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SpaceX gets official ‘go’ from NASA for upcoming astronaut launch debut
Days before the final test flight and first crewed flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, Demo-2, representatives from SpaceX, NASA, and the International Space Station met for an intensive Flight Readiness Review (FRR) to determine whether or not the historic mission could proceed toward a May 27th, 2020 launch attempt.
Leaders from SpaceX and NASA such a NASA’s Commerical Crew Program Manager, Kathy Lueders; International Space Station Program manager Kirk Shireman; SpaceX’s director of Crew Mission Management, Benji Reed in conjunction with Russian and Japanese representatives from the International Space Station partnership came together to discuss the findings of previous, specialized reviews, close out any remaining action items, and give the official nod of approval for SpaceX to send astronauts to orbit for the first time. NASA Associate Administrator, Steve Jurczyk, led the review in place of Doug Loverro who recently resigned as chief of NASA’s human spaceflight program.
The standard practice joint FRR that occurs ahead of any crew launch comes after a series of previously held independent specialized reviews – such an engineering review of the Crew Dragon capsule and a flight test rate review led by Kathy Lueders and the Commercial Crew Program team. Initially intended to last just one day, the FRR began on Thursday (May 21st), extended to the end of the business day, and continued into Friday (May 22nd). After a day and a half of intensive review and conversation, Steve Jurczyk stated that “We did a thorough review of all of the systems and all the risks, and it was unanimous on the board that we are go for launch.”
NASA administrator, Jim Bridenstine spoke at a post review news conference stating that the FRR was a “time to speak up if there are any challenges and there were. There were conversations that were had that were very important to be had.” He also stated that there are still “a lot of checks to do, but the (flight) readiness review was good and we are a go.”
For Demo-2, the successful FRR is a crucial pathfinding step to confirming launch, however not the last. During the follow-up news conference, SpaceX’s Director of Crew Mission Management, Benji Reed, stated that the go for launch is permission to proceed in the launch sequence, but “really it’s a go to the mission,” referring to the fact that Demo-2 is an extended exercise of SpaceX’s entire human spaceflight system. Demo-2 will every step of the sequences from launch, to docking, to returning NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley home safely. Reed went on to say that “there’ll be constant vigilance and watching of the data and observations as we go through the mission.”
In order to pass this final test flight, SpaceX will have to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon are more than capable of delivering and returning astronauts safely to and from orbit. Perhaps the most important objective to be met is achieving NASA human rating certification of SpaceX’s human spaceflight system. In response to a question regarding human rating by CNBC reporter Michael Sheetz, Steve Jurczyk stated that the Demo-2 FRR was an “intermittent interim human rating certification review – validated that this system meets the human rating certification requirements for the Demo-2 mission and those requirements feed forward to future missions, including the Crew-1 mission. We will have a final human rating certification review after Demo-2, before the Crew-1 mission, just to certify the relatively small set of design changes between the Demo-2 system and the Crew-1 system, and at that point, we will deem the system human rating certified.”
A few final hurdles Demo-2 had left to clear is the static firing of the Falcon 9’s Merlin 1D engines and a dry dress rehearsal of launch day proceedings scheduled to occur Saturday (May 22nd) to ensure every kink is worked out of the system and everything is ready to go for launch. The dry dress rehearsal will encompass every aspect of launch day, from putting on the spacesuits to climbing into the Crew Dragon capsule. It is expected to end just before propellant loading would begin in the countdown.
Finally, SpaceX is expected to hold its own Launch Readiness Review with appropriate NASA teams in attendance on Monday, May 25th, “to make sure we’re go for each aspect, including go to come home,” as stated by Reed. Upon conclusion, the only thing left to do will be to load the astronauts and launch to the International Space Station, making history for SpaceX once again.
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Tesla ships out update that brings massive change to two big features
“This change only updates the name of certain features and text in your vehicle,” the company wrote in Release Notes for the update, “and does not change the way your features behave.”
Tesla has shipped out an update for its vehicles that was caused specifically by a California lawsuit that threatened the company’s ability to sell cars because of how it named its driver assistance suite.
Tesla shipped out Software Update 2026.2.9 starting last week; we received it already, and it only brings a few minor changes, mostly related to how things are referenced.
“This change only updates the name of certain features and text in your vehicle,” the company wrote in Release Notes for the update, “and does not change the way your features behave.”
The following changes came to Tesla vehicles in the update:
- Navigate on Autopilot has now been renamed to Navigate on Autosteer
- FSD Computer has been renamed to AI Computer
Tesla faced a 30-day sales suspension in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles stated the company had to come into compliance regarding the marketing of its automated driving features.
The agency confirmed on February 18 that it had taken a “corrective action” to resolve the issue. That corrective action was renaming certain parts of its ADAS.
Tesla discontinued its standalone Autopilot offering in January and ramped up the marketing of Full Self-Driving Supervised. Tesla had said on X that the issue with naming “was a ‘consumer protection’ order about the use of the term ‘Autopilot’ in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.”
This was a “consumer protection” order about the use of the term “Autopilot” in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.
Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) December 17, 2025
It is now compliant with the wishes of the California DMV, and we’re all dealing with it now.
This was the first primary dispute over the terminology of Full Self-Driving, but it has undergone some scrutiny at the federal level, as some government officials have claimed the suite has “deceptive” names. Previous Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was one of those federal-level employees who had an issue with the names “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving.”
Tesla sued the California DMV over the ruling last week.
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Tesla workers push back against Giga Berlin unionization
“IG Metall did not succeed in Giga Berlin‘s works council election earlier today. The union share was reduced from nearly 40% in 2024 to 31% in 2026! This is a clear message by the Giga Berlin team towards an independent co-determination! The list called Giga United, led by the current chairwoman, Michaela Schmitz, received the most votes with more than 40%! Good news for Giga Berlin!”
Tesla workers pushed back against unionization efforts at Gigafactory Berlin, and over the past few years, there has been a dramatic decrease in interest to unionize at the German plant.
Gigafactory Berlin Plant Manager André Thierig announced on Wednesday that IG Metall, the European union group, saw its share reduce from 40 to 31 percent in 2026 as employees eligible to vote on the issue. Instead, the Giga Berlin team, known as Giga United, received the most votes with more than 40 percent.
BREAKING! 🚨
IG Metall did not succeed in Giga Berlin‘s works council election earlier today. The union share was reduced from nearly 40% in 2024 to 31% in 2026!
This is a clear message by theGiga Berlin team towards an independent co-determination!
The list called Giga…
— André Thierig (@AndrThie) March 4, 2026
Thierig gave specific details in a post on X:
“IG Metall did not succeed in Giga Berlin‘s works council election earlier today. The union share was reduced from nearly 40% in 2024 to 31% in 2026! This is a clear message by the Giga Berlin team towards an independent co-determination! The list called Giga United, led by the current chairwoman, Michaela Schmitz, received the most votes with more than 40%! Good news for Giga Berlin!”
There were over 10,700 total employees who were eligible to vote, with 87 percent of them turning out to cast what they wanted. There were three key outcomes: Giga United, IG Metall, and other notable groups, with the most popular being the Polish Initiative.
The 37-seat council remains dominated by non-unionized representatives, preserving Giga Berlin as Germany’s only major auto plant without a collective bargaining agreement.
Thierig and Tesla framed the outcome as employee support for an “independent, flexible, and unbureaucratic” future, enabling acceleration on projects like potential expansions or new models. IG Metall expressed disappointment, accusing management of intimidation tactics and an “unfair” campaign.
The first election of this nature happened back in 2022. In 2024, IG Metall emerged as the largest single faction with 39.4 percent, but non-union lists coalesced for a majority.
But this year was different. There was some extra tension at Giga Berlin this year, as just two weeks ago, an IG Metall rep was accused by Tesla of secretly recording a council meeting. The group countersued for defamation.
Tesla Giga Berlin plant manager faces defamation probe after IG Metall union complaint
This result from the 2026 vote reinforced Tesla’s model of direct employee-management alignment over traditional German union structures, amid ongoing debates about working conditions. IG Metall views it as a setback but continues advocacy. Tesla sees it as validation of its approach in a competitive EV market.
This outcome may influence future labor dynamics at Giga Berlin, including any revival of expansion plans or product lines, which Musk has talked about recently.
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SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell details xAI power pledge at White House event
The commitment was announced during an event with United States President Donald Trump.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell stated that xAI will develop 1.2 gigawatts of power at its Memphis-area AI supercomputer site as part of the White House’s new “Ratepayer Protection Pledge.”
The commitment was announced during an event with United States President Donald Trump.
During the White House event, Shotwell stated that xAI’s AI data center near Memphis would include a major energy installation designed to support the facility’s power needs.
“As you know, xAI builds huge supercomputers and data centers and we build them fast. Currently, we’re building one on the Tennessee-Mississippi state line. As part of today’s commitment, we will take extensive additional steps to continue to reduce the costs of electricity for our neighbors…
“xAI will therefore commit to develop 1.2 GW of power as our supercomputer’s primary power source. That will be for every additional data center as well. We will expand what is already the largest global Megapack power installation in the world,” Shotwell said.
She added that the system would provide significant backup power capacity.
“The installation will provide enough backup power to power the city of Memphis, and more than sufficient energy to power the town of Southaven, Mississippi where the data center resides. We will build new substations and invest in electrical infrastructure to provide stability to the area’s grid.”
Shotwell also noted that xAI will be supporting the area’s water supply as well.
“We haven’t talked about it yet, but this is actually quite important. We will build state-of-the-art water recycling plants that will protect approximately 4.7 billion gallons of water from the Memphis aquifer each year. And we will employ thousands of American workers from around the city of Memphis on both sides of the TN-MS border,” she noted.
The Ratepayer Protection Pledge was introduced as part of the federal government’s effort to address concerns about rising electricity costs tied to large AI data centers, as noted in an Insider report. Under the agreement, companies developing major AI infrastructure projects committed to covering their own power generation needs and avoiding additional costs for local ratepayers.
Tesla ships out update that brings massive change to two big features
Tesla workers push back against Giga Berlin unionization
