News
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship marches towards launch with vacuum chamber test
SpaceX has published the latest photo of its next-generation Crew Dragon spacecraft, showing the crewed vehicle preparing to be put through its paces inside a NASA thermal vacuum chamber located in Cleveland, Ohio. If the tests are completed without issue, the Dragon’s next destination will be Cape Canaveral, Florida, where it will prepare for an inaugural launch targeted for the fourth quarter of 2018.
In the photo released on June 20th, SpaceX’s DM-1 Crew Dragon capsule (C202 in shorthand: [C]apsule, Dragon [2], serial number [02]) is seen being craned by SpaceX technicians into the thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Plum Brook testing facilities. Located in Ohio, Plum Brook’s vacuum chamber is unique because of both its size and its ability to fairly accurate replicate the actual environment faced by satellites and spacecraft once in space. Most importantly, this includes the extreme thermal conditions those vehicles are subjected to by constant ~90-minute day-night cycles in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Without Earth’s cozy atmosphere to act as both a heat sink and insulating blanket once on orbit, there is simply nothing there to protect spacecraft like Crew Dragon from the absolute extremes of direct solar radiation (sunlight), total darkness, and a complete lack of cooling by conduction and convection. In order to avoid overheating, Crew Dragon thus needs to bring along its own means of cooling in the form of onboard radiators to shed excess heat. The use of white paint on spacecraft further aids this process by selectively preventing the absorption of solar radiation while simultaneously efficiently emitting in infrared wavelengths.
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- SpaceX’s Demo Mission-1 Crew Dragon seen preparing for vacuum tests at a NASA-run facility, June 2018. (SpaceX)
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- The DM-1 Crew Dragon testing inside SpaceX’s anechoic chamber, May 2018. (SpaceX)
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- An overview of Crew Dragon’s main features, all of which can be seen in the real-life photos. The Cargo Dragon version will likely remove seats and windows. (SpaceX)
How to prep your Dragon
Crew Dragon’s primary radiators are elegantly integrated into vertical panels installed on the cylindrical bottom segment, known as the trunk, while the craft’s power source – solar panels in this case – are installed in a curved array on the opposite side of the trunk. Intriguingly, the trunks displayed in the two most recent photos of the DM-1 Crew Dragon appear to be almost completely different, and the trunk at Plum Brook does not appear to have its solar arrays or radiators installed. Nominally, SpaceX would use the thermal vacuum capabilities of the Ohio facility to fully vet Crew Dragon’s ability to maintain optimal temperatures on orbit, but the particularly tests planned for the DM-1 capsule and trunk may be of a slightly different type.
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- On February 28, SpaceX completed a demonstration of their ability to recover the crew and capsule after a nominal water splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of Florida. (SpaceX)
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- Astronaut Bob Behnken examines a sample of Crew Dragon docking and crew transfer hardware, the mechanisms that will allow the spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station and allow crew to enter the orbital outpost. Taken March 2017. (SpaceX)
Regardless, after testing at Plum Brook is completed, the DM-1 Crew Dragon capsule will be shipped to a newly-constructed processing facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, while it’s understood that the trunk installed in SpaceX’s June 20th photo will be returned to the Hawthorne, CA factory to be outfitted with flight hardware (presumably including cameras, radiators, solar arrays, and a healthy amount of insulation). It’s unclear when the two segments of DM-1 will part ways and head on to their next destinations, but it’s likely that testing at Plum Brook will last for at least a handful of weeks.
Birds of a feather
In the meantime, several additional Crew Dragon capsules/trunks and the Falcon 9 Block 5 rockets that will launch them are in a variety of states of fabrication and assembly at SpaceX’s Hawthorne factory. B1051, the Block 5 booster assigned to the first uncrewed Demo-1 launch of Crew Dragon, was reported by NASA to be undergoing propellant tank integration in March 2018, implying that the rocket should be at or near the final stages of integration, and will likely ship to McGregor, Texas for static fire testing late this summer.
As of June 15th, SpaceX’s third Falcon 9 Block 5 booster was vertical on the Texas test stand, likely nearing its own static fire test before being shipped to SpaceX’s Vandenberg Air Force Base launch facilities for the July 20th launch of Iridium-7. While possible that a booster slipped past the watchful eyes and ears of SpaceX enthusiast observers, it’s probable that the rocket currently in McGregor is B1048, implying that a minimum of two additional booster shipments and Texas test programs remain before B1051 can be prepped to launch SpaceX’s first Crew Dragon mission. At the current marginally accelerated booster production and shipment schedule (~ 30-day cadence), B1051 would be expected to leave Hawthorne for Texas no earlier than (NET) late August or early September. This meshes with a recent comment from Commercial Crew astronaut Suni Williams:
“I think we’re going to get the [uncrewed[ demo flights probably by the end of the year, maybe a little after that . . . and then the crew demo missions next year.”
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- Falcon 9 Block 5 completed its first launch on May 11, carrying the Bangabandhu-1 communications satellite to geostationary transfer orbit. (Tom Cross)
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- SpaceX’s second Block 5 booster was spotted vertical at the company’s McGregor, TX testing facilities. That booster has since been shipped to Florida for a mid-July launch, with B1048 now in its place as of June 15. (Aero Photo)
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- A matte-silver Block 5 Merlin 1D rocket engine seen preparing to leave SpaceX’s Hawthorne factory for testing in Texas. (SpaceX)
Anticipating acceptance and prelaunch testing that is far more extensive and time-consuming than typically seen with SpaceX’s commercial missions, it’s safe to bet that the first uncrewed Crew Dragon mission – DM-1 – will launch from Kennedy Space Center in November or December 2018. While those operations proceed over the course of the rest of this year, SpaceX expects roughly 10 additional Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches to occur. It’s gonna be a busy H2.
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Cybertruck
Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes
According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:
Tesla’s new Cybertruck offering has had its delivery date pushed back once again. This is now the second time, and deliveries for the newest orders are now pushed well into 2027.
According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:
🚨 Tesla has updated the $59,990 Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD’s estimated delivery date to April 2027.
First deliveries are still slated for June, but if you order it now, you’ll be waiting over a year.
Demand appears to be off the charts for the new Cybertruck and consumers are… pic.twitter.com/raDCCeC0zP
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 26, 2026
Just three days ago, the initial delivery date of June 2026 was pushed back to early Fall, and now, that date has officially moved to April 2027.
The fact that Tesla has had to push back deliveries once again proves one of two things: either Tesla has slow production plans for the new Cybertruck trim, or demand is off the charts.
Judging by how Tesla is already planning to raise the price based on demand in just a few days, it seems like the company knows it is giving a tremendous deal on this spec of Cybertruck, and units are moving quickly.
That points more toward demand and not necessarily to slower production plans, but it is not confirmed.
Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim will undergo massive change in ten days, Musk says
Tesla is set to hike the price on March 1, so tomorrow will be the final day to grab the new Cybertruck trim for just $59,990.
It features:
- Dual Motor AWD w/ est. 325 mi of range
- Powered tonneau cover
- Bed outlets (2x 120V + 1x 240V) & Powershare capability
- Coil springs w/ adaptive damping
- Heated first-row seats w/ textile material that is easy to clean
- Steer-by-wire & Four Wheel Steering
- 6’ x 4’ composite bed
- Towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs
- Powered frunk
Interestingly, the price offering is fairly close to what Tesla unveiled back in late 2019.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt
Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.
Elon Musk has clarified when SpaceX will first attempt to catch Starship’s upper stage with its launch tower. The CEO’s update provides the clearest teaser yet for the spacecraft’s recovery roadmap.
Musk shared the details in recent posts on X. In his initial post, Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.
“Starship V3 SN1 headed for ground tests. I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability,” Musk wrote.
In a follow-up post, Musk addressed when SpaceX would attempt to catch the upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms.
“Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low,” Musk clarified.
His remarks suggest that SpaceX is deliberately reducing risk before attempting a tower catch of Starship’s upper stage. Such a milestone would mark a major step towards the full reuse of the Starship system.
SpaceX is currently targeting the first Starship V3 flight of 2026 this coming March. The spacecraft’s V3 iteration is widely viewed as a key milestone in SpaceX’s long-term strategy to make Starship fully reusable.
Starship V3 features a number of key upgrades over its previous iterations. The vehicle is equipped with SpaceX’s Raptor V3 engines, which are designed to deliver significantly higher thrust than earlier versions while reducing cost and weight.
The V3 design is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability, a critical step if SpaceX intends to scale the spacecraft’s production toward frequent launches for Starlink, lunar missions, and eventually Mars.
News
Tesla FSD (Supervised) could be approved in the Netherlands next month: Musk
Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared that Full Self-Driving (FSD) could receive regulatory approval in the Netherlands as soon as March 20, potentially marking a major step forward for Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance rollout in Europe.
Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin, noting that the date was provided by local authorities.
“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told,” Musk stated.
“Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive.”
Tesla’s FSD system relies on vision-based neural networks trained on real-world driving data, allowing vehicles to navigate using cameras and AI rather than traditional sensor-heavy solutions.
The performance of FSD Supervised has so far been impressive. As per Tesla’s safety report, Full Self-Driving Supervised has already traveled 8.3 billion miles. So far, vehicles operating with FSD Supervised engaged recorded one major collision every 5,300,676 miles.
In comparison, Teslas driven manually with Active Safety systems recorded one major collision every 2,175,763 miles, while Teslas driven manually without Active Safety recorded one major collision every 855,132 miles. The U.S. average during the same period was one major collision every 660,164 miles.
If approval is granted on March 20, the Netherlands could become the first European market to greenlight Tesla’s latest supervised FSD (Supervised) software under updated regulatory frameworks. Tesla has been working to secure expanded FSD access across Europe, where regulatory standards differ significantly from those in the United States. Approval in the Netherlands would likely serve as a foundation for broader EU adoption, though additional country-level clearances may still be required.
Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes
Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt
