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SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket kicks off fifth mission with most spectacular launch yet
SpaceX’s fifth Falcon Heavy lifted off shortly after sunset on the US Space Force’s USSF-67 mission, producing one of the massive commercial rocket’s most spectacular launches yet.
Powered by three Falcon 9-derived boosters, each with nine Merlin 1D engines, Falcon Heavy fired up and soared off of SpaceX’s Kennedy Space Center LC-39A pad at the start of its Sunday launch window. Producing up to 2326 tons (5.13 million lbf) of thrust shortly after liftoff, Falcon Heavy upheld its position as the world’s most powerful commercial rocket and the second most powerful operational rocket.
USSF-67 largely mirrored SpaceX’s November 1st, 2022 USSF-44 Falcon Heavy launch, and even used the same side boosters. Flying for the second time in 75 days, B1064 and B1065 aced their roles in the mission and separated from Falcon Heavy’s expendable center booster (or core) around three minutes after liftoff. The side boosters immediately flipped around with thrusters powered by compressed nitrogen gas and ignited three of their nine Merlin 1D engines to boost back to the Florida coast. After coasting back to Florida, they completed brief reentry burns to lessen atmospheric heating and fired up one last time to gently touch down at SpaceX’s LZ-1 and LZ-2 landing pads.
The update that's rolling out to the fleet makes full use of the front and rear steering travel to minimize turning circle. In this case a reduction of 1.6 feet just over the air— Wes (@wmorrill3) April 16, 2024
Another mysterious military mission
Because Falcon Heavy lifted off after sunset, local skies were dark and the rocket quickly climbed back into daylight, creating spectacular contrast between twilight and the bright rocket exhaust. When Falcon Heavy’s side boosters flipped around and reignited, their high-velocity exhaust plumes slammed into the center core’s opposing plume, producing spectacular interactions and a nebula-like cloud that caught even more of the daylight. Had Falcon Heavy lifted off just a handful of minutes later, a darker sky could have made for an even more incredible ‘nebula’ or ‘jellyfish’, but the rocket’s first twilight launch was still spectacular.
After both side boosters touched down, SpaceX ended its live coverage at the request of the Space Force, reiterating the mission’s secretive customer and nature. Compared to USSF-44, the USSF hasn’t confirmed much about the USSF-67 mission’s payloads, but Falcon Heavy is known to be carrying a geostationary communications relay satellite called CBAS-2 and likely built by Boeing.
CBAS-2 is joined by Northrop Grumman’s third Long Duration Propulsive EELV or LDPE-3A, a combination of a propulsive kick stage and a satellite. LDPE-3A is carrying a collection of rideshare satellites and payloads and is designed to operate for months in orbit. Using USSF-44 as a guide, the total USSF-67 payload could weigh roughly 3.75 to 4.75 tons (8,250-10,500 lb).
Climbing to GSO
While small compared to ordinary payloads, Falcon Heavy is launching USSF-67 directly to a geosynchronous orbit. Direct-to-GEO/GSO launches are exceptionally challenging for the rocket. Falcon Heavy must first sacrifice one of its three boosters just to ensure the Falcon upper stage is traveling fast enough and has enough propellant to spare when it separates. The upper stage must then conduct at least three or four burns.
The first burn likely carried the upper stage and USSF-67 payload into a parking orbit around 300 kilometers (~185 mi) above Earth’s surface. A second burn of the upper stage’s Merlin Vacuum engine will lift the pair into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) with the low end still around 300 kilometers but the high end around 35,800 kilometers (~22,250 mi). Finally, the upper stage must survive a roughly five-hour coast to that apogee. During that coast, the rocket must survive passes through both of Earth’s harsh radiation belts and maintain perfect control of its orientation and tank pressures to keep its refined kerosene fuel from freezing, its cryogenic liquid oxygen (LOx) from boiling away, and itself from bursting as its propellant warms and expands.
If it does all of those things right, the upper stage will be able to complete a circularization burn at apogee and deploy its CBAS-2 and LPDE-3A payloads directly into geosynchronous orbit (~35,786 x ~35,786 km). At GSO, satellites orbit at the same speed as Earth spins, allowing them to indefinitely hover over the same region of the planet, making it useful for Earth observation, surveillance, and communications. Finally, the Falcon upper stage will attempt to complete one last burn to send itself into a graveyard orbit just above GSO, where it will eventually run out of power and lose control.
It will take around 6-8 hours after liftoff before SpaceX or the USSF can confirm if the mission was a success. Rewatch SpaceX’s fifth Falcon Heavy launch and dual booster landing here.
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Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater
Photos and videos of the production Cybercab were shared in posts on social media platform X.
The Tesla Cybercab is currently on display at the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C., and observations of the production vehicle are highlighting some of its notable design details.
Photos and videos of the production Cybercab were shared in posts on social media platform X.
Observers of the Cybercab display unit noted that the two-seat Robotaxi provides unusually generous legroom for a vehicle of its size. Based on the vehicle’s video, the compact two-seater appears to offer more legroom than Tesla’s larger vehicles such as the Model Y, Model X, and Cybertruck.
The Cybercab’s layout allows Tesla to dedicate nearly the entire cabin to passengers. The vehicle is designed without a steering wheel or pedals, which helps maximize interior space.
Footage from the display also highlights the Cybercab’s large center screen, which is positioned prominently in front of the passenger bench. The display appears intended to provide entertainment and ride information while the vehicle operates autonomously.
Images of the vehicle also show an additional camera integrated into the Cybercab’s C-pillar. The extra camera appears to expand the vehicle’s field of view, which would be useful as Tesla works toward fully unsupervised Full Self-Driving.
Tesla engineers have previously explained that the Cybercab was designed to be highly efficient both in manufacturing and in operation. Cybercab Lead Engineer Eric E. stated in 2024 that the Robotaxi would be built with roughly half the number of parts used in a Model 3 sedan.
“Two seats unlocks a lot of opportunity aerodynamically. It also means we cut the part count of Cybercab down by a substantial margin. We’re gonna be delivering a car that has roughly half the parts of Model 3 today,” the Tesla engineer said.
The Tesla engineer also noted that the Cybercab’s cargo area can accommodate multiple golf bags, two carry-on suitcases, and two full-size checked bags. The trunk can also fit certain bicycles and a foldable wheelchair depending on size, which is quite impressive for a small car like the Cybercab.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI wins permit for power plant supporting AI data centers
The development was reported by CNBC, citing confirmation from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).
Mississippi regulators have approved a permit allowing Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI to construct a natural gas power plant in Southaven. The facility is expected to support the company’s expanding AI infrastructure tied to its Colossus data center operations near Memphis.
The development was reported by CNBC, citing confirmation from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).
According to the report, regulators “voted to approve the permit” of xAI subsidiary MZX Tech LLC to construct a power plant featuring 41 natural gas-burning turbines “after careful consideration of all public comments and community concerns.”
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality stated that the permit followed a regulatory review process that included public comments and community input. Jaricus Whitlock, air division chief for the MDEQ, stated that the project met all applicable environmental standards.
“The proposed PSD permit in front of the board today not only meets all state and federal permitting regulations, but goes above and beyond what is required by law. MDEQ and the EPA agree that not a single person around our facilities will be exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution,” Whitlock stated.
The planned facility will help provide electricity for xAI’s AI computing infrastructure in the Memphis region.
The Southaven project forms part of xAI’s efforts to scale computing capacity for its artificial intelligence systems.
The company currently operates two major data centers in Memphis, known as Colossus 1 and Colossus 2, which provide computing power for xAI’s Grok AI models. xAI is also planning to build another large data center in Southaven called Macrohardrr, which would be located in a warehouse previously used by GXO Logistics.
Large-scale AI training requires substantial computing power and electricity, prompting technology companies to develop dedicated energy infrastructure for their data centers.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell previously stated that xAI plans to develop 1.2 gigawatts of power capacity for its Memphis-area AI supercomputer site as part of the federal government’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge. The commitment was announced during an event with United States President Donald Trump.
“As part of today’s commitment, we will take extensive additional steps to continue to reduce the costs of electricity for our neighbors. xAI will therefore commit to develop 1.2 GW of power as our supercomputer’s primary power source. That will be for every additional data center as well. We will expand what is already the largest global Megapack power installation in the world,” Shotwell said.
“The installation will provide enough backup power to power the city of Memphis, and more than sufficient energy to power the town of Southaven, Mississippi where the data center resides. We will build new substations and invest in electrical infrastructure to provide stability to the area’s grid.”
Elon Musk
Tesla China teases Optimus robot’s human-looking next-gen hands
The image was shared by Tesla AI’s account on Weibo and later reposted by Tesla community members on X.
A new teaser shared by Tesla’s China team appears to show a pair of unusually human-like hands for Optimus.
The image was shared by Tesla AI’s account on Weibo and later reposted by Tesla community members on X.
As could be seen in the teaser image, the new version of Optimus’ hands features proportions and finger structures that look strikingly similar to those of a human hand. Their appearance suggests that they might have dexterity approaching that of a human hand.
If the image reflects a new generation of Optimus’ hands, it could indicate Tesla is continuing to refine one of the most critical components of its humanoid robot.
Hands are widely viewed as one of the most difficult engineering challenges in robotics. For Optimus to perform complex real-world work, from manufacturing tasks to household activities, its hands would need to be the best in the industry.
Elon Musk has repeatedly described Optimus as Tesla’s most important long-term product. In posts on social media platform X, Musk has stated that Optimus could eventually become the first real-world Von Neumann machine.
In theory, a Von Neumann machine is a self-replicating system capable of building copies of itself using available materials. The concept was originally proposed by mathematician John von Neumann in the mid-20th century.
“Optimus will be the first Von Neumann machine, capable of building civilization by itself on any viable planet,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
If Optimus is expected to carry out complex work autonomously in the future, high levels of dexterity will likely be essential. This makes the development of advanced robotic hands a key step towards Musk’s long-term expectations for the product.
Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater
Elon Musk’s xAI wins permit for power plant supporting AI data centers
