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SpaceX Falcon Heavy payload arrives in Florida for the first time in years
For the first time in almost three years, a spacecraft meant to launch on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket has arrived in Cape Canaveral, Florida and begun to prepare for flight.
Known as Psyche, the scientific mission is designed to venture hundreds of millions of miles from Earth to explore a namesake asteroid that’s believed to be almost entirely metallic. Psyche will also mark NASA’s first operational use of Falcon Heavy, which offers performance far superior to other existing and soon-to-be-retired rockets and at a fraction of their cost.
However, even though Psyche is now the first payload (officially confirmed) to have arrived in Florida for a Falcon Heavy launch since May or June 2019, that doesn’t guarantee that it will be first to launch.
That uncertainty is the result of multiple chronically delayed US military payloads that were both supposed to launch on different Falcon Heavy rockets as early as late 2020. In June 2018, just four months after Falcon Heavy’s iconic launch debut, the US military purchased its first operational launch on the rocket. Known as AFSPC-52 and later renamed USSF-52 after the US government cobbled together a few loosely-related military groups and rebadged them as the “Space Force,” the mission was expected to launch as early as September 2020. In February 2019, the military announced that another Falcon Heavy rocket had been chosen to launch AFSPC-44 (USSF-44) as early as late 2020 or early 2021.
About a year ago, for unknown reasons, USSF-44 took USSF-52’s place as the US military’s first operational Falcon Heavy launch. Now, between three and four years after their initial launch targets, USSF-44 is scheduled to launch NET late June 2022 (a delay of ~18 months) and USSF-52 is set to follow as soon as October 2022 (a delay of ~25 months).
On April 29th, NASA’s Launch Service Program (LSP) revealed that the ~2600-kilogram (~5700 lb) Psyche spacecraft had completed the journey from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL) Pasadena, California assembly facilities to Kennedy Space Center, Florida. After several years of work spent designing, manufacturing, and assembling Psyche, the spacecraft ultimately arrived at on time, leaving it on track to launch on Falcon Heavy as early as August 1st, 2022.
At the moment, that makes Psyche’s launch far more likely to happen before USSF-44, which has repeatedly gotten within a few months of a purported launch target before the US military acknowledged additional delays. Like USSF-44, Psyche’s Falcon Heavy rocket – three boosters, an upper stage, and a fairing – will be entirely new. Due to the high performance required for each mission and the fact that both will be the first operational use of the rocket for NASA and the USSF, each brand-new Falcon Heavy center core will be intentionally expended.
If it launches more or less on time, USSF-44 will be SpaceX and Falcon Heavy’s first direct launch to geostationary orbit (GEO), requiring the rocket’s upper stage to survive a roughly six-hour-long coast and perform a lengthy orbit circularization burn around ~42,500 kilometers (~26,400 mi) above Earth’s surface. With a payload that weighs around four tons (~8800 lb), it’s little surprise that Falcon Heavy’s center core will be expended. Psyche, on the other hand, is headed into deep space on a trajectory that NASA’s own ELVPerf calculator – supplied with official performance data from SpaceX – says Falcon Heavy can launch more than four tons (~8800 lb) to while still recovering all three boosters. It’s unclear why NASA would need a 50-70% safety margin.
Regardless, the second half of 2022 could be quite the spectacle of Falcon Heavy launches after a more than three-year hiatus. On top of USSF-44, Psyche, and USSF-52, Falcon Heavy is tentatively scheduled to launch a ViaSat-3 communications satellite directly to GEO in Q3 2022 and, even more tentatively, the Space Force’s USSF-67 mission in November 2022.
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Tesla US Gigafactories shields from Trump’s 25% Tariffs
Tesla US Gigafactories Shielded from Trump’s 25% Tariffs
Tesla stocks climbed after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on imported cars and auto parts, standing out in the United States auto industry.
Automaker stocks tanked after President Trump slapped 25% tariffs on foreign autos and parts. Tesla slightly dodged the tariff blow thanks to local production. Its gigafactories in China and Germany don’t supply Tesla vehicles to the United States market. The company builds all U.S.-sold EVs in Fremont, California, or at Giga Austin in Texas.
TD Cowen analyst Itay Michaeli sees the American EV automaker as a winner in Trump’s tariffs games.
“Tesla [is] a relative beneficiary given [its] 100% U.S. production footprint, substantial U.S. sourcing, and with Model Y competing in a midsize crossover segment where close to ~50% of vehicles could be subject to tariffs,” Michaeli wrote on Thursday.
Rivian and Lucid also make all vehicles sold in the United States domestically. Ford hits 77% U.S. production, while Stellantis sits at 57%. Nissan and GM each clock in at 52%.
Trump’s 25% tariff on non-U.S.-made vehicles kicks in next week, on April 2, 2025. Elon Musk confirmed that Trump’s tariff will still affect Tesla, despite its plants in America.
Musk posted on X about tariff impacts. He said foreign-sourced parts will drive up costs. It’s not a small hit. Tesla warned of this in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative. “Certain parts and components are difficult or impossible to source within the United States,” the letter stated, even with “aggressive localization.”
Nikola Motor founder Trevor Milton has been given a full pardon by U.S. President Donald Trump in an unprecedented turn of events.
Trevor Milton Media announced late Thursday that the formerly jailed founder of the all-electric automaker that President Trump had “pledged to end the political weaponization of the Justice Department. This pardon marks a step toward fulfilling that commitment.”
Milton was sentenced to four years in prison in December 2023 after being found guilty of multiple counts of fraud.
Nikola founder Trevor Milton sentenced to four years in prison
“I was not a very seasoned CEO,” Milton said after his sentencing. Questions about the legitimacy of some Nikola product demonstrations and several statements that were found to be misleading regarding the company’s progress on its vehicles brought Milton to U.S. Federal Court to face two counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud.
Now, he is free.
Milton said in a statement:
“This pardon is not just about me—it’s about every American who has been railroaded by the government, and unfortunately, that’s a lot of people. It is no wonder why trust and confidence in the Justice Department has eroded to nothing. I wish judges would stop believing whatever the prosecutors feed them so Americans could trust the justice system again. Until that happens, our justice system will continue to erode until there is nothing left. The 90+% conviction rate in New York is appalling and is a result of prosecutors getting whatever they want and putting innocent people in prison. I saw firsthand the tactics they use to achieve those guaranteed convictions. I am incredibly grateful to President Trump for his courage in standing up for what is right and for granting me this sacred pardon of innocence.”
Milton will now launch a documentary that is available for preview here.
A vandal in Las Vegas who lit a Tesla repair center on fire has been arrested, bringing a name and face to the crime that engulfed vehicles and a structure in flames.
Officers in Las Vegas arrested Paul Kim, a 36-year-old, on Wednesday. He faces charges of arson and possessing an explosive device.
The Tesla repair center at 6260 West Badura Avenue was set aflame on March 18 at around 2:45 a.m. In total, five vehicles were set on fire, as well as the building itself. It was one of the more notable instances of vandalism against Tesla in recent months, but police now have their culprit.
Las Vegas Metro Police Department Sheriff Dori Koren described the weapons Kim used to execute the attack:
“He used what appeared to be multiple Molotov cocktails and firearms to conduct his attack.”
As the instances of attacks on Tesla continue to be publicized, we are now seeing considerable pushback from owners, the company, and even the United States government regarding what it calls “domestic terrorism.”
Owners are now filing lawsuits against those who vandalize their vehicles, as the first civil suit against a vandal was filed in Texas yesterday.
Great
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2025
Tesla has not made any moves itself against the vandals, but we expect the company to potentially enter some litigation against groups or politicians that incite violence against its property and the owners of its vehicles.
Additionally, the U.S. government has utilized the FBI to probe incidents against Tesla as a part of them being constituted as instances of domestic terrorism. Earlier this month, the Bureau established a specific task force to handle Tesla-related attacks.
“The FBI has been investigating the increase in violent activity toward Tesla, and over the last few days, we have taken additional steps to crack down and coordinate our response,” FBI head Kash Patel said on X. “This is domestic terrorism. Those responsible will be pursued, caught, and brought to justice.”
Tesla US Gigafactories shields from Trump’s 25% Tariffs
Nikola Motor founder Trevor Milton given full pardon by President Trump
Tesla vandal who lit Las Vegas repair center on fire arrested
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