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SpaceX techs work towards Falcon 9 fairing recovery with wacky series of experiments

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8 years ago

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Over the course of the past week, Teslarati photographer Pauline Acalin has captured a multitude of unusual occurrences at SpaceX’s Port of Los Angeles dock space, each time involving a Falcon fairing recovery vessel like Mr Steven or NRC Quest, a Falcon fairing half (flight-proven or otherwise), and one of several attenuating circumstances.

More likely than not, what appears as a menagerie of weird and disconnected events on the sidelines is actually a reasonably organized leg of a larger program, in this case focused on experimentation and testing to close the fairing recovery loop and secure Mr Steven’s first successful fairing catch.

The mystery of Catalina Island

Now-iconic fairing recovery vessel (or net-boat, or claw-boat) Mr Steven has been out of commission since late August, at which point SpaceX technicians removed all four of his arms and their eight complementary shock absorber booms towards unknown ends. If SpaceX’s past is any judge, those arms are probably in the process of being upgraded, but it’s impossible to judge thanks to the fact that they have simply disappeared from the Berth 240 docks where they were briefly stored. SpaceX certainly has a way with transporting massive, ungainly objects without stirring a whisper.

Despite lacking arms for more than a month, Mr Steven has still performed a number of sea-trials, ranging from average jaunts a few miles away to a mysterious armless test described in the tweet above. Why exactly Mr Steven was involved in an experiment involving a helicopter “picking an item” – in this case a flight-proven Falcon fairing – off of a vessel while entirely lacking the arms and net he would use to catch said fairing is entirely unclear. Perhaps it was meant to test a datalink or a change to fairing recovery hardware. Whatever transpired, a group of SpaceX technicians certainly flew to Catalina Island and were working alongside or with a Blackhawk helicopter capable of externally carrying up to 3600 kg (8000 lb) of cargo.

 

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Multipurpose recovery vessel NRC Quest – nominally dedicated to Cargo Dragon spacecraft recoveries – returned to SpaceX-leased Berth 240 a few hours after the September 20th test window closed, sooty Falcon 9 fairing half in tow. Still, this certainly isn’t the weirdest Falcon fairing-related activity to occur last week.

Fairings aplenty

Meanwhile, over at Mr Steven’s old berth and drone ship Just Read The Instructions’ current berth, a different Falcon fairing half appeared sometime in the last several days in an unusual state, seemingly either fresh out of the factory or in an advanced state of disassembly. The base of this particular fairing half seems to be entirely missing the usual layer(s) of material (cork, among other things) used to waterproof and act as a lightweight heatshield. A new fairing half sitting out in the elements with zero protection would be exceptionally unusual, as CEO Elon Musk has noted that they each cost several million dollars ($3m to be precise), and exposure outside of a cleanroom could very well prevent this half from ever being operationally flown.

A mystery Falcon fairing – perhaps new, perhaps flight-proven – appeared at SpaceX’s old Port of San Pedro berth in the last few days. (Pauline Acalin)

The next best conclusion to be drawn is that this unique fairing half is new or flight-proven (with skin and shielding removed), but sitting at SpaceX’s dock space in order to prepare for one or several active drop tests in pursuit of Mr Steven’s first successful fairing catch. But who really knows, to be honest. The fairing’s bare carbon fiber composite construction is certainly a sight to behold, one way or another.

Doing…something.

This leads us to the grand (perhaps… titanic) finale of wholly unexpected Falcon fairing activities over the last several days. Presumably making the best of an opportunity to test NRC Quest’s ability to recover Falcon fairings after splashdown (i.e. missing Mr Steven’s net), the pictures generally tell the story better than any words ever could. Keep your eyes peeled for Fairing Wrangler job openings.

Up next for SpaceX, Mr Steven, and the West Coast recovery crew is SAOCOM-1A, scheduled to launch from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base on the evening (Pacific Time) of October 6th.

For prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket recovery fleet check out our brand new LaunchPad and LandingZone newsletters!

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Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla Model Y L’s new features flexed at unveiling event at Diner

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4 hours ago

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July 31, 2026

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Tesla Model Y L in a field
Credit: Tesla

Tesla flexed the new features of the Model Y L with a dedicated media event at the company’s Diner on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles.

The Model Y L is the extended-wheelbase version of the all-electric crossover, which has been voted the best-selling car in the world on three occasions. The vehicle is already rolling off production lines at Gigafactory Texas, and first deliveries are slated to take place later this year.

Tesla brings Model Y L ‘Launch Series’ to the U.S. at $61,990

Teslarati was invited to the event, but due to some scheduling conflicts, we could not make it to Los Angeles. Instead, we will have our hands on a media unit sometime in August, so we’ll be able to spend some more extended time with the Model Y L.

However, plenty of those who made it to LA shared some cool features that set the Model Y L apart from the Model Y.

Multi-Row Climate Control

Tesla fitted the Model Y L with full climate control on all three rows on the front screen. It can be adjusted by selecting which row you’d like to modify on the right-hand side of the touch screen:

Better Rear Window Visibility

One of the strangest things about the Model Y, especially the Juniper iteration, is the rear window has extremely limited visibility when looking into the rearview mirror.

Tesla has improved upon this with the Model Y L:

PowerShare will be included

Model Y L will come with PowerShare in North America, with an 11.5kW output to your home. Tesla said it would require Powerwall 3 for operation.

Wireless Charging Pad

There has been some speculation that Tesla would upgrade the wireless charging pads in the United States, but this is not the case.

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Tesla owner fixes common feature complaint with crafty DIY retrofit

Tesla confirmed that it does not come with the cooled pads as the Y L in China does. This is because North America has not adopted Qi charging yet.

Thermal Management Improvements

These improvements in the Model Y L were seen with thermal management:

  • Up to 15% faster cabin cooling
  • +23% thermal efficiency gained in hot weather, 7 miles of real-world range gained
  • 8x more solar energy reflection off of glass roof
  • 30% reduction in solar energy entering the cabin

Demand

Tesla said the Model Y L is almost sold out in the U.S. It comes with

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  • 1 year of FSD Supervised
  • 1 year of Supercharging
  • 1 year of Premium Connectivity
  • Free exterior paint color, interior, and wheel option at no additional cost
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Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk denies ridiculous Gigafactory Shanghai rumor

Published

6 hours ago

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July 31, 2026

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to his social media platform X on Thursday night to deny a ridiculous rumor regarding the sale of the company’s Chinese vehicle production plant, Gigafactory Shanghai.

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter, claimed in a scathing new report that Tesla was exploring a potential sale of the entire China business in an effort to help bolster a potential merger between SpaceX and Tesla.

Musk immediately denied the rumor not once but twice, initially calling it “fake news,” and then calling it “absurdly fake news” in a separate post just a few moments later:

The original poster of the Wall Street Journal article that Musk saw deleted the initial post sharing the headline and the rumored sale of Tesla’s China business.

The report seemed absolutely and unequivocally false to begin with; Tesla’s business in China is among the most important pieces of the company’s business. Not only does the factory supply vehicles for the domestic market, but also for various other markets in Asia and Europe.

China is also one of the largest automotive markets in the world, and Tesla has performed well there despite the robust competition.

The speculation regarding a Tesla and SpaceX merger has started to gain steam this year as the space exploration company went public just a month ago. There has been speculation that Musk will bridge all of his companies under one “umbrella company,” and analysts believe this could happen before the end of the decade.

The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building

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This is the latest iteration of Musk’s very evident war on mainstream media. Reports regarding any of Musk’s companies are quick to get the dreaded “false” or “fake news” response from the CEO when they are unfounded.

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Elon Musk

Tesla AI boss reveals how big Optimus is going to get

Tesla’s Optimus chief corrected himself on X, confirming a staggering 10 million robot production target.

Published

14 hours ago

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July 31, 2026

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Tesla Optimus Gen 3 [Credit: Tesla]

Tesla’s Optimus program has a new number attached to it, after Ashok Elluswamy, the executive who has run the humanoid robot program since June 2025, posted a three word correction on X Thursday, “Correction, 10 million robots.”

The line clarifies the long term annual capacity Tesla is building toward its planned second Optimus production line at Gigafactory Texas, a figure Musk has cited repeatedly since last year’s shareholder meeting.

The scale is worth noting, because ten million robots a year would mean Tesla building more units annually than most countries sell in new cars. Tesla has framed this as a second line, not the first. The buildout is happening in two phases: a roughly one million unit per year line inside Tesla’s Fremont factory, installed on the floor space vacated when Model S and Model X production ended earlier this year, and a much larger dedicated facility under construction at Giga Texas that broke ground on its first steel structure in May. That Texas facility is the one Elluswamy’s correction refers to, and is expected to reach volume production sometime in 2027.

Tesla Optimus project fires up as Musk sees production line progress

Elluswamy took over Optimus from Milan Kovac last summer and has spent the months since talking up the program’s trajectory. Elon Musk has also floated the ten million figure at Tesla’s 2025 shareholder meeting.

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Ending Model S and Model X production to make room for the first Optimus line was one of the more consequential manufacturing decisions in the company’s recent history, retiring two flagship vehicles in favor of a robot that has yet to enter mass production. Musk has previously estimated per unit production costs at $20,000 to $25,000 once Tesla reaches a million units a year, though he hasn’t said what that cost looks like at ten times the volume.

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