Connect with us

News

SpaceX expedites next Starlink launch as rocket recovery fleet heads to sea

Despite dodging Florida tornadoes, SpaceX has expedited its next launch by ~24 hours. (SpaceX/USAF)

Published

on

SpaceX has found a way to expedite its next Starlink launch at the same time as its Falcon rocket recovery fleet heads to sea for attempted booster and fairing recoveries.

Discussed last week on Teslarati, Falcon 9’s seventh 60-satellite Starlink launch (known as Starlink-6) was recently delayed from April 16th to the 23rd for unknown reasons. Still expected to be the second time SpaceX launches an internal Starlink mission from its NASA-leased Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex 39A (Pad 39A) after its March 18th Starlink-6 mission, Starlink-7’s launch date was slightly expedited on April 19th.

In a slight twist of fate, SpaceX has moved Starlink-7’s launch from April 23rd to no earlier than (NET) 3:37 pm (19:37 UTC), April 22nd. If the schedule holds and things go according to plan, SpaceX will thus launch its 422nd Starlink satellite – including two Tintin prototypes orbited in February 2018 – on 4/22. Given that it only began operational Starlink v1.0 launches five months ago, SpaceX continues to make extraordinary progress towards initial constellation operability in spite of technical challenges, high-priority customer missions, a global pandemic, and – most recently – tornadoes in the vicinity of Cape Canaveral launch facilities.

SpaceX is about to perform its second Starlink launch from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Pad 39A. (Richard Angle)

Aside from potentially pushing SpaceX well past the 400-satellite mark, the Starlink-7 launch is also the fifth time the company has dispatched its entire rocket recovery fleet — including drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY), fairing catchers GO Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief, a tugboat, and a crew transport ship. Heading some 640 km (400 mi) northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, drone ship OCISLY left its Port Canaveral berth behind tugboat Finn Falgout early on April 19th.

About 36 hours later, twin fairing recovery ships Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief left Port Canaveral five minutes apart. At least twice as fast as the towed drone ship, both vessels – barring inclement sea states along the way – will likely arrive at the fairing recovery zone some 700 km (440 mi) downrange on the evening of April 21st. OCISLY should arrive at the booster landing zone around the same time.

Beyond a full recovery fleet, Starlink V1 L6 will also be the fifth time SpaceX attempts to catch both halves of a Falcon fairing and the third time it attempts to launch and recover flight-proven fairing halves. SpaceX has successfully reused fairings twice in November 2019 and March 2020, although only one of those four reused halves were recovered intact. As such, Starlink-6 will also be the third time SpaceX attempts to catch – or at least grab intact out of the ocean – a reused payload fairing.

Advertisement
SpaceX recovery ships Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief both returned to Port Canaveral with the remains of soft-landed fairing halves on February 20th. Around March 20th, they returned to Port Again,

While SpaceX has a much better track record of successfully recovering fairing halves after soft ocean landings than actually catching them with Ms. Tree or Ms. Chief, even ocean recoveries are far from guaranteed. On SpaceX’s last two launches and ocean fairing recoveries, three of four halves were heavily damaged either before or during the process of lifting them out of the water, while one reused half made it back to port intact.

Meanwhile, Falcon 9 booster B1051 completed a successful preflight static fire test on April 17th, firing up its nine Merlin 1D engines to ensure readiness for its fourth operational launch, now scheduled for Wednesday, April 22nd.

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.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla snags Lamborghini alum to help in newly entered market

Published

on

tesla showroom
Credit: Tesla

Tesla has snagged a Lamborghini alum to help with its entrance into a new market, which has proven to be an intricate situation for the automaker.

A report from Bloomberg states that Tesla has hired Sharad Agarwal, who was formerly employed by the Italian luxury carmaker, to run its operations in India. With Lamborghini, he was employed to handle operations in India.

Tesla launches in India with Model Y, showing pricing will be biggest challenge

Tesla has gone through quite a few different team members with its launch in India, starting with a few hirings a few years ago, well before the company actually committed to selling cars in the country.

The move helps Tesla streamline its executive decision-making process, as it previously had employees in India reach out to managers based in China, among other areas. Agarwal will be stationed in India and will handle the company’s operations.

Tesla’s mentality behind the strategy is to have local leadership, something that seems to cater to the market specifically.

Tesla had previously put Isabel Fan, the manager of Southeast Asia for the company, in the position. However, Tesla seemed to want someone who was more permanent and would be dedicated to India exclusively.

India has the largest population on Earth and has a massive automotive market for that reason. Tesla stands to gain a lot from a strong performance in India, and its clean energy vehicles could help with pollution of all kinds in the region.

Tesla’s path to entrance in the Indian market was a long one, as the company tried for nearly ten years to get into the elusive region. Back in 2016, CEO Elon Musk said Tesla “would love to be in India,” teasing the Model 3.

By 2017, Tesla had met with officials from the country, but tried to get import duties down to nothing from 100 percent.

Indian authorities denied Tesla’s request.

For years, Musk met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to try and iron out a deal of some sort. Nothing truly came to fruition, at least until last year, when real movement started.

By 2024, India had introduced a strategy to reduce import duties for some companies, which was enough for Tesla to make a move. It is now 2025, and the company still has not committed to building a factory in the region. However, it is not completely out of the question.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Sentry Mode helps lock up drive-by shooting suspect in Seattle

“A nearby Tesla actually captured the video that showed a man crouched behind a vehicle firing gunshots. A lot of vehicles record, and officers know that Teslas, especially, record, so we use that video all the time in these instances.”

Published

on

tesla side repeater camera
(Credit: Tesla)

Police in Seattle, Washington, are crediting Tesla’s well-known Sentry Mode for helping find a suspect in a drive-by shooting case.

A 21-year-old was arrested for an alleged drive-by shooting in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle this past Sunday, and the leads on the case seemed to be slim.

However, a Tesla parked nearby was able to record the shooting, as well as the car that the suspect hopped in after the crime occurred. It helped police identify the person they were looking for.

Seattle Police Department Detective Brian Pritchard said to MyNorthwest that the Tesla was a critical part of finding the suspect and placing him under arrest:

“A nearby Tesla actually captured the video that showed a man crouched behind a vehicle firing gunshots. A lot of vehicles record, and officers know that Teslas, especially, record, so we use that video all the time in these instances.”

The Tesla footage helped the Police put the suspect into handcuffs about an hour after the crime was committed. They are currently charged with drive-by shooting and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Tesla Sentry Mode is a security feature the vehicle utilizes to help solve crimes like vandalism, but it is also a cool feature that has caught things like accidents and other incidents on camera.

Many people still do not know about it, including the many vandals who keyed or broke the windows of Teslas earlier this year, as people damaged others’ cars in an act of retaliation against CEO Elon Musk when he became involved in politics.

This is far from the first time Sentry Mode has helped Police Departments solve crimes. Last September, we reported on Oakland’s Police Department in California using Teslas near crime scenes to help solve cases.

Tesla Sentry Mode is Oakland PD’s secret weapon against rising crime

Sergeant Ben Therriault, president of the Richmond Police Officers Association, said, “We have all these mobile video devices floating around,” in reference to the Teslas that sit and capture nearly everything that surrounds them.

Sentry Mode has helped officers arrest a variety of suspects, including several people who were allegedly involved in the murder of a 27-year-old woman in Northern California.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

UPDATE: Tesla investors push Charles Schwab for Musk comp plan clarification

Published

on

tesla cybertruck elon musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils futuristic Cybertruck in Los Angeles, Nov. 21, 2019 (Photo: Teslarati)

Update: 4:00 p.m. EDT – Charles Schwab has reached out to TESLARATI with the following statement, clarifying that it plans to vote FOR Musk’s compensation package:

“Schwab Asset Management’s approach to voting on proxy matters is thorough and deliberate. We utilize a structured process that focuses on protecting and promoting shareholder value. We apply our own internal guidelines and do not rely on recommendations from Glass Lewis or ISS. In accordance with this process, Schwab Asset Management intends to vote in favor of the 2025 CEO performance award proposal. We firmly believe that supporting this proposal aligns both management and shareholder interests, ensuring the best outcome for all parties involved.”
There have also been updates to the headline and various paragraphs to reflect this as well as accuracy.

Tesla investors are pushing Charles Schwab for clarification after it was expected to vote against CEO Elon Musk’s pay package.

Several high-profile Tesla influencers are speaking out against Charles Schwab, saying its decision to vote against the plan that would retain Musk as CEO and give him potentially more voting power if he can achieve the tranches set by the company’s Board of Directors.

The Tesla community appeared to see that Schwab is one firm that tends to vote against Musk’s compensation plans, as they also voted against the CEO’s 2018 pay package, which was passed by shareholders but then denied by a Delaware Chancery Court.

Schwab’s move was recognized by investors within the Tesla community and now they are speaking out about it:

At least six of Charles Schwab’s ETFs were expected to vote against Tesla’s Board recommendation to support the compensation plan for Musk. The six ETFs represent around 7 million Tesla $TSLA shares.

Jason DeBolt, an all-in Tesla shareholder, summarized the firm’s decision really well:

As a custodian of ETF shares, your fiduciary duty is to vote in shareholders’ best interests. For a board that has delivered extraordinary returns, voting against their recommendations doesn’t align with retail investors, Tesla employees, or the leadership we invested to support. If Schwab’s proxy voting policies don’t reflect shareholder interests, my followers and I will move our collective tens of millions in $TSLA shares (or possibly hundreds of millions) to a broker that does, via account transfer as soon as this week.”
Tesla shareholders will vote on Musk’s pay package on Thursday at the Annual Shareholders Meeting in Austin, Texas.

It seems more likely than not that it will pass, but investors have made it clear they want a decisive victory, as it could clear the path for any issues with shareholder lawsuits in the future, as it did with Musk’s past pay package.

Continue Reading

Trending