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Watch SpaceX’s Inspiration4 mission launch four private astronauts live [webcast]
Update: SpaceX, Falcon 9, Crew Dragon, the crew, and the weather remain on track for the company’s historic Inspiration4 mission, which is set to become the first dedicated orbital space tourism launch in history.
SpaceX has begun more than four hours of live coverage for the mission, which remains on track to launch no earlier than just before 8:03 pm EDT (00:03 UTC). Tune in below to watch the launch live!
In less than 12 hours, SpaceX will kick off a more than four-hour webcast covering Crew Dragon’s historic Inspiration4 mission – set to be the world’s first all-private orbital astronaut launch and the highest private citizens have ever flown.
Safely tucked inside a once-flown orbital Dragon capsule and riding on a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster, the latter a first for SpaceX, Inspiration4’s approximately five-hour launch window is scheduled to open just before 8:03 pm EDT on Wednesday, September 15th (00:03 UTC 16 Sept). Barring weather or technical delays (or clouds in general), a liftoff ~35 minutes after sunset could produce spectacular views for anyone watching from the ground as Falcon 9 and its immense exhaust plume ascend back into sunlight.
No matter the view, though, Inspiration4 will be a milestone both for SpaceX, spaceflight, and orbital tourism as a whole.
The mission will both be SpaceX’s first private astronaut launch of any kind and the first all-private orbital astronaut launch in history. In a single mission, SpaceX will singlehandedly boost the number of private astronauts that have reached orbit by 50% – a feat only eight other people have achieved. If all goes according to plan, it will also be the first time ever that private citizens have successfully flown to orbit and back on or in a flight-proven rocket or flight-proven spacecraft.
According to SpaceX, Falcon 9 will launch Crew Dragon to an apogee of around 575 km (~357 mi) – more than a third higher than the ISS, the highest humans have flown since 2009, and the highest altitude ever reached by private astronauts. With Inspiration4, SpaceX will also launch astronauts on a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster and simultaneously operate three Dragon spacecraft in orbit for the first time ever, pushing the company’s own technical abilities forward.

Despite the myriad impressive firsts Inspiration4 is set to mark, one thing is certain: it won’t be the last time private astronauts head to (real) space on a SpaceX spacecraft. Already, SpaceX has contracts from Axiom Space for four dedicated private launches to the International Space Station in 2022 and 2023, each carrying up to four private astronauts. Space Adventures – responsible for organizing all eight other non-SpaceX private orbital astronaut launches in history – also has plans to launch a private crew of four to unprecedented heights, though it’s unclear if the mission has secured any customers.
I asked about future non-government missions for SpaceX:
Reed says “the Dragon manifest is getting busier by the minute” with “a growing backlog of commercial astronaut missions.”— Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) September 14, 2021
Reed says SpaceX is “gearing up” to be able to fly 4-6 Dragon missions per year at minimum.— Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) September 14, 2021
In an official Q&A held on Tuesday, Benji Reed – SpaceX director of Dragon mission management – said that the company’s “Dragon manifest is getting busier by the minute” with “a growing backlog of commercial astronaut mission.” Reed also expects SpaceX to soon be capable of a minimum of 4-6 Dragon launches annually. Axiom-1, the first fully private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), is scheduled to launch no earlier than January 2022.
As for Inspiration4, Jared Isaacman, Sian Proctor, Haley Arceneaux, and Chris Sembroski will spend a bit less than three days in orbit and are expected to perform a few small science experiments, take plenty of photos, and host a couple live events over the course of the mission. They’ll also get to take advantage of Crew Dragon’s ‘cupola’ – designed specifically by SpaceX for Inspiration4 and set to be the largest window ever flown in space. A small camera inside the nosecone that will protect that window during ascent and reentry will hopefully allow the crew to take self-portraits with Earth as a spectacular backdrop.


If all goes according to plan, Dragon will reenter and return its private astronauts to Earth around 7pm EDT on Saturday, September 18th. SpaceX is expected to provide live coverage of Inspiration4’s launch and reentry and the launch webcast will begin around 4pm EDT (20:00 UTC), four hours before liftoff.
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Tesla arson suspect pleads guilty, faces up to 70 years in prison
The update was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.
A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty to federal arson charges tied to a March 2025 attack on a Tesla Collision Center in Nevada.
The update was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.
According to court documents, on March 18, 2025, Paul Hyon Kim spray-painted the word “RESIST” on the front entrance of the Tesla Collision Center before damaging the facility and multiple vehicles.
Federal prosecutors stated that Kim used a PA-15 multi-caliber firearm equipped with a .300 BLACKOUT upper receiver and a 7.62mm silencer to shoot out surveillance cameras. He then fired multiple rounds into Tesla vehicles on the property.
Authorities stated that Kim later threw three Molotov cocktails into three separate Tesla vehicles. Two of the devices exploded and ignited the vehicles, while a third did not detonate. In total, five Tesla vehicles were damaged in the incident.
Kim pleaded guilty to two counts of arson of property used in interstate commerce, one count of attempted arson of property used in interstate commerce, and one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm classified as a destructive device.
The mandatory minimum sentence for the charges is five years in federal prison, though the total maximum statutory penalty is 70 years, as per a release from the United States Attorney’s Office of the District of Nevada.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 27, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey. A federal judge will determine the final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, with assistance from the Clark County Fire Department.
Elon Musk
SpaceX pursues 5G-level connectivity with Starlink Mobile V2 expansion
SpaceX noted that the upcoming Starlink V2 satellites will deliver up to 100 times the data density of the current first-generation system.
SpaceX has previewed a major upgrade to Starlink Mobile, outlining next-generation satellites that aim to deliver significantly higher capacity and full 5G-level connectivity directly to mobile phones.
The update comes as Starlink rebrands its Direct-to-Cell service to Starlink Mobile, positioning the platform as a scalable satellite-to-mobile solution that’s integrated with global telecom partners.
SpaceX noted that the upcoming Starlink V2 satellites will deliver up to 100 times the data density of the current first-generation system. The company also noted that the new V2 satellites are designed to provide significantly higher throughput capability compared to its current iteration.
“The next generation of Starlink Mobile satellites – V2 – will deliver full cellular coverage to places never thought possible via the highest performing satellite-to-mobile network ever built.
“Driven by custom SpaceX-designed silicon and phased array antennas, the satellites will support thousands of spatial beams and higher bandwidth capability, enabling around 20x the throughput capability as compared to a first-generation satellite,” SpaceX wrote in its official Starlink Mobile page.
Thanks to the higher bandwidth of Starlink Mobile, users should be able to stream, browse the internet, use high-speed apps, and enjoy voice services comparable to terrestrial cellular networks.
In most environments, Starlink says the upgraded system will enable full 5G cellular connectivity with a user experience similar to existing ground-based networks.
The satellites function as “cell towers in space,” using advanced phased-array antennas and laser interlinks to integrate with terrestrial infrastructure in a roaming-like architecture.
“Starlink Mobile works with existing LTE phones wherever you can see the sky. The satellites have an antenna that acts like a cellphone tower in space, the most advanced phased array antennas in the world that connect seamlessly over lasers to any point in the globe, allowing network integration similar to a standard roaming partner,” SpaceX wrote.
Starlink Mobile currently operates with approximately 650 satellites in low-Earth orbit and is active across more than 32 countries, representing over 1.7 billion people through partnerships with mobile network operators. Starlink Mobile’s current partnerships span North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, allowing reciprocal access across participating nations.
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Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles
The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles.
The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.
Tesla has long emphasized that large-scale real-world data is central to improving its neural network-based approach to autonomy. Each mile driven with FSD (Supervised) engaged contributes additional edge cases and scenario training for the system.

The milestone also brings Tesla closer to a benchmark previously outlined by CEO Elon Musk. Musk has stated that roughly 10 billion miles of training data may be needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving at scale, citing the “long tail” of rare but complex driving situations that must be learned through experience.
The growth curve of FSD Supervised’s cumulative miles over the past five years has been notable.
As noted in data shared by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt, annual FSD (Supervised) miles have increased from roughly 6 million in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and 4.25 billion in 2025. In just the first 50 days of 2026, Tesla owners logged another 1 billion miles.
At the current pace, the fleet is trending towards hitting about 10 billion FSD Supervised miles this year. The increase has been driven by Tesla’s growing vehicle fleet, periodic free trials, and expanding Robotaxi operations, among others.
With the fleet now past 8.4 billion cumulative miles, Tesla’s supervised system is approaching that threshold, even as regulatory approval for fully unsupervised deployment remains subject to further validation and oversight.