News
SpaceX pushes boundaries of fairing recovery with breathtaking sunrise launch [photos]
SpaceX has soared past the halfway point of completion for Iridium’s next-generation NEXT constellation with the successful launch of satellites 41-50 earlier this morning. SpaceX has three additional launches contracted with Iridium for a total of eight. Despite intentionally ditching the flight-proven first stage booster in the Pacific Ocean, SpaceX attempted to recover one half of the payload fairing; an effort acknowledged to be predominately experimental at this point.
-
- F9 B1041 gives one final swan song with the successful launch of 10 more Iridium NEXT satellites. (Pauline Acalin)
-
- Although fog and camera difficulties slightly marred the shot, note the details in Falcon 9’s normally white-hot exhaust. (Pauline Acalin)
-
- Falcon 9 1041 rises above a sea of fog for one last mission to orbit. Half of its fairing made a surprise appearance in port on Saturday. (Pauline Acalin)
Iridium-5 continues a recent trend of monthly launches out of SpaceX’s Vandenberg Air Force Base launch facilities – the company’s SLC-4E pad is known to take a bit longer than its East coast brethren for refurbishment and repairs between launches, typically maxing out approximately one launch per month. This launch also marks another flight-proven booster intentionally expended, likely in part because the West Coast drone ship Just Read The Instructions is currently out of commission, awaiting the delivery of critical subsystems stripped to repair the Eastern OCISLY.
As of posting, all 10 Iridium NEXT satellites have been successfully deployed into low Earth orbit, marking the successful completion of this mission. On the recovery side of the mission, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had initially teased Mr Steven’s upcoming fairing catch attempt – his silence since providing a T-0 around 7:44 am PST presumably speaks to the experimental nature of these fairing recovery efforts, and hints that this attempt may not have been successful.
GPS guided parafoil twisted, so fairing impacted water at high speed. Air wake from fairing messing w parafoil steering. Doing helo drop tests in next few weeks to solve.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 30, 2018
A couple hours after launch, Musk took to Twitter to confirm that this fairing recovery effort had failed, largely due to the complexity of safely parafoiling such a large, fast, and ungainly object. “[Helicopter] drop tests” are planned for coming weeks in order to put to bed the problems ailing fairing recovery. As SpaceX announcer and materials engineer Michael Hammersley noted, “the ultimate goal is full recovery and reuse of the entire vehicle,” and experimental fairing recovery efforts push SpaceX one step closer to that ambition.
-
- F9 B1041 arrives in port after its first successful mission, Iridium-3, in October 2017. (Pauline Acalin)
-
- 1041 flew for its second and final time earlier this morning, sans any landing aboard JRTI. (Pauline Acalin)
-
- B1041 presumably soft-landed in the Pacific, as did its fairing. (Pauline Acalin)
-
- RIP. (Pauline Acalin)
Space (regulation) oddity
Perhaps the most unusual feature of this launch was an announcement soon after the webcast began that NOAA (the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration) apparently restricted SpaceX’s ability to provide live coverage of Falcon 9’s upper stage once in orbit, and the webcast thus ended moments after the second stage Merlin Vacuum engine shut off. By all appearances, this is fairly unprecedented: NOAA is tasked with “licensing…operations of private space-based remote sensing systems” with their Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA) branch, but they’ve been quite inept and heavy-handed in their implementation of Earth imaging regulation. Nominally, the purpose of that regulation is to protect sensitive US security facilities and activities from the unblinking eyes of private, orbital imaging satellites, but NOAA has quite transparently exploited its power in ways that create extreme uncertainty and near-insurmountable barriers to entry for prospective commercial Earth-imaging enterprises.
What an absolutely beautiful launch at Vandenberg this morning. Congratulations to SpaceX on another successful mission accomplished! #SpaceX #Iridium5 @Teslarati pic.twitter.com/hsp7H5bv8J
— Pauline Acalin (@w00ki33) March 30, 2018
Presumably, this protects their (and their prime contractors’) vested interest in NOAA’s continuing quasi-monopoly over Earth sciences and weather-related satellite production and operations, a segment of the agency’s budget known to aggressively devour as much of NOAA’s budget as practicable. In this sense, something as arbitrary as preventing a launch provider like SpaceX from showing live, low-resolution (functionally useless) video feeds from orbit would be thoroughly disappointing, but in no way surprising. In this case, the restriction is comically transparent in its blatant inconsistency: SpaceX has flown more than 50 launches over more than a decade, all of which featured some form of live coverage of the upper stage once in orbit, and none of which NOAA objected to. Fingers crossed that this absurd restriction can be lifted sooner than later.
-
- No fairing snack for Mr Steven this time around. (Pauline Acalin)
-
- PAZ’s recovered fairing half sadly cracked beyond repair while being hauled aboard Mr Steven. (Pauline Acalin)
Follow us for live updates, behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, and a sea of beautiful photos from our East and West coast photographers.
Teslarati – Instagram – Twitter
Tom Cross – Twitter
Pauline Acalin – Twitter
Eric Ralph – Twitter
Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.
Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”
Twork said:
$LCID The rumors are completely false. The company has sufficient liquidity to carry its operations well into next year, as recently published in its last quarterly filings, and it has not formed any special Board committee to explore the scenarios reported today. Our focus is…
— Nick Twork (@ntwork) July 14, 2026
Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.
Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.
Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.
A Tesla owner who purchased a Model S Signature Edition, one of the final 250 units of the all-electric flagship vehicle that the company discontinued earlier this year, is attempting to sell the car despite a no-resale clause that prohibits reselling for the first year.
The car is being sold by J&S Autohaus in Ewing, New Jersey, and is priced at $260,490, well above the $159,420 that Tesla sold it for earlier this year.
🚨 The first Tesla Model S Signature Edition is up for sale for $260,490
Tesla placed a no-resale clause on the Model S and X Signature, so it will be interesting to see if the company takes any action. https://t.co/N9rKGHnbD6 pic.twitter.com/6FZhDL1KNR
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 14, 2026
To those who do not know, the Model S Signature was a highly exclusive, limited-run farewell variant of the Model S Plaid that was produced this year to mark the end of production of both the Model S and Model X, Tesla’s two flagship vehicles.
Limited to just 250 units with invite-only sales, it serves as a collector’s item celebrating the legacy of the Model S, which helped pioneer Tesla’s electric vehicle success since its 2012 launch.
It bundles top-tier performance with bespoke cosmetic and luxury upgrades, plus Tesla’s Luxe Package. Here’s what the Model S Signature has over the typical Model S Plaid:
- Exclusive Exterior – Unique Garnet Red Paint, matching door handles, gold Tesla “T” badges upfront, gold Plaid and Signature badging at the rear.
- Premium Interior – White Alcantara upholstery with gold piping/accents, gold Plaid seat badges, Signature-marked door sills, individually numbered dashboard plaque, gold puddle lights, special interior lighting sequence, and a custom Signature key fob.
- Performance Upgrades – Carbon-ceramic brakes with gold calipers
- Bundled Luxe Package – Full Self-Driving (Supervised), four years of Premium Connectivity, free lifetime Supercharging
- Performance Metrics – ~1,020 horsepower, sub-2-second 0-60 MPH, ~390-mile range
Tesla quickly introduced a No Resale Agreement for the Signature Editions of the Model S and Model X, which would penalize the seller for “the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater.”
The company continues:
“If you sell or otherwise transfer the ownership of your Model S or Model X, the remainder of the Recommended Maintenance, Wheel and Tire Protection Plan, and Windshield Protection Plan will transfer automatically to the buyer. The Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity will not transfer with the vehicle and will terminate once the ownership of the Model S or Model X is transferred.”
Tesla will likely come after the seller, especially as it has been about two months since Tesla launched deliveries.
Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.3.5 yesterday, and about fifty miles of driving on the new version has given me enough time to highlight what seems to be strong about the release and what is not.
Additionally, Tesla has added a few new features with this specific update, which we’ll highlight as well.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Performance
The new update is business as usual. Things seem to be running completely normal and necessary, but there are a few things that we’ve seemed to pick up on based on our own experience with v14.3.5, as well as what other users are seeing.
Initially, it seems to be more aware of its surroundings, making moves that are incredibly courteous to other drives and operating just a tad more reserved than what the suite might have done previously.
We had two instances where it showed this, the first being FSD needing to pass a Flagger Force vehicle that was placing down signage for the day. Their work truck was right at the front corner of a right-hand turn; typically where most cars travel when they take that turn.
FSD v14.3.5 recognized this, slowed down, and took the turn wide with no issues:
🚨 Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 takes a wide turn as flagger crews set up signage for the day https://t.co/3v0PL9qhlI pic.twitter.com/i4CKqxE16c
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 13, 2026
Additionally, v14.3.5 backed up for a semi truck that was making a wide turn onto a road my car was on. This is not new, but it seemed to be backing up for courtesy; it didn’t seem completely necessary, but it might have put some peace of mind in the truck driver’s head:
🚨 Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 backs up for an oncoming tractor trailer taking a wide turn https://t.co/0WuAqNMpRR pic.twitter.com/s6yZGVm5Te
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 13, 2026
X user Mike P, also a Pennsylvania native like myself, shared three clips of his Tesla running v14.3.5 performing similar maneuvers. He said:
“FSD turns right into a small alley that only fits one car at a time, sees oncoming car, reverses out of alley to make space, realizes oncoming car is actually parking, re-enters alley.”
Check it out here:
Rapidfire epic moments on FSD V14.3.5
1) FSD turns right into a small alley that only fits one car at a time, sees oncoming car, reverses out of alley to make space, realizes oncoming car is actually parking, re-enters alley.
2) Insane speed to vehicle cues. As FSD approaches… pic.twitter.com/bSnySSlFHR
— Mike P (@mikepat711) July 13, 2026
It seems like Speed Profiles are still in need of some tweaking; I am adjusting what Speed Profile I’m in frequently, constantly changing it to get it to travel at the correct speed. This was an issue for me on v14.3.4. It seems like they’re just a little inconsistent.
Terrible Parking
Parking attempts on v14.3.5 were not good. There are quite a few people who have said this:
Yeah it seems like FSD v14.3.5 is having some issues with parking early on https://t.co/Bw5ULfVmDq pic.twitter.com/RHdpjOEpIo
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 13, 2026
David Moss, the Tesla owner who has taken multiple coast-to-coast drives without any interventions, also has had some issues with parking early on with v14.3.5:
Horrible first impression v14.3.5 on my 2025 Tesla Model 3 LR RWD Premium 😭
3 terrible parking jobs in 23 min including parking on a ramp in a business park & parking perpendicular out in the road on street only parking situation.
Wish I had a better drive but I still believe… pic.twitter.com/TtyhRHAFG7
— David Moss (@DavidMoss) July 13, 2026
New Features
Tesla has added the ability to open Camera Preview at any time. Previously, it was only available in Park. Here’s what that feature looks like in action:
🚨 Here’s the new Camera Preview feature on FSD v14.3.5 pic.twitter.com/OodfZgDppy
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 13, 2026
Check back later this week for a longer review of what we’ve noticed on Full Self-Driving v14.3.5.
Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop
Tesla owner attempts resale of Model S Signature Edition for over $260k
