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SpaceX readies for astronaut capsule recovery backup plan as rocket drone ship deploys to landing zone
Mission objectives of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2 test flight, have already commenced days ahead of the scheduled launch attempt. On Wednesday, May 27th at 4:33 pm EDT, Elon Musk’s rocket launching – and landing – company, SpaceX, will set out to achieve more firsts than it has ever attempted in one launch. The final Crew Dragon test flight will shuttle NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station for the very first time. Along with the primary mission objective to deliver the astronauts safely, many secondary objectives are built into the mission profile. One of which is autonomously turning the Falcon 9 booster around shortly after launch to land on a floating barge in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
During the late hours of Saturday, May 23rd, a trusted veteran member of the SpaceX fleet of recovery vessels, Tug Hawk, returned to Port Canaveral to transport SpaceX’s autonomous spaceport drone ship, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) to the designated booster recovery zone some 510km downrange. It seems that Tug Hawk and its crew returned specifically to assist with the recovery efforts of SpaceX’s highest-profile launch to date as there was already another tug at Port Canaveral available to assist that was not used. The arrival was captured by long-time port activity documenter, Julia Bergeron, and reported by the unofficial Twitter SpaceX recovery vessel tracking account, SpaceXFleet.
The SpaceX recovery fleet portion of the Demo-2 mission got underway on the morning of Sunday (May 24th). Space Coast local Greg Scott was at Port Canaveral to capture Tug Hawk’s departure with OCISLY in tow just twelve hours after arriving. About an hour later, the OCISLY support vessel that carries cargo and crew essential for booster recovery efforts, GO Quest, departed. It will take Tug Hawk and OCISLY approximately two days to travel to the recovery zone, arriving about 24 hours before the launch attempt.
The propulsive landing of a booster at sea is not a new concept for SpaceX. However, it is a practice that can be somewhat tricky to get right every time due to a multitude of factors. Recently, SpaceX suffered the loss of the Falcon 9 boosters B1056 and B1048 following recent Starlink satellite launches. Both boosters suffered unrelated issues with high winds and software glitches resulting in failed attempts to stick the landing on OCISLY. However, SpaceX successfully demonstrated the reliability of the Falcon 9 landing capability with the flawless launch and landing of the April 22nd Starlink Falcon 9 B1051 booster.
A special circumstance of the Demo-2 mission is the added recovery requirements of the Crew Dragon capsule. With Crew Dragon launching from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and splashdown designated for the Atlantic Ocean, various recovery zones span almost the entire length of the United States’ eastern seaboard and across the Atlantic Ocean to Ireland. Special recovery zones also are located throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
Typically, the recovery of a crew capsule would only be thought to occur upon mission end when it is on approach for splashdown after re-entry. However, the specially equipped SpaceX Crew Dragon recovery vessels, GO Searcher and GO Navigator, are required to be able to respond to a number of locations during launch and through the entire duration of Crew Dragon’s time on orbit chasing down the International Space Station prior to docking – for Demo-2 that will be nineteen hours. This is to ensure that in the unlikely event of Crew Dragon experiencing an emergency pad or launch abort scenario, the crew aboard can be safely rescued.
To this end, GO Searcher departed Port Canaveral days ago destined for the Naval Air Station in Pensacola on Florida’s west coast. GO Navigator will remain at Port Canaveral until Crew Dragon returns for a splashdown following the conclusion of Demo-2. Dual Dragon recovery vessels stationed on either side of Florida ensures that Hurley and Behnken can be rescued should they require emergency recovery.
Should Demo-2 pass SpaceX’s upcoming final Launch Readiness Review scheduled for Monday, May 25th, all will proceed toward the launch attempt on Wednesday, May 27th at 4:33 pm EDT.
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Elon Musk
County vote hands Elon Musk’s Vegas tunnel network a huge new target
Clark County approved 19 more Vegas Loop stations, pushing Boring Company’s entitled total to 123.
The Boring Company just got permission to nearly double how far Vegas Loop can reach. Clark County commissioners approved 19 additional stations for the underground transit system, bringing the total entitled to 123, the company said in a post on X thanking the county for the vote. Elon Musk’s tunneling company also flagged the direction it sees the project heading long term. “Because Loop is point-to-point with no intermediate stops, in the limit, one could have a Loop station in every driveway,” the company wrote.
That framing captures how far the ambitions have moved. The Vegas Loop opened its first stretch of tunnel in 2021 and has grown its footprint through a string of county approvals since. In 2023, commissioners signed off on 18 additional stations, part of a plan that later doubled the system’s target to 69 stations across 65 miles. By the end of that year the company was describing a build out closer to 93 planned stations. Last year the long term design called for 104 stations across 68 miles of tunnel. The new approval pushes that number to 123, another jump in a project that keeps outgrowing its own blueprints.
The Boring Company gets approval for more stations in Las Vegas
Station count on paper is still well ahead of what riders can actually use. As Teslarati reported earlier this month, the network has about 11 open stations and has carried more than 4 million passengers since it began running, with newer stops at Fontainebleau and Sahara among the latest additions to the Strip corridor. A tunnel connection to Harry Reid International Airport remains under construction and has already slipped past its original first quarter target. The company is also racing to finish a Westgate to Paradise Road segment that Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill has said it hopes to have running in time for November’s Formula 1 race.
The gap between entitled stations and operating ones is where the real story sits. Regulatory approval gives Boring Company the legal runway to keep tunneling toward new resorts, residential pockets and eventually the airport, but building each connection still comes down to boring machines, fire safety sign offs and construction timelines that have slipped before. The company’s Prufrock series machines set an internal record in March with a 2.28 mile tunnel near Westgate, evidence that construction has been picking up even as the list of approved destinations grows faster than the tunnels themselves.
Musk’s driveway comment reads as aspirational rather than a near term plan, but it fits how Boring Company has talked about Vegas Loop from the start: treat every approval as a floor, not a ceiling, and keep pushing county officials for room to dig.
SpaceX announced today that it would expand its launch capabilities into a new U.S. state: Louisiana.
Today, SpaceX, in conjunction with the Louisiana Economic Development Office, said that it will establish a new launch facility, which it will call Starbase, Louisiana. It will be located near Vermilion Parish, supporting thousands of launches each year, at least eventually.
CEO Elon Musk commented by stating, “Starbase Louisiana will ultimately have over a dozen launch towers, enabling more than 30 Starship flights per day and making it the biggest launch site on Earth!”
Starbase Louisiana will ultimately have over a dozen launch towers, enabling more than 30 Starship flights per day and making it the biggest launch site on Earth!
SpaceX makes sci-fi real. https://t.co/C7Ht0U12ba
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 25, 2026
The expansion is SpaceX’s latest move to push its launch cadence to be more frequent than ever. SpaceX said that Starbase, Louisiana, will be built to “support thousands of Starship flights a year,” with the first coming in 2029.
SpaceX announced the new facility in partnership with the Louisiana Economic Development Office as it will bring a major influx of jobs and investments into the area. Currently, it will produce more than 3,000 new jobs in Louisiana, and SpaceX plans to invest at least $100 billion into the entire facility, ensuring that many jobs are created as a result.
Environmental Responsibility
SpaceX acknowledges the impact launches could have on marshlands, local wildlife, and water sources. Here’s how the company plans to help with the issues in Vermilion Parish:
- Restoring the Shoreline: “In Vermilion Parish, the shoreline is eroding between 3.3 and 23 feet per year. We’re partnering with state and federal agencies to expand Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan and Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act projects, including Gulf shoreline protection breakwaters designed to reduce wave energy and slow loss along the Gulf edge.”
- Rebuilding the Marshlands: “In working with the state, we’re planning thousands of acres of marsh creation using beneficial-use placement of dredged material and offshore sediment sources. Restoration will also include interior marsh bank stabilization and rebuilding marsh in remnant canals. These projects can reconnect fragmented wetlands, restore natural buffers against storms, and return habitat that has been lost to erosion and historic canalization.”
- Preserving Coastal Wildlife: “Pecan Island and nearby wetlands are high-value habitat for migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, and other coastal wildlife. SpaceX is not developing the full footprint of the land and will preserve wetlands and wildlife habitat. At existing launch sites, waterfowl and other birds continue to use nearby habitat during operations. Working with wildlife agencies, landowners, and conservation groups, SpaceX will support monitoring and management so this habitat stays productive and hunting, fishing, birding, and other recreational activities that are part of this coast’s culture can continue.”
SpaceX shares rose about 2.5 percent on the news.
Tesla Cybertruck trims saw a big price change, at least on two of the three available to consumers, as demand for the all-electric pickup appears to be increasing.
Tesla bumped up its Base All-Wheel-Drive trim level up to $74,990 from $69,990 and the Premium All-Wheel-Drive configuration from $79,990 to $84,990. The Cyberbeast price remains unchanged at $99,990.
🚨 Cybertruck prices went up as Tesla bumped them 7%
– Tesla Cybertruck AWD is now $74,990
– Tesla Cybertruck Premium AWD now $84,990
– Tesla Cyberbeast now $99,990 https://t.co/MYJbaw56GL— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 25, 2026
Despite questions of demand for the truck, Tesla is bumping its two least expensive trims up $5,000 to signal that there are plenty of buyers. Although SpaceX has been buying Tesla Cybertruck units to utilize as company vehicles, it is no secret that the Cybertruck is among the most sought-after Tesla models out there.
The issue has always been pricing, at least for the most part. When Tesla initially launched the Cybertruck AWD at $59,990 a few months back, the company stated that price would remain intact for just ten days due to the influx of orders it received.
Cybertruck Sales: Is It the Product or Pricing?
Depending on who you ask, you will likely hear one of two explanations for relatively low Cybertruck sales: either the product itself or the pricing.
Yes, this is the best-selling all-electric pickup on the market. However, there are people who simply hate the look of it, which I understand, but do not agree with. Look is totally subjective, and I love the look of the Cybertruck.
Some people will not buy the Cybertruck because of the look, but I am under the impression that sales would be much better if this truck were priced lower; something that might not be possible considering Tesla’s need to make money on its products. When it was unveiled in 2019, its most expensive trim level was $69,990. Now, the cheapest trim level is more expensive than that.
I would be in a Cybertruck if it were more affordable. I LOVE my Model Y, but Cybertruck is the best vehicle Tesla makes, and it’s not particularly close. Even in the base model, the steer-by-wire, the space, storage, and performance make it more desirable than the Model Y to me. I cannot be the only Tesla owner without a Cybertruck who feels this way.
If you’re interested in buying a Tesla vehicle, use my referral link.
County vote hands Elon Musk’s Vegas tunnel network a huge new target
SpaceX announces new Starbase for ‘thousands of Starship launches annually’
