News
SpaceX fires up redesigned Crew Dragon as NASA reveals SuperDraco thruster “flaps”
On November 13th, SpaceX revealed that a planned static fire test of a Crew Dragon’s powerful abort thrusters was completed without issue, a strong sign that the company has successfully redesigned the spacecraft to prevent a catastrophic April 2019 explosion from reoccurring.
Pending a far more extensive analysis, Wednesday’s static fire should leave SpaceX on track to perform Crew Dragon’s next major flight test before the end of 2019.
In an unexpected flourish of transparency, SpaceX and NASA published photos of the Crew Dragon capsule’s static fire test just a few hours after it was completed, an excellent sign that the ‘quick-look’ data analysis immediately following the test was extremely positive. Spaceflight Now was first to visually confirm that the test had occurred, publishing a photo that revealed a whitish cloud of smoke produced by the static fire around 3:15 pm EST (20:15 UTC).
Had a failure similar to the April 2019 explosion occurred, that cloud would have likely been tinged red by unburnt dinitrogen tetroxide (NTO) oxidizer, and the different appearance of November 13th’s exhaust cloud was seen as the first tentative sign that this static fire had gone more successfully.
Alongside photos of the SuperDraco thruster test published by NASA and SpaceX shortly after its conclusion, SpaceX confirmed that the test was completed without issue. Regardless of whether everything performed exactly as intended, this means that factory-fresh Crew Dragon capsule C205 made it through the test unscathed, likely securing SpaceX and NASA a large volume of uninterrupted telemetry data, as well as the hardware itself.
Just hours after C205’s static fire was completed, NASA published a detailed update, confirming that the tests were finished without any immediately apparent issues.
NASA described the test in much more detail than SpaceX, noting that it began with the ignition of two of Crew Dragon’s 16 Draco maneuvering thrusters, each performing two one-second burns. C205’s eight SuperDraco abort thrusters subsequently ignited and burned for a total of ~9 seconds to simulate required abort performance, followed by the reignition of two Draco thrusters immediately after SuperDraco cutoff.
Each capable of producing several dozen pounds of thrust, both Crew and Cargo Dragon use Draco thrusters to orient themselves in orbit, rendezvous with the International Space Station, and lower their orbits to reenter Earth’s atmosphere. Crew Dragon’s Draco thrusters are also designed to control its attitude during abort scenarios, stabilizing and flipping the spacecraft to prevent a loss of control and ensure proper orientation during emergency parachute deployment. The Draco firings during Crew Dragon’s November 13th static fire were meant to simulate that additional use-case.
Aside from verifying that SpaceX has successfully redesigned Crew Dragon to mitigate the failure mode that caused capsule C201’s catastrophic explosion in April 2019, the Draco static fires specifically mirrored the burns Crew Dragon C205 will need to perform to successfully complete its In-Flight Abort (IFA) test. As noted by NASA and SpaceX, with the static fire complete, both teams will now comb through the data produced, inspect Crew Dragon to verify its health and the performance of its redesigned high-flow pressurization system, and perform any necessary refurbishment.
SuperDraco’s mystery “flaps”
NASA’s post on Crew Dragon’s static fire revealed another thoroughly intriguing detail: the SpaceX spacecraft’s SuperDraco thrusters apparently have flaps! A bit of retroactive speculation suggests that SuperDracos are closed out with plugs of some sort to create a seal against the environment before Crew Dragon is rolled out to the launch pad. Perhaps, in the event of a SuperDraco ignition, SpaceX included actuating flaps as a method of resealing those thrusters prior to splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.
“Immediately after the SuperDracos shut down, two Dracos thrusters fired and all eight SuperDraco flaps closed, mimicking the sequence required to reorient the spacecraft in-flight to a parachute deploy attitude and close the flaps prior to reentry. The full sequence, from SuperDraco startup to flap closure, spanned approximately 70 seconds.”
NASA, November 13th, 2019
Given that the obvious utility of those flaps appears to be extremely limited and their associated actuators have to survive the 9+ consecutive seconds of hellish conditions in the event of an actual abort, it seems like an excessively complicated system to include on Crew Dragon. Nevertheless, the ability to guarantee that SuperDracos are water-sealed before splashdown would almost without a doubt make Crew Dragon far easier to refurbish and reuse.
The SuperDraco flaps may also be a holdover from before propulsive Crew Dragon landings were canceled, although the use-cases for such a system still remain unclear. The flaps’ raison d’etre could even be as simple as preventing water intrusion that might otherwise cause Dragon to sink after splashdown.
Regardless of why they exist, NASA indicates that SpaceX’s November 13th static fire proved that they worked exactly as expected, closing soon after the simulated abort burn to seal Crew Dragon against water intrusion. If NASA and SpaceX’s deep-dive inspections and data analysis uncover no red flags, it’s extremely likely that SpaceX will able to launch C205 for its In-Flight Abort test some 4-8 weeks from now.
If the IFA also goes as planned, Crew Dragon could be ready for its inaugural NASA astronaut launch as early as February or March 2020.
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Cybertruck
Chattanooga Charge: Tesla and EV fans ready for the Southeast’s wildest Tesla party
From Cybertruck Convoys to Kid-Friendly Fun Zones: The Chattanooga Charge Has Something for Everyone
Hundreds of like-minded Tesla and EV enthusiasts are descending on Chattanooga Charge this weekend for the largest Tesla meet in the Southeast. Taking place on March 20–22, 2026 at the stunning Tennessee Riverpark.
If you were there last year, you’ll know that it’s the ultimate experience to see the wildest Teslas in action, see the best in EV tech, and arguably the most fun – finally put a name to the face and connect with those social media buddies IRL! Oh, and that epic night time Tesla light show is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will transform the Riverpark into something out of a sci-fi film that’s remarkably unforgettable and must be seen in person.
This year’s event takes everything up a notch, with over 100 Cybertrucks expected to be on display, many sporting jaw-dropping modifications and custom wraps that push the boundaries of what these stainless steel beasts can look like.
Whether you’re a diehard Tesla fan, EV supporter, or just EV-mod-curious, the sheer spectacle is worth the drive.
The Chattanooga Charge doesn’t wait until Saturday morning to get started. The weekend technically kicks off Friday, March 20th, and the venue sets the tone immediately. Come share roadtrip stories over drinks at the W-XYZ Rooftop Bar on the top floor of the Aloft Chattanooga Hamilton Place Hotel, with sunset views over the city.
Come morning, nurse your hangover with a some good coffee, and convoy with hundreds of other Tesla and EV drivers through Chattanooga to the event for some morning meet and greets before the speaker panel starts and the food trucks fire up.
Tesla owner clubs travel from across the country to be here, not just to show off their vehicles,, but to connect, share, and celebrate a shared passion for the future of driving.
Sounds like a plan to me. See you there, guys. Don’t miss it. Get your tickets at ChattanoogaCharge.com and join the charge. 🔋⚡
Chattanooga Charge is a premier Tesla and EV gathering inspired by the X Takeover, known as one of the largest Tesla event gatherings. What began as a bold idea from the team at DIY Wraps/TESBROS, hosted in their hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, the event quickly became a movement across social media. The first annual Chattanooga Charge united over 16 Tesla clubs from 16 states, proof that the EV community was hungry for something big in the South. Year after year, the event has grown in scale, ambition, and heart.
News
Tesla Full Self-Driving gets latest bit of scrutiny from NHTSA
The analysis impacts roughly 3.2 million vehicles across the company’s entire lineup, and aims to identify how the suite’s degradation detection systems work and how effective they are when the cars encounter difficult visibility conditions.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has elevated its probe into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite to an Engineering Analysis.
The analysis impacts roughly 3.2 million vehicles across the company’s entire lineup, and aims to identify how the suite’s degradation detection systems work and how effective they are when the cars encounter difficult visibility conditions.
The step up into an Engineering Analysis is often required before the NHTSA will tell an automaker to issue a recall. However, this is not a guarantee that a recall will be issued.
🚨 The NHTSA said it was upgrading a probe into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) platform to an “engineering analysis”
It will examine 3.2 million vehicles and aims to determine its effectiveness in evaluating degraded road conditions pic.twitter.com/2dkrv1mR8o
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 19, 2026
The NTHSA wants to examine Tesla FSD’s ability to assess road conditions that have reduced visibility, as well as detect degradation to alert the driver with sufficient time to respond.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) will evaluate the performance of FSD in degraded roadway conditions and the updates or modifications Tesla makes to the degradation detection system, including the timing, purpose, and capabilities of the updates.
Tesla routinely ships software updates to improve the capabilities of the FSD suite, so it will be interesting to see if various versions of FSD are tested. Interestingly, you can find many examples from real-world users of FSD handling snow-covered roads, heavy rain, and single-lane backroads.
However, there are incidents that the NHTSA has used to determine the need for this probe, at least for now. The agency said:
“Available incident data raise concerns that Tesla’s degradation detection system, both as originally deployed and later updated, fails to detect and/or warn the driver appropriately under degraded visibility conditions such as glare and airborne obscurants. In the crashes that ODI has reviewed, the system did not detect common roadway conditions that impaired camera visibility and/or provide alerts when camera performance had deteriorated until immediately before the crash occurred.”
It continues to say in its report that a review of Tesla’s responses revealed additional crashes that occurred in similar environments showed FSD “did not detect a degraded state, and/or it did not present the driver with an alert with adequate time for the driver to react. In each of these crashes, FSD also lost track of or never detected a lead vehicle in its path.”
The next steps of the NHTSA Engineering Analysis require the agency to gather further information on Tesla’s attempts to upgrade the degradation detection system. It will also analyze six recent potentially related incidents.
The investigation is listed as EA26002.
Elon Musk
SpaceX’s Starship V3 is almost ready and it will change space travel forever
SpaceX is targeting April for the debut test launch of Starship V3 “Version 3”
SpaceX is closing in on one of the most anticipated rocket launches in history, as the company readies for a planned April test launch and debut of its next-gen Starship V3 “Version 3”.
The latest iteration of Starship V3 has a slightly taller Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage than their predecessors, and produce stronger, more efficient thrust using SpaceX’s upgraded Raptor 3 engines. V3 also features increased propellant capacity, targeting a total payload capacity of over 100 tons to low Earth orbit, compared to around 35 tons for its predecessor. With Musk’s lifelong aspiration to colonize Mars one day, the increased payload capacity matters enormously, because Mars missions require moving massive amounts of cargo, fuel, and eventually, people. But the most critical upgrade may be orbital refueling. SpaceX’s entire deep space architecture depends on moving large amounts of propellant in space, and having orbital refueling capabilities turn Starship from just a rocket into a true transport system. Without it, neither the Moon nor Mars is reachable at scale.
Initial Super Heavy V3 and Starbase Pad 2 activation campaign complete, wrapping up several days of testing that loaded cryogenic fuel and oxidizer on a V3 vehicle for the first time. While the 10-engine static fire ended early due to a ground-side issue, we saw successful… pic.twitter.com/uHGji17srv
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 18, 2026
A fully reusable Starship and Super Heavy, SpaceX aims to drive marginal launch costs down and at a tenfold reduction compared to current market leaders. To put that in perspective, getting a kilogram of cargo to orbit today costs thousands of dollars. Bring that number down far enough and space stops being an exclusive domain. That price point unlocks mass deployment of satellite constellations, large-scale science payloads, and affordable human transport beyond Earth orbit. It also means the Moon stops being a destination we visit and starts being one we inhabit.
NASA expects Starship to take off for the Moon’s South Pole in 2028, with the ultimate goal of establishing a permanently crewed science station there. A successful V3 flight this spring keeps that timeline alive. As for Mars, Musk has shifted focus toward building a self-sustaining city on the Moon first, arguing that the Moon can be reached every 10 days versus Mars’s 26-month alignment window. Mars remains the horizon, but the Moon is the proving ground.
Elon Musk hasn’t been shy with hyping the upcoming Starship V3 launch. In a social media post on Wednesday, he confirmed the first V3 flight is getting closer to launch. SpaceX also announced its initial activation campaign for V3 and Starbase Pad 2 was complete, wrapping up several days of cryogenic fuel testing on a V3 vehicle for the first time. The countdown is on. April can’t come soon enough.
Chattanooga Charge: Tesla and EV fans ready for the Southeast’s wildest Tesla party
Tesla Full Self-Driving gets latest bit of scrutiny from NHTSA
