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SpaceX releases rare footage of Elon Musk celebrating recent rocket explosion

A screen capture from a new 4K recap video of the SpaceX Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort test shows the Falcon 9 stacked with Crew Dragon capsule ready for flight just hours before launch. (SpaceX)

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As the historic return of human spaceflight from American soil rapidly approaches, SpaceX takes a moment to highlight the Crew Dragon’s most recent accomplishment. During a Commercial Crew and International Space Station overview news conference held Friday, May 1st, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, Gwynne Shotwell debuted new 4K footage of the recent Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test. The test, which occurred on January 19th, 2020 from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, demonstrated the Crew Dragon’s capability to keep astronaut occupants safe should a launch ascent emergency abort scenario occur.

Prior to making her remarks and answering questions, Shotwell called attention to the video highlighting the Super Draco launch escape system – a defining character difference between Crew Dragon and the cargo variant of the capsule that is used to shuttle resupply missions to and from the International Space Station.

The In-Flight Abort test was the final demonstration of the redesigned Super Draco abort thrusters following a catastrophic explosion in March 2019 that resulted in the complete loss of the Demonstration 1 Mission Crew Dragon capsule.

The Super Draco thrusters are used to rapidly propel the capsule away from a failing first-stage booster and ensure the safety of all crew members aboard. Along with eight Super Draco abort thrusters, the Crew Dragon capsule also features sixteen maneuvering Draco thrusters. These work in an abort scenario to ensure attitude control – flipping and orienting the capsule to prevent loss of control and ensure proper orientation for parachute deployment.

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A pod of SuperDraco thrusters is pictured here shortly after installation on Crew Dragon C206, the spacecraft set to launch astronauts for the first time ever. (SpaceX)

The recap video included footage of the Super Draco thruster system performing successfully and propelling the Crew Dragon capsule away from the first-stage Falcon 9 booster that was experiencing an intentional engine shut down. Shortly after, the video displays a never-before-seen view of the capsule ejecting its trunk prior to parachute deployment.

Screen capture from the 4k recap video of the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center shows the 8 Super Draco abort thrusters of the Crew Dragon capsule firing and propelling the capsule away from a “failing” first-stage Falcon 9 booster. (SpaceX)
Screen capture from the 4k recap video of the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center shows the Crew Dragon capsule ejecting its trunk just before parachute deployment and safe splashdown return. (SpaceX)

The recap video differs from the typical SpaceX launch webcast in that it features a more behind-the-scenes look at launch – and splashdown – proceedings. SpaceX engineers along with NASA astronauts and company founder Elon Musk are seen inside Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center at Kennedy Space Center.

Screen capture from the 4k recap video of the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center shows various SpaceX employees observing the test flight behind a row of monitors in Firing Room 4 of the Kennedy Space Center Launch Control Center. (SpaceX)
Screen capture from the 4k recap video of the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center shows SpaceX employees and company founder Elon Musk observing the test flight from Firing Room 4 of the Kennedy Space Center Launch Control Center. (SpaceX)
Screen capture from the 4k recap video of the Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center shows NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken – the future crew members of Crew Dragon DM-2 – observing the test flight from Firing Room 4 of the Kennedy Space Center Launch Control Center. (SpaceX)

The facility was once used to monitor crewed launches during the space shuttle era. The next time it will be used will be during the first crewed launch of a new human spaceflight vehicle since the debut crewed flight of the space shuttle in 1981. The upcoming Crew Dragon Demonstration 2 Mission is currently set to liftoff no earlier than 4:23pm ET on Wednesday, May 27th.

Space Reporter.

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Investor's Corner

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

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Credit: Lucid

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.

Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”

Twork said:

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Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.

Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.

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Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.

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Tesla owner attempts resale of Model S Signature Edition for over $260k

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Credit: Tesla

A Tesla owner who purchased a Model S Signature Edition, one of the final 250 units of the all-electric flagship vehicle that the company discontinued earlier this year, is attempting to sell the car despite a no-resale clause that prohibits reselling for the first year.

The car is being sold by J&S Autohaus in Ewing, New Jersey, and is priced at $260,490, well above the $159,420 that Tesla sold it for earlier this year.

To those who do not know, the Model S Signature was a highly exclusive, limited-run farewell variant of the Model S Plaid that was produced this year to mark the end of production of both the Model S and Model X, Tesla’s two flagship vehicles.

Limited to just 250 units with invite-only sales, it serves as a collector’s item celebrating the legacy of the Model S, which helped pioneer Tesla’s electric vehicle success since its 2012 launch.

It bundles top-tier performance with bespoke cosmetic and luxury upgrades, plus Tesla’s Luxe Package. Here’s what the Model S Signature has over the typical Model S Plaid:

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  • Exclusive Exterior – Unique Garnet Red Paint, matching door handles, gold Tesla “T” badges upfront, gold Plaid and Signature badging at the rear.
  • Premium Interior – White Alcantara upholstery with gold piping/accents, gold Plaid seat badges, Signature-marked door sills, individually numbered dashboard plaque, gold puddle lights, special interior lighting sequence, and a custom Signature key fob.
  • Performance Upgrades – Carbon-ceramic brakes with gold calipers
  • Bundled Luxe Package – Full Self-Driving (Supervised), four years of Premium Connectivity, free lifetime Supercharging
  • Performance Metrics – ~1,020 horsepower, sub-2-second 0-60 MPH, ~390-mile range

Tesla quickly introduced a No Resale Agreement for the Signature Editions of the Model S and Model X, which would penalize the seller for “the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater.”

The company continues:

“If you sell or otherwise transfer the ownership of your Model S or Model X, the remainder of the Recommended Maintenance, Wheel and Tire Protection Plan, and Windshield Protection Plan will transfer automatically to the buyer. The Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity will not transfer with the vehicle and will terminate once the ownership of the Model S or Model X is transferred.”

Tesla will likely come after the seller, especially as it has been about two months since Tesla launched deliveries.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Early Impressions: new features and early performance

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Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.3.5 yesterday, and about fifty miles of driving on the new version has given me enough time to highlight what seems to be strong about the release and what is not.

Additionally, Tesla has added a few new features with this specific update, which we’ll highlight as well.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Performance

The new update is business as usual. Things seem to be running completely normal and necessary, but there are a few things that we’ve seemed to pick up on based on our own experience with v14.3.5, as well as what other users are seeing.

Initially, it seems to be more aware of its surroundings, making moves that are incredibly courteous to other drives and operating just a tad more reserved than what the suite might have done previously.

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We had two instances where it showed this, the first being FSD needing to pass a Flagger Force vehicle that was placing down signage for the day. Their work truck was right at the front corner of a right-hand turn; typically where most cars travel when they take that turn.

FSD v14.3.5 recognized this, slowed down, and took the turn wide with no issues:

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Additionally, v14.3.5 backed up for a semi truck that was making a wide turn onto a road my car was on. This is not new, but it seemed to be backing up for courtesy; it didn’t seem completely necessary, but it might have put some peace of mind in the truck driver’s head:

X user Mike P, also a Pennsylvania native like myself, shared three clips of his Tesla running v14.3.5 performing similar maneuvers. He said:

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“FSD turns right into a small alley that only fits one car at a time, sees oncoming car, reverses out of alley to make space, realizes oncoming car is actually parking, re-enters alley.”

Check it out here:

It seems like Speed Profiles are still in need of some tweaking; I am adjusting what Speed Profile I’m in frequently, constantly changing it to get it to travel at the correct speed. This was an issue for me on v14.3.4. It seems like they’re just a little inconsistent.

Terrible Parking

Parking attempts on v14.3.5 were not good. There are quite a few people who have said this:

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David Moss, the Tesla owner who has taken multiple coast-to-coast drives without any interventions, also has had some issues with parking early on with v14.3.5:

New Features

Tesla has added the ability to open Camera Preview at any time. Previously, it was only available in Park. Here’s what that feature looks like in action:

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Check back later this week for a longer review of what we’ve noticed on Full Self-Driving v14.3.5.

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