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SpaceX Dragon spacecraft ready for space station cargo delivery after repairs
NASA and SpaceX are ready for Cargo Dragon’s 25th International Space Station resupply mission after a one-month delay.
Originally scheduled to launch in early June, SpaceX’s 25th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission (CRS-25 or Spx-25) was indefinitely delayed a few days before liftoff after the company detected signs of a possible fuel leak. As it worked alongside NASA to determine and rectify the problem, CRS-25’s launch target gradually slipped to June 28th and then July 11th before settling on an 8:44 pm EDT liftoff on July 14th (00:44 UTC 15 July). All vehicle and pad hardware is in good shape and weather is expected to be 70% favorable, boding well – at long last – for an on-time launch.
In mid-June, SpaceX narrowed down the source of the fuel leak to a “valve inlet joint” on one of Dragon’s 16 Draco maneuvering thrusters and decided to replace the entire thruster assembly out of an abundance of caution. In late June, NASA announced that SpaceX had also decided to replace Dragon’s parachutes just in case they’d been contaminated and degraded by exposure to the reusable spacecraft’s toxic fuel. All told, the inspections, troubleshooting, and rework are on pace to result in a 35-day delay – the longest launch delay in recent memory caused by an issue with a SpaceX rocket or spacecraft.
CRS-25 will be Cargo Dragon 2 capsule C208’s third trip to orbit and the International Space Station (ISS) since it debuted in December 2020 and was reused in August 2021. Loaded with 2.6 tons (~5800 lb) of supplies, the spacecraft will take about a day and a half to rendezvous with the ISS if it launches as planned on Thursday and will spend about a month in orbit before returning to Earth.
Scheduled to launch less than half an hour after sunset, there’s a chance – weather pending – that CRS-25’s Falcon 9 rocket will produce an iconic artificial ‘nebula’ as it ascends back into sunlight and its exhaust plume is illuminated against the dusk sky. Tune in below around 8:30 pm CDT (00:30 UTC) to watch SpaceX’s official coverage of its 30th launch of the year.
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Tesla FSD V14.2.1 is earning rave reviews from users in diverse conditions
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software continues its rapid evolution, with the latest V14.2.1 update drawing widespread praise.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software continues its rapid evolution, with the latest V14.2.1 update drawing widespread praise for its smoother performance and smarter decision-making.
Videos and firsthand accounts from Tesla owners highlight V14.2.1 as an update that improves navigation responsiveness, sign recognition, and overall fluidity, among other things. Some drivers have even described it as “more alive than ever,” hinting at the system eventually feeling “sentient,” as Elon Musk has predicted.
FSD V14.2.1 first impressions
Early adopters are buzzing about how V14.2.1 feels less intrusive while staying vigilant. In a post shared on X, Tesla owner @LactoseLunatic described the update as a “huge leap forward,” adding that the system remains “incredibly assertive but still safe.”
Another Tesla driver, Devin Olsenn, who logged ~600 km on V14.2.1, reported no safety disengagements, with the car feeling “more alive than ever.” The Tesla owner noted that his wife now defaults to using FSD V14, as the system is already very smooth and refined.
Adverse weather and regulatory zones are testing grounds where V14.2.1 shines, at least according to testers in snow areas. Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt shared a video of his first snowy drive on unplowed rural roads in New Hampshire, where FSD did great and erred on the side of caution. As per Merritt, FSD V14.2.1 was “extra cautious” but it performed well overall.
-->Sign recognition and freeway prowess
Sign recognition also seemed to show improvements with FSD V14.2.1. Longtime FSD tester Chuck Cook highlighted a clip from his upcoming first-impressions video, showcasing improved school zone behavior. “I think it read the signs better,” he observed, though in standard mode, it didn’t fully drop to 15 mph within the short timeframe. This nuance points to V14.2.1’s growing awareness of temporal rules, a step toward fewer false positives in dynamic environments.
FSD V14.2.1 also seems to excel in high-stress highway scenarios. Fellow FSD tester @BLKMDL3 posted a video of FSD V14.2.1 managing a multi-lane freeway closure due to a police chase-related accident. “Perfectly handles all lanes of the freeway merging into one,” the Tesla owner noted in his post on X.
FSD V14.2.1 was released on Thanksgiving, much to the pleasant surprise of Tesla owners. The update’s release notes are almost identical to the system’s previous iteration, save for one line item read, “Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.”
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Tesla FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe begin in Italy, France, and Germany
The program allows the public to hop in as a non-driving observer to witness FSD navigate urban streets firsthand.
Tesla has kicked off passenger ride-alongs for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in Italy, France and Germany. The program allows the public to hop in as a non-driving observer to witness FSD navigate urban streets firsthand.
The program, detailed on Tesla’s event pages, arrives ahead of a potential early 2026 Dutch regulatory approval that could unlock a potential EU-wide rollout for FSD.
Hands-Off Demos
Tesla’s ride-along invites participants to “ride along in the passenger seat to experience how it handles real-world traffic & the most stressful parts of daily driving, making the roads safer for all,” as per the company’s announcement on X through its official Tesla Europe & Middle East account.
Sign-ups via localized pages offer free slots through December, with Tesla teams piloting vehicles through city streets, roundabouts and highways.
“Be one of the first to experience Full Self-Driving (Supervised) from the passenger seat. Our team will take you along as a passenger and show you how Full Self-Driving (Supervised) works under real-world road conditions,” Tesla wrote. “Discover how it reacts to live traffic and masters the most stressful parts of driving to make the roads safer for you and others. Come join us to learn how we are moving closer to a fully autonomous future.”
-->Building trust towards an FSD Unsupervised rollout
Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) ride-alongs could be an effective tool to build trust and get regular car buyers and commuters used to the idea of vehicles driving themselves. By seating riders shotgun, Tesla could provide participants with a front row seat to the bleeding edge of consumer-grade driverless systems.
FSD (Supervised) has already been rolled out to several countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and partially in China. So far, FSD (Supervised) has been received positively by drivers, as it really makes driving tasks and long trips significantly easier and more pleasant.
FSD is a key safety feature as well, which became all too evident when a Tesla driving on FSD was hit by what seemed to be a meteorite in Australia. The vehicle moved safely despite the impact, though the same would likely not be true had the car been driven manually.
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Swedish union rep pissed that Tesla is working around a postal blockade they started
Tesla Sweden is now using dozens of private residences as a way to obtain license plates for its vehicles.
Two years into their postal blockade, Swedish unions are outraged that Tesla is still able to provide its customers’ vehicles with valid plates through various clever workarounds.
Seko chairman Gabriella Lavecchia called it “embarrassing” that the world’s largest EV maker, owned by CEO Elon Musk, refuses to simply roll over and accept the unions’ demands.
Unions shocked Tesla won’t just roll over and surrender
The postal unions’ blockade began in November 2023 when Seko and IF Metall-linked unions stopped all mail to Tesla sites to force a collective agreement. License plates for Tesla vehicles instantly became the perfect pressure point, as noted in a Dagens Arbete report.
Tesla responded by implementing initiatives to work around the blockades. A recent investigation from Arbetet revealed that Tesla Sweden is now using dozens of private residences, including one employee’s parents’ house in Trångsund and a customer-relations staffer’s home in Vårby, as a way to obtain license plates for its vehicles.
Seko chairman Gabriella Lavecchia is not pleased that Tesla Sweden is working around the unions’ efforts yet again. “It is embarrassing that one of the world’s largest car companies, owned by one of the world’s richest people, has sunk this low,” she told the outlet. “Unfortunately, it is completely frivolous that such a large company conducts business in this way.”
-->Two years on and plates are still being received
The Swedish Transport Agency has confirmed Tesla is still using several different workarounds to overcome the unions’ blockades.
As noted by DA, Tesla Sweden previously used different addresses to receive its license plates. At one point, the electric vehicle maker used addresses for car care shops. Tesla Sweden reportedly used this strategy in Östermalm in Stockholm, as well as in Norrköping and Gothenburg.
Another strategy that Tesla Sweden reportedly implemented involved replacement plates being ordered by private individuals when vehicles change hands from Tesla to car buyers. There have also been cases where the police have reportedly issued temporary plates to Tesla vehicles.
Tesla FSD V14.2.1 is earning rave reviews from users in diverse conditions
Tesla FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe begin in Italy, France, and Germany
