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SpaceX Falcon 9 briefly incinerates itself after another successful mission
SpaceX completes 16th launch of 2017, aims for at least 19 before year’s end
Following the successful separation of Koreasat 5A from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 second stage, the rocket company has completed its 16th flawless mission of 2017. Several launches still remain in the 2017 manifest, leaving SpaceX with as many as 20 successful launches this year if all goes as planned, and this bodes well for SpaceX’s 2018 goal of 30 or more missions.
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- Talented photographer Tom Cross documented the launch in person for Teslarati and produced some gorgeous shots. (Tom Cross/Teslarati)
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- Plenty more to come! (Tom Cross/Teslarati)
Currently coasting in a comfortable geostationary transfer orbit after a wild ride aboard Falcon 9, the launch of Koreasat 5A exemplifies SpaceX’s ever-maturing expertise and comfort with rapid and routine launches and booster recoveries. Falcon 9 is also clearly maturing as a launch system, and has not suffered launch scrubs since the launch of Intelsat 35e in early July. Following first stage separation, Falcon 9 1042 made its way back to Earth and landed aboard Of Course I Still Love You, stationed approximately 350 miles off the East coast of Florida. This marks the 19th successful landing of a Falcon 9 first stage.
Despite suffering some apparently significant fire damage after the recovery of SES-11’s Falcon 9 earlier this month, OCISLY was repaired and sent back into action, performing admirably during its recovery of Koreasat 5A’s Falcon 9 core 1042. The booster may be less than thrilled, as it was captured on camera catching fire just after landing, potentially prematurely removing the possibility of future re-flights if the damage is too severe. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is effectively a controlled explosion powered by liquid oxidizer and refined kerosene, and boosters cant exactly be faulted for incinerating themselves and their surroundings every once and awhile, although SpaceX almost certainly strives to prevent major fires as much as possible.
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- What a beautiful day for a rocket landing! (SpaceX)
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- 1042’s propellant purge became increasingly toasty… (SpaceX)
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- And the booster finally got some respite from the fire, thanks to OCISLY’s water gun. (SpaceX)
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- Talented photographer Tom Cross documented the launch in person for Teslarati and produced some gorgeous shots. (Tom Cross/Teslarati)
SpaceX’s largest customers buy into reusability
On top of another successful mission, the last week was accompanied by a flurry of revelations regarding SpaceX’s near-term plans. Earlier today, NASASpaceflight.com revealed information it was provided indicating that NASA has cleared Cargo Dragon missions for launch aboard recovered SpaceX rockets. This is an immensely important achievement that cannot be understated. NASA is SpaceX’s largest and most valuable customer, and SpaceX conducts an array of launches each year for the agency’s Commercial Resupply Services program.
While we wait for official confirmation from NASA itself, we can now look forward to at least two more Falcon 9 reuses in the final two months of 2017, both scheduled for launches in December. CRS-13, aiming for an early December launch, is now expected to use the same Falcon 9 booster that launched CRS-11 in June 2017. On the West coast, Iridium has also agreed to launch several NEXT missions aboard reused Falcon 9s, with the NEXT-4 mission now scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard the booster that helped lift the Iridium NEXT-2 payload in June 2017.
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All things considered, this is an extraordinary accomplishment. In the first year of commercial reuse, SpaceX has already accomplished three successful missions aboard reused hardware, and is likely to make that five missions before the year is out. There is also a small chance that Falcon Heavy will launch later this year, itself composed of two refurbished boosters and one new booster. The future is looking undeniably bright for SpaceX’s program of rocket reusability.
Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
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Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
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This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
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Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
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Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
Tesla unlocks in-car web conferencing to extend Google Meet, Teams and beyond
Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features
