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SpaceX, NASA investigating parachute ‘lag’ during latest Dragon recovery
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.
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.
-->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.
News
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
The refreshed Tesla Model 3 has won the DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year 2025 award in the Passenger Car category, beating all traditional and electric rivals.
Judges praised the all-electric sedan’s driving dynamics, value-packed EV tech, and the game-changing addition of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) that went live in New Zealand this September.
Why the Model 3 clinched the crown
DRIVEN admitted they were late to the “Highland” party because the updated sedan arrived in New Zealand as a 2024 model, just before the new Model Y stole the headlines. Yet two things forced a re-evaluation this year.
First, experiencing the new Model Y reminded testers how many big upgrades originated in the Model 3, such as the smoother ride, quieter cabin, ventilated seats, rear touchscreen, and stalk-less minimalist interior. Second, and far more importantly, Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
FSD changes everything for Kiwi buyers
The publication called the entry-level rear-wheel-drive version “good to drive and represents a lot of EV technology for the money,” but highlighted that FSD elevates it into another league. “Make no mistake, despite the ‘Supervised’ bit in the name that requires you to remain ready to take control, it’s autonomous and very capable in some surprisingly tricky scenarios,” the review stated.
-->At NZ$11,400, FSD is far from cheap, but Tesla also offers FSD (Supervised) on a $159 monthly subscription, making the tech accessible without the full upfront investment. That’s a game-changer, as it allows users to access the company’s most advanced system without forking over a huge amount of money.
News
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out.
It appears that the Tesla AI team burned the midnight oil, allowing them to release FSD V14.2.1 on Thanksgiving. The update has been reported by Tesla owners with AI4 vehicles, as well as Cybertruck owners.
For the Tesla AI team, at least, it appears that work really does not stop.
FSD V14.2.1
Initial posts about FSD V14.2.1 were shared by Tesla owners on social media platform X. As per the Tesla owners, V14.2.1 appears to be a point update that’s designed to polish the features and capacities that have been available in FSD V14. A look at the release notes for FSD V14.2.1, however, shows that an extra line has been added.
“Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.”
Whether this could lead to more drivers being alerted to pay attention to the roads more remains to be seen. This would likely become evident as soon as the first batch of videos from Tesla owners who received V14.21 start sharing their first drive impressions of the update. Despite the update being released on Thanksgiving, it would not be surprising if first impressions videos of FSD V14.2.1 are shared today, just the same.
-->Rapid FSD releases
What is rather interesting and impressive is the fact that FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out. This bodes well for Tesla’s FSD users, especially since CEO Elon Musk has stated in the past that the V14.2 series will be for “widespread use.”
FSD V14 has so far received numerous positive reviews from Tesla owners, with numerous drivers noting that the system now drives better than most human drivers because it is cautious, confident, and considerate at the same time. The only question now, really, is if the V14.2 series does make it to the company’s wide FSD fleet, which is still populated by numerous HW3 vehicles.
News
Waymo rider data hints that Tesla’s Cybercab strategy might be the smartest, after all
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota Connected Europe designer Karim Dia Toubajie has highlighted a particular trend that became evident in Waymo’s Q3 2025 occupancy stats. As it turned out, 90% of the trips taken by the driverless taxis carried two or fewer passengers.
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota designer observes a trend
Karim Dia Toubajie, Lead Product Designer (Sustainable Mobility) at Toyota Connected Europe, analyzed Waymo’s latest California Public Utilities Commission filings and posted the results on LinkedIn this week.
“90% of robotaxi trips have 2 or less passengers, so why are we using 5-seater vehicles?” Toubajie asked. He continued: “90% of trips have 2 or less people, 75% of trips have 1 or less people.” He accompanied his comments with a graphic showing Waymo’s occupancy rates, which showed 71% of trips having one passenger, 15% of trips having two passengers, 6% of trips having three passengers, 5% of trips having zero passengers, and only 3% of trips having four passengers.
The data excludes operational trips like depot runs or charging, though Toubajie pointed out that most of the time, Waymo’s massive self-driving taxis are really just transporting 1 or 2 people, at times even no passengers at all. “This means that most of the time, the vehicle being used significantly outweighs the needs of the trip,” the Toyota designer wrote in his post.
-->Cybercab suddenly looks perfectly sized
Toubajie gave a nod to Tesla’s approach. “The Tesla Cybercab announced in 2024, is a 2-seater robotaxi with a 50kWh battery but I still believe this is on the larger side of what’s required for most trips,” he wrote.
With Waymo’s own numbers now proving 90% of demand fits two seats or fewer, the wheel-less, lidar-free Cybercab now looks like the smartest play in the room. The Cybercab is designed to be easy to produce, with CEO Elon Musk commenting that its product line would resemble a consumer electronics factory more than an automotive plant. This means that the Cybercab could saturate the roads quickly once it is deployed.
While the Cybercab will likely take the lion’s share of Tesla’s ride-hailing passengers, the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover would be perfect for the remaining 9% of riders who require larger vehicles. This should be easy to implement for Tesla, as the Model Y and Model 3 are both mass-market vehicles.
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
