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SpaceX launches first Starlink mission of 2023 after eight delays
A Falcon 9 rocket has successfully launched SpaceX’s Starlink 2-4 mission after seven delays pushed it from November 2022 to January 2023.
Starlink 2-4 was originally scheduled to launch as early as November 18th, 2022, but was delayed shortly after its Falcon 9 rocket conducted a static fire test. The delay was indefinite, and that specific rocket ultimately launched a different commercial payload in late December. The internet satellite launch was finally rescheduled for January 9th, 2023, kicking off a string of additional delays. Weather delayed the January 9th attempt. Issues with Falcon 9’s second stage delayed the January 10th attempt. Additional “pre-launch checkouts” delayed the launch from January 11th to the 14th, which was then pushed to January 15th for “constellation optimization.“
Poor weather delayed Starlink 2-4 from January 15th to January 18th, and SpaceX eventually delayed the mission to January 19th without explanation. On January 19th, SpaceX even delayed Starlink 2-4 an eighth time, from 7:23 am PST to 7:43 am PST. But at long last, Starlink 2-4 did, in fact, lift off at 7:43 am PST, ending the longest streak of delays experienced by SpaceX in several years.
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
In a rare twist, the first delay caused SpaceX to shuffle booster assignments, and Starlink 2-4 wound up with B1075. B1075 had never flown before, making Starlink 2-4 the second Starlink mission that has debuted a new Falcon booster. Ordinarily, SpaceX has always reserved new boosters – of which only a handful are built annually – for its more conservative customers. The US military in particular was slow to warm up to the idea of flying operational “national security” payloads on reused Falcon boosters, and often required (and paid for) new boosters whenever possible.
But even that wall mostly crumbled in 2022. SpaceX debuting another new Falcon 9 booster on its own low-priority Starlink mission is perhaps the best evidence of that. NASA and the US military have simply come to trust SpaceX’s flight-proven Falcon boosters, and no longer feel the need to reserve every new Falcon 9.
Falcon 9 booster B1075 ultimately aced its orbital-class launch debut and touched down on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) about nine minutes after liftoff. Assuming the seas are calm enough for B1075 to survive the return to Port of Long Beach, it likely has a long life of 15+ launches ahead of it. The Falcon upper stage launched by B1075 eventually reached low Earth orbit (LEO) and deployed another 51 Starlink V1.5 satellites about 30 minutes after liftoff. Starlink 2-4 should leave SpaceX with almost 3400 working Starlink satellites in orbit.
OCISLY gets an upgrade
B1075’s landing also revealed upgrades SpaceX has made to drone ship OCISLY since it was last used in October 2022. Harry Stranger first discovered the changes with satellite imagery, which revealed that SpaceX was upgrading OCISLY’s rectangular with angular ‘wings’. The wings appear to be identical to those installed on SpaceX’s newest drone ship, A Shortfall of Gravitas. ASOG debuted in mid-2021 with a number of upgrades not present on SpaceX’s two other drone ships. Most were intended to improve the ship’s resiliency, availability, and autonomy.
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According to photographer Jerry Pike, the angular wings on ASOG (and now OCISLY) could make the drone ship much easier to tow. Reducing drag could also increase the effectiveness of their existing propulsion systems, potentially allowing them to maintain their position in harsher sea conditions and stronger currents than before. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has previously stated that the ultimate goal is a fully-autonomous drone ship capable of heading to sea, recovering Falcon boosters, and returning to port without human intervention.
There is no evidence that SpaceX is any closer to that goal since ASOG’s debut 16 months ago. Nonetheless, OCISLY’s upgrades should improve the drone ship’s usability as SpaceX attempts to launch (and land) up to 100 rockets in 2023.
Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features
Tesla briefly offered this Robotaxi part for your personal car
