle being impaled by a guardrail.

On Monday morning around 4:34 a.m., the Los Banos division of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) responded to the accident on I-5 near Panoche Road, involving a 23-year-old in a Tesla Model Y. According to a post on social media, the driver veered off the road for unknown reasons in the northbound lane, before crashing directly into the guardrail and impaling the vehicle.

You can read the full message and photos from Los Banos CHP below, as were shared in a Facebook post on Monday afternoon.

This morning a Tesla model y was traveling in the #1 northbound lane of I-5 north of Panoche Rd. For unknown reasons driver allowed V-1 to veer off the roadway, travel through a dirt center divide, and crashed into the fixed metal guardrail. Lucky for the driver he only sustained minor injuries and was able to walk away. Driving a vehicle requires 100% attention to the road. Avoid distractions and focus on driving.

Credit: CHP Los Banos (via Facebook)

Credit: CHP Los Banos (via Facebook)

Credit: CHP Los Banos (via Facebook)

In a statement to SFGate, CHP officer Myles Anderson said that the driver only sustained minor injuries, while no arrests are made and drugs and alcohol are not suspected to have been involved. The report also notes that Tesla’s “cruise control and lane assistance features” were activated, according to Anderson. However, it’s not entirely clear if this is referring to Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD), or to the cruise control and lane assist features baked into Autopilot.

At the time of writing, CHP has not yet responded to Teslarati’s request for clarification and additional details on the matter.

READ MORE ON TESLA SAFETY: Tesla rolls out crucial new safety feature aimed at saving children

The news comes after Tesla has touted its vehicles as incredibly safe for many years. In December, for example, the company highlighted receiving top safety scores from regulators on four different continents throughout the world, including from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) in the U.S.

Tesla has also listed the goal of making its vehicles the safest on the road throughout the years, both in the overall design of its vehicles and in its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) programs.

Tesla Model 3 ranks as the safest new car in Europe for 2025, per Euro NCAP tests

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