Connect with us

News

SpaceX reveals Falcon fairing recovery progress as Mr. Steven barely misses catch

Mr. Steven appears to have just barely missed an attempted Falcon fairing catch during a controlled drop test. (SpaceX)

Published

7 years ago

on

SpaceX has offered an extraordinary glimpse into a stealthy program of Falcon fairing recovery research and development, which has utilized drop tests and iterative hardware and software upgrades to inch ever closer to fairing reuse over the last 6-9 months.

Short of a small handful of sparse comments made by executives in 2018, this is the first time SpaceX has officially acknowledged its continued attempts to optimize Falcon fairing recovery in the face of a number of missed post-launch catches. Given that the pictured fairing was so close to a successful landing that its parafoil actually became caught in Mr. Steven’s net, it seems that SpaceX has nearly solved the problems that have thus far prevented program success.

In the last six months of 2018, SpaceX has continued to tease its slow progress towards reusable Falcon fairings, originally planned to depend on a truly bizarre solution – Mr. Steven. An impressive vessel on its own, SpaceX has gradually added and extended and upgraded a range of recovery hardware on his deck, most notably including a vast net (likely tens of thousands of square feet or 2000+ square meters) supported by four huge arms and eight supporting booms. Despite increasing the usable area of the net, SpaceX has been unable to secure an operational fairing catch since it began attempts in March 2018.

Advertisement

In late May 2018, SpaceX provided the best look yet at the actual process of recovering Falcon fairings, showing off the guided parafoil (a wing-like parachute) and revealing that a fairing half – launched in support of Iridium-6/GRACE-FO – had splashed down just 50 meters (~165 ft) away from Mr. Steven’s net.

However, in the months that followed, info about catch attempts became increasingly sparse and it eventually became clear that SpaceX was preparing to perform a range of controlled drop tests a few hundred miles off the coast of California. Ultimately, the company’s engineers and technicians hoped to use the controlled environment and a greater number of available drop/catch attempts to refine the hardware and software needed to finesse fairing halves into Mr. Steven’s net.

It may be almost absurdly large relative to any other conceivable thing that exists in the real world, but a few thousand square meters is actually more like a needle in a haystack for a piece of rocket traversing a 500-800 km arc at top speeds of more than 2 km/s.

Advertisement

 

In December 2018, following another sadly unsuccessful fairing recovery attempt on the West Coast, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed that engineers were also apparently looking into backup plans in case closing that last 50-meter gap turned out to be more expensive or complicated than it was worth. Most notably, he implied that SpaceX was interested in finding ways to waterproof and ultimately refly Falcon fairings even after soft-landings in seawater, whereas fairings are already capable of reliably landing intact in the ocean but cannot be reused due to seawater contamination and cracking caused by impact.

Given just how close Mr. Steven appears to be to a successful in-net fairing recovery, it now seems implausible that SpaceX will choose just one of the two options at hand, likely instead progressing both development programs to points of success. Once fairings can both be successfully waterproofed and caught in Mr. Steven’s net, SpaceX will almost certainly have itself a foolproof solution to easy and reliable recovery and reuse even in bad sea states and stormy weather.

Advertisement

With the company’s first launch of 2019 probably just a few days away, chances seem good that SpaceX will attempt at least one more post-launch fairing recovery with Mr. Steven. Fingers crossed!

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!

Related Topics:

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 confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

Published

5 hours ago

on

November 8, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla Robotaxi will hit five new cities in the United States in the coming months, the company confirmed.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

The Robotaxi suite is a ride-hailing service Tesla offers, but the details of it change with each jurisdiction, as regulations vary. For example, in Austin, Tesla can operate the Robotaxi suite without anyone in the driver’s seat, as long as the vehicle does not enter a freeway.

Credit: Tesla

In the Bay Area, a Safety Monitor rides in the driver’s seat, essentially acting as the vehicle operator with Full Self-Driving controlling the car.

The local regulations and how Tesla handles them will continue to be a relevant part of the discussion, especially as the company aims to expand the Robotaxi program to different areas. This has been a primary focus of the company for several months, especially within the United States.

CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla was aiming to launch Robotaxi in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. However, the company detailed five specific cities where it will launch Robotaxi next during the Annual Shareholder Meeting on Thursday.

Advertisement

Tesla will launch Robotaxi in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, and Miami next, broadening its Service Area for the suite to more major cities across the U.S.

It has said it plans to offer the service to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year, but it does not seem as if it will expand to more than a handful of cities this year, which is still tremendous progress, all things considered.

As far as autonomy is concerned, Tesla has always had lofty expectations and has made some even loftier statements.

At the Shareholder Meeting, Musk said that the company would likely be able to enable vehicle owners to text while the vehicle drives, alleviating them from potentially having some of the responsibility they have behind the wheel.

Tesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’

Advertisement

It is not confirmed that Tesla will roll this out in the next few months, but Musk said there is a possibility.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla launches another new Model Y trim at a bargain price with massive range

It is the second most-affordable Model Y trim level in China, trailing the base Rear-Wheel-Drive and coming in under the All-Wheel-Drive.

Published

7 hours ago

on

November 8, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched yet another new Model Y trim level, but this time it is in China, and it is at a bargain price.

It also has an insane range rating.

On Friday, Tesla launched the new Model Y Long Range Rear-Wheel-Drive in China, priced at 288,500 yuan ($40,500), an incredible deal considering it is not a stripped-down version of the vehicle like the Model Y Standard.

It is the second most-affordable Model Y trim level in China, trailing the base Rear-Wheel-Drive and coming in under the All-Wheel-Drive.

The big appeal with this new Model Y trim is obviously its price, but its range rating is also one of the best we’ve seen. Rated at 821 kilometers on the CLTC scale, it converts to 510 miles. It uses a 78.4 kWh CATL battery.

Converted to real-world range, however, that 821-kilometer range rated by the CLTC actually is equivalent to about 357 miles on the EPA scale, which is still a very respectable number and comes in at a higher range than the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive configuration that is available in the U.S.

Advertisement

Tesla has truly brought a wide variety of Model Y trims to the Chinese market, including a new Model Y L configuration that features a slightly longer wheelbase, as well as additional interior features like extended thigh legrests and captain’s chairs with armrests.

It is unclear whether Tesla will bring a Premium Rear-Wheel-Drive option of the Model Y to the U.S., especially as it has already rolled out four configurations of the all-electric crossover in the market. With the new Standard offerings, Tesla will likely keep its lineup as simple as possible.

However, the company has hinted that there is a slim possibility the Model Y L could come to the U.S. sometime late next year, but CEO Elon Musk said that it is not a guarantee.

Tesla is more concerned with self-driving efforts in the U.S., and despite calls from customers for larger vehicles, it does not seem concerned with making them available, at least not for now.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Tesla Model Y Performance set for new market entrance in Q1

The lightning-fast trim level of the all-electric crossover packs a variety of new improvements, including more range and better acceleration, thanks to aerodynamic improvements and other performance-based changes.

Published

7 hours ago

on

November 8, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s new Model Y Performance is set to arrive in a new market in Q1 2026, a company executive confirmed on Friday.

The lightning-fast trim level of the all-electric crossover packs a variety of new improvements, including more range and better acceleration, thanks to aerodynamic improvements and other performance-based changes.

It was initially launched in Europe, and then it made its way to the United States. However, it will soon be available in a new market: Canada.

Raj Jegannathan, a Tesla executive, confirmed on Friday that the company would be bringing its Performance trim of the Model Y to the Canadian market early next year:

Interestingly, the Model Y Performances that enter the Canadian market will likely come from Gigafactory Berlin and not Gigafactory Texas, even though it is logistically more advantageous.

There is a 25 percent tariff on U.S.-built vehicles currently, and Tesla has been sending Germany-built Model Y vehicles to Canada to avoid this and keep prices reasonable for customers.

Some Model Y owners in Canada have already confirmed that their units came from the German production facility, not the United States.

Model Y Performance deliveries have not yet started in the United States, but are slated for late November or early December.

Advertisement

Tesla refined the Model Y Performance’s exterior design with new front and rear fascia designs, a new performance carbon spoiler, 21″ Arachnid wheels and tires, and adaptive damping to help with better handling.

Tesla launches Model Y Performance in the U.S.

There are also new Drive Modes for better control during high-speed driving.

It also packs the same improvements as the new Model Y features over its predecessors, including acoustic glass and premium sound-damping materials for a quieter cabin, and heated and ventilated front sport seats.

In the United States, it is priced at $57,490. It will very likely be higher in Canada due to logistics costs and other factors.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending