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SpaceX, NASA investigating parachute ‘lag’ during latest Dragon recovery

Crew-2's uninflated main chute is visible in the middle image. CRS-24 experienced similar chute behavior. (NASA)

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On February 2nd, NASA officials reported that a SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft suffered a minor parachute anomaly during its most recent reentry, descent, and splashdown.

On January 23rd, SpaceX’s CRS-24 Cargo Dragon 2 vehicle departed the International Space Station for the second time in less than six months with about 2.2 tons (~5000 lb) of science experiments, equipment, and refuse in tow. On January 24th, the Dragon successfully deorbited, reentered Earth’s atmosphere, deployed parachutes, and splashed down off of Florida’s Gulf Coast, where a SpaceX team quickly recovered the spacecraft and loaded time-sensitive cargo onto a waiting helicopter. Oddly, in an attempt to save perhaps a quarter of a percent of the total cost of the mission, NASA offered zero live coverage and didn’t even publish photos or videos of the Dragon recovery taken after the fact.

That left little more than social media posts for taxpayers who paid for the mission to experience it live. Ultimately, while those posts simply stated that the CRS-24 Dragon recovery was a success, they weren’t entirely accurate.

Mirroring behavior seen on Crew Dragon’s Crew-2 recovery in November 2021, NASA and SpaceX waited more than a week after the fact to report that one of Cargo Dragon’s four main parachutes also failed to fully inflate exactly when expected. However, while NASA and SpaceX withholding information is unsavory at best, the issue was once again minor.

Crew-2’s partially uninflated main chute is visible in the middle photo. (NASA)

Just like Crew-2, the ‘lagging’ CRS-24 chute took about a minute longer than its siblings to fully inflate but did so well before splashdown. More importantly, CRS-24’s chute lag also failed to register in telemetry or recovered data, meaning that it had no significant impact on capsule descent rate or the force of impact upon splashdown. According to senior SpaceX flight reliability engineer Bill Gerstenmaier, “if you [only] look at the…data, you wouldn’t even detect the fact that the chutes [lagged on Crew-2 or CRS-24].”

In other words, the lagging chute inflation has been entirely harmless and completely inconsequential. Further, because Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon 2 use four main chutes, they can safely return to Earth even if one of those chutes fails entirely. The fact that the actual telemetry shows nothing amiss with three – instead of – four chutes fully deployed effectively confirms as much, though SpaceX also completed more than a hundred different parachute drop tests verifying as much before Dragon 2’s first flight.

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However, in human spaceflight, the saying “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar” could not be further from reality. Any deviation from expected behavior – no matter how harmless – must be carefully investigated because a lack of full understanding in one area may be a symptom of a larger organizational error or a sign of other unknown issues. Even if that’s rarely the case, NASA – where Gerstenmaier was an executive for 17 years – knows the cost of systemic complacency better than any other company or space agency on Earth. There is no room for it.

As such, even if the communication of the event was lacking, it’s abundantly clear that NASA and SpaceX are doing what needs to be done to remain vigilant and ensure the safety of Dragon and its parachutes.

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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Tesla is launching a crazy new Rental program with cheap daily rates

This week, Tesla launched its in-house Rental program that will give people a vehicle for between three to seven days, with prices varying and starting at just $60 per day.

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla is launching a crazy new Rental program with cheap daily rates, giving people the opportunity to borrow a vehicle in the company’s lineup with an outrageous number of perks.

This week, Tesla launched its in-house Rental program that will give people a vehicle for between three to seven days, with prices varying and starting at just $60 per day.

However, there are additional perks that make it a really great deal, including Free Supercharging and Free Full Self-Driving (Supervised) for the duration of the rental.

There are no limits on mileage or charging, although the terms do not allow you to leave the state you are renting.

Tesla wrote in an email advertising the program:

“Rent a Tesla and see how it makes every errand, commute, and road trip more fun. While it’s yours, try Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and control and monitor your vehicle with the Tesla app. 

Schedule your rental for three to seven days starting at $60 per day (plus taxes and fees) and charge for free at any Tesla-owned Supercharger.

Order your own Tesla within seven days of your rental to get up to a $250 credit toward your purchase.”

Tesla has long adopted the mentality that butts in seats will sell cars, and for the most part, it is a great strategy. Driving a Tesla is different from owning and driving a combustion engine vehicle; it truly feels as if you are in a car from the past when you get back in an ICE car.

This strategy could be looked at as more of a way for people to experience Tesla ownership than anything.

Although some might use it as a typical rental program that will see it be a cool way to drive without putting miles on a personal car, most will use it as the 48-hour test drive was designed for, which is a short-term way to experience EV ownership.

Tesla is only offering this program at a handful of locations currently, including San Diego and Costa Mesa, California.

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Tesla makes online ordering even easier

Tesla has a great trade-in program that allows you to give the company your vehicle in exchange for cash, even if it’s not an EV. Their trades are mostly fair, but the company seems to undervalue its own vehicles, and there have been plenty of complaints over offers in the past.

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(Credit: Tesla Asia | X)

Tesla has adjusted its Online Design Studio to make for an easier trade-in process, reflecting the details of the exchange for a more accurate reflection of payment terms.

Tesla has a great trade-in program that allows you to give the company your vehicle in exchange for cash, even if it’s not an EV. Their trades are mostly fair, but the company seems to undervalue its own vehicles, and there have been plenty of complaints over offers in the past.

Trade-ins are usually given by submitting vehicle details, then Tesla sends an email with an offer. Offers are non-negotiable, but do adjust over time, although the latest offer is valid for 30 days.

I traded my ICE vehicle for a Tesla Model Y: here’s how it went

Knowing your new Tesla’s cash price, leasing or loan details, and monthly payment information used to be done by the car buyer. From personal experience, I simply subtracted my trade-in from the cash price of the Tesla Model Y, and I plugged those numbers into the payment calculator.

Now, Tesla is implementing the trade-in process directly into the Design Studio. It will adjust the price of the car and the different monthly payment methods automatically:

The change is already noticed in a handful of states, including California, but it has not rolled out across the board quite yet. It will be implemented in all of the U.S., as well as Canada, this coming week.

The trade-in process is very simple, and after you accept your offer, you simply drop your vehicle off during the delivery process. Making this simple change will be greatly appreciated by owners.

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Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Robotaxi will hit five new cities in the United States in the coming months, the company confirmed.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

The Robotaxi suite is a ride-hailing service Tesla offers, but the details of it change with each jurisdiction, as regulations vary. For example, in Austin, Tesla can operate the Robotaxi suite without anyone in the driver’s seat, as long as the vehicle does not enter a freeway.

Credit: Tesla

In the Bay Area, a Safety Monitor rides in the driver’s seat, essentially acting as the vehicle operator with Full Self-Driving controlling the car.

The local regulations and how Tesla handles them will continue to be a relevant part of the discussion, especially as the company aims to expand the Robotaxi program to different areas. This has been a primary focus of the company for several months, especially within the United States.

CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla was aiming to launch Robotaxi in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. However, the company detailed five specific cities where it will launch Robotaxi next during the Annual Shareholder Meeting on Thursday.

Tesla will launch Robotaxi in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, and Miami next, broadening its Service Area for the suite to more major cities across the U.S.

It has said it plans to offer the service to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year, but it does not seem as if it will expand to more than a handful of cities this year, which is still tremendous progress, all things considered.

As far as autonomy is concerned, Tesla has always had lofty expectations and has made some even loftier statements.

At the Shareholder Meeting, Musk said that the company would likely be able to enable vehicle owners to text while the vehicle drives, alleviating them from potentially having some of the responsibility they have behind the wheel.

Tesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’

It is not confirmed that Tesla will roll this out in the next few months, but Musk said there is a possibility.

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