

News
SpaceX Crew Dragon aces third autonomous space station docking
Update: A SpaceX Crew Dragon has successfully performed an autonomous rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station (ISS) for the third time in a row and the first time with four astronauts aboard.
Near-flawless space station arrival now behind it, Crew Dragon has effectively kicked off what could be the longest continuous spaceflight of a crewed US spacecraft in the history of American space exploration. Barring surprises, Crew Dragon capsule C207 (deemed “Resilience” by its first crew) and its expendable trunk section will spend roughly 180 days in orbit, crushing the previous US record of 84 days set by an Apollo Command and Service Module spacecraft in 1973.
Crew Dragon’s first successful operational space station arrival also marks the beginning of a small but significant new era for the ISS, enabling a crew of seven astronauts – up from six – to continuously live and work aboard the 20-year-old orbital outpost. Thanks to the station’s well-quantified needs for regular maintenance and operational expertise, that new seventh crew member will ultimately be able to dedicate almost every working moment to doing science in orbit.
Meanwhile, ISS NASA astronaut Kate Rubins hinted to SpaceX and NASA ground control that a range of photos she took of Crew Dragon’s third ISS arrival were likely to be spectacular. A ground controller took no time to respond with the quip that “[Crew Dragon] is known objectively to be a very good-looking vehicle.” Stay tuned for another update when those approach photos go live.
Approximately two hours after Crew Dragon’s third successful docking, Rubins successfully completed an array of tasks and opened the spacecraft’s hatch, allowing NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi to officially depart Dragon and join the International Space Station’s existing crew of three.
A SpaceX Crew Dragon is set to rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station for the third time later tonight and its four-astronaut crew took some time during their 27-hour flight to give live viewers a tour of the brand new spacecraft.
Emphasizing just how much space Crew Dragon offers its astronaut passengers once in orbit, the tour also included a minor tradition for NASA astronaut Victor Glover’s first orbital spaceflight. Astronauts Soichi Noguchi, Mike Hopkins, and Shannon Walker – all spaceflight veterans – commemorated Glover’s milestone with the gift of a small, golden pin, continuing a decades-old tradition.
If Crew Dragon remains in good health, the four astronauts will officially kick off the first ISS docking attempt with a 90-second thruster burn shortly after 9 pm EST (02:00 UTC).
Quite similar to Crew Dragon’s flawless Demo-2 astronaut launch debut, the Crew-1 spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at what is known as the ISS keep-out sphere around half an hour after its final major course-change thruster burn. Dragon will pause approximately 400m (~1300 ft) from the space station and wait for ground and station teams to give it the go-ahead to continue to another stopped point 20m (65 ft) out.
Altogether, the Crew-1 Dragon docking process will take about 55 minutes after the spacecraft enters the keep-out sphere and will culminate with a ‘soft’ capture around 11pm EST (04:00 UTC) and a ‘hard’ capture – signified by the docking port firmly bolting Dragon to the ISS – a bit less than 15 minutes later.
Orbital sunset is expected roughly 10 minutes before docking, meaning that Crew Dragon’s Crew-1 docking should be sunlit from a distance of ~1000 to 20 meters (3300 to 65 ft) from the ISS. Tune in below to watch the historic docking live.
News
Tesla Supercharger access has proven to be a challenge for one company
Interestingly, it seems to be the Volkswagen brand specifically that is having issues with compatibility with Tesla Superchargers. Other brands under the VW umbrella, like Audi and Porsche, have already gained access to the charging network.

Tesla Supercharger access has proven to be quite the challenge for one company, as it continues to delay the date that it will enable its owners to charge at the most expansive network in the world.
Tesla Superchargers have been opening up to other brands for well over a year, and many car companies that are manufacturing electric vehicles now have access to the vast network that has over 70,000 locations worldwide.
Tesla to launch Supercharger access for VW owners later this year
However, one brand has experienced some issues with what it is calling “technical challenges,” specifically failing to enable cross-compatibility between its vehicles and Tesla Superchargers.
Volkswagen has had to delay its ability to enable customers to charge at Superchargers because there have been some difficulties getting things to run smoothly. A report from PCMag cites a quote from a Volkswagen spokesperson who said there are still plans to deliver this year, but there have been some delays:
“Volkswagen looks forward to making it possible for ID. Buzz and ID.4 vehicle owners to gain access to the Tesla NACS Partner Superchargers. The timeline has been delayed by technical challenges, and we ask for customers’ patience. We still expect to deliver access this year.”
Interestingly, it seems to be the Volkswagen brand specifically that is having issues with compatibility with Tesla Superchargers. Other brands under the VW umbrella, like Audi and Porsche, have already gained access to the charging network.
Volkswagen EV owners will need to use an official VW adapter to access the Tesla Supercharger Network once the issues are resolved. It still plans to launch access to its owners later this year, but its spokesperson did not announce any planned timeline.
News
Tesla Giga Berlin makes big move amid strong sales and demand
“We currently have very good sales figures and have therefore revised our production plans for the third and fourth quarters upwards.”

Tesla is making a big move at its factory in Germany, known as Giga Berlin, as managers at the plant have indicated the company plans to increase its production rate for the remainder of the year.
Giga Berlin is responsible for manufacturing Model Y vehicles for several markets worldwide, including those outside of Europe. It was opened in March 2022, and it recently built its 500,000th Model Y in March and its 100,000th new Model Y just three weeks ago.
Due to some encouraging sales figures in the markets it provides vehicles for, Tesla said it is planning to increase production at the factory for the remainder of the year.
Andrè Thierig, plant manager at Giga Berlin, said to German news outlet DPA on Sunday that market data has encouraged a move to be made regarding the production at the factory:
“We currently have very good sales figures and have therefore revised our production plans for the third and fourth quarters upwards.”
It is interesting to see this kind of narrative from Thierig, especially as data has shown Tesla has struggled in various markets, including Germany, this year.
Sales drops have been reported, but other markets are holding strong, especially those in Northern Europe, such as Norway, where the Model Y saw a nearly 39 percent increase in sales in August compared to the same month the previous year.
Gigafactory Berlin supplies vehicles for other markets, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which are strategically important to avoid tariffs. It also builds cars for the Middle East.
Thierig reiterated this point during the interview with DPA:
“We supply well over 30 markets and definitely see a positive trend there.”
Elon Musk
Tesla analyst says Musk stock buy should send this signal to investors
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased roughly $1 billion in Tesla shares on Friday, and analysts are now breaking down the move as the stock is headed upward.
One of them is William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who said in a new note to investors on Monday that Musk’s move should send a signal of confidence to stock buyers, especially considering the company’s numerous catalysts that currently exist.
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
Dorsheimer said in the note:
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish. This purchase is Musk’s first buy since 2020. To us, this sends a strong signal of confidence in the most important part of Tesla’s future business, robotaxi.”
Musk putting an additional $1 billion back into the company in the form of more stock ownership is obviously a huge vote of confidence.
He knows more than anyone about the progress Tesla has made and is making on the Robotaxi platform, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to solve vehicle autonomy. If he’s buying stock, it is more than likely a good sign.
Tesla has continued to expand its Robotaxi platform in a number of ways. The project has gotten bigger in terms of service area, vehicle fleet, and testing population. Tesla has also recently received a permit to test in Nevada, unlocking the potential to expand into a brand-new state for the company.
In the note, Dorsheimer also touched on Musk’s recent pay package, revealing that William Blair recently met with Tesla’s Board of Directors, who gave the firm some more color on the situation:
“We recently participated in a meeting with Tesla’s board of directors to discuss the details of Musk’s performance package. The board is confident of its position in the Delaware case and anticipates a verdict by end of year. It does not expect a similar situation to occur under new Texas jurisdiction. Musk has the board’s full support, and we expect he’ll get more than enough shareholder support for this to pass with flying colors.”
Tesla stock is up over 6 percent so far today, trading at $421.50 at the time of publication.
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