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SpaceX launches NASA mission to study black holes, dead stars, and more
SpaceX has successfully launched NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer telescope, paving the way for a unique aspect of black holes, a variety of dead stars, and other odd phenomena to be explored in unprecedented breadth and detail.
Marking the first time a NASA payload has launched on the fifth flight of a reused SpaceX rocket, Falcon 9 booster B1061 lifted off at 1am EST (06:00 UTC) to kick off the 330 kg (~730 lb) IXPE spacecraft’s journey to orbit. SpaceX’s workhorse rocket performed flawlessly. Just over eight minutes after liftoff, Falcon 9’s upper stage completed the first of two planned burns, entering a low parking orbit. About thirty seconds later, Falcon 9 B1061 stuck its fifth drone ship landing in 13 months, marking the end of another successful high-profile launch for the booster and ensuring that it will be able to complete many more such launches over the next few years.
The first portion of the launch completed, Falcon 9’s upper stage then coasted in orbit for about 20 minutes before ignited for one last (very expensive) burn to place IXPE in its desired orbit. Known as a plane or inclination change, the maneuver – especially when performed deep in a large gravitational well – is exceptionally expensive, requiring an unintuitively large amount of launch vehicle performance (known as delta-V). The reason: IXPE’s nominal orbit is almost exactly equatorial, which Falcon 9’s Cape Canaveral launch site is about 28.5 degrees north of.
Lowering that inclination after launch requires a very energetic maneuver. Before Falcon 9 beat it out for the launch contract, IXPE was expected to launch on Orbital ATK’s air-launched Pegasus XL rocket, which would have allowed IXPE to be launched at the equator. However, SpaceX ultimately submitted a bid to launch IXPE for just ~$50M – cheaper than its competitor despite the fact that Falcon 9 is more than 20 times larger and could potentially launch an entire Pegasus XL into orbit. However, while Falcon 9 is designed to launch almost 23 tons into orbit in an expendable configuration and more than 16 tons with booster and fairing recovery, it’s only capable of launching about 1-2 tons to IXPE’s desired combination of an equatorial inclination and a ~600 km (~370 mi) orbit.
Ultimately, Falcon 9 completed the inclination change without issue, marking the successful completion of its first equatorial launch ever and SpaceX’s 28th successful launch in 2021 alone. Unlike a significant majority of spacecraft, IXPE was launched directly into its operational orbit and will likely need just a few days to refine its position and a few weeks after that for ground controllers to verify the health of all its systems and deploy a 4m (`13 ft) long ‘boom’ needed to operate its unique telescope.
If or when everything is up and running, IXPE will spend a minimum of two years observing at least 50 of the weirdest objects and phenomena in the universe. While many of those objects can’t be directly imaged, IXPE’s goal is to analyze the polarization of X-rays – high-energy beams of radiation – they produce at sensitivities two orders of magnitude greater than any previous experiment. In theory, that should allow IXPE to put long-held laws of relativity and quantum physics to the test in some of the most extreme environments in the universe, including particularly exotic nebulae (giant gas clouds), black holes, and bizarre neutron stars (including lighthouse-like pulsars and magnetars – dead stars with magnetic fields strong enough to compress atoms into cylindrical rods and make the actual vacuum of space refract light like a crystal).
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Tesla hosts Rome Mayor for first Italian FSD Supervised road demo
The event marked the first time an Italian mayor tested the advanced driver-assistance system in person in Rome’s urban streets.
Tesla definitely seems to be actively engaging European officials on FSD’s capabilities, with the company hosting Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and Mobility Assessor Eugenio Patanè for a hands-on road demonstration.
The event marked the first time an Italian mayor tested the advanced driver-assistance system in person in Rome’s urban streets. This comes amid Tesla’s push for FSD’s EU regulatory approvals in the coming year.
Rome officials experience FSD Supervised
Tesla conducted the demo using a Model 3 equipped with Full Self-Driving (Supervised), tackling typical Roman traffic including complex intersections, roundabouts, pedestrian crossings and mixed users like cars, bikes and scooters.
The system showcased AI-based assisted driving, prioritizing safety while maintaining flow. FSD also handled overtakes and lane decisions, though with constant driver supervision.
Investor Andrea Stroppa detailed the event on X, noting the system’s potential to reduce severe collision risks by up to seven times compared to traditional driving, based on Tesla’s data from billions of global fleet miles. The session highlighted FSD’s role as an assistance tool in its Supervised form, not a replacement, with the driver fully responsible at all times.
Path to European rollout
Tesla has logged over 1 million kilometers of testing across 17 European countries, including Italy, to refine FSD for local conditions. The fact that Rome officials personally tested FSD Supervised bodes well for the program’s approval, as it suggests that key individuals are closely watching Tesla’s efforts and innovations.
Assessor Patanè also highlighted the administration’s interest in technologies that boost road safety and urban travel quality, viewing them as aids for both private and public transport while respecting rules.
Replies on X urged involving Italy’s Transport Ministry to speed approvals, with one user noting, “Great idea to involve the mayor! It would be necessary to involve components of the Ministry of Transport and the government as soon as possible: it’s they who can accelerate the approval of FSD in Italy.”
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Tesla FSD (Supervised) blows away French journalist after test ride
Cadot described FSD as “mind-blowing,” both for the safety of the vehicle’s driving and the “humanity” of its driving behaviors.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) seems to be making waves in Europe, with French tech journalist Julien Cadot recently sharing a positive first-hand experience from a supervised test drive in France.
Cadot, who tested the system for Numerama after eight years of anticipation since early Autopilot trials, described FSD as “mind-blowing,” both for the safety of the vehicle’s driving and the “humanity” of its driving behaviors.
Julien Cadot’s FSD test in France
Cadot announced his upcoming test on X, writing in French: “I’m going to test Tesla’s FSD for Numerama in France. 8 years I’ve been waiting to relive the sensations of our very first contact with the unbridled Autopilot of the 2016s.” He followed up shortly after with an initial reaction, writing: “I don’t want to spoil too much because as media we were allowed to film everything and I have a huge video coming… But: it’s mind-blowing! Both for safety and for the ‘humanity’ of the choices.”
His later posts detailed FSD’s specific maneuvers that he found particularly compelling. These include the vehicle safely overtaking a delivery truck by inches, something Cadot said he personally would avoid to protect his rims, but FSD handled flawlessly. He also praised FSD’s cyclist overtakes, as the system always maintained the required 1.5-meter distance by encroaching on the opposite lane when clear. Ultimately, Cadot noted FSD’s decision-making prioritized safety and advancement, which is pretty remarkable.
FSD’s ‘human’ edge over Autopilot
When asked if FSD felt light-years ahead of standard Autopilot, Cadot replied: “It’s incomparable, it’s not the same language.” He elaborated on scenarios like bypassing a parked delivery truck across a solid white line, where FSD assessed safety and proceeded just as a human driver might, rather than halting indefinitely. This “humanity” impressed Cadot the most, as it allowed FSD to fluidly navigate real-world chaos like urban Paris traffic.
Tesla is currently hard at work pushing for the rollout of FSD to several European countries. Recent reports have revealed that Tesla has received approval to operate 19 FSD test vehicles on Spain’s roads, though this number could increase as the program develops. As per the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), Tesla would be able to operate its FSD fleet on any national route across Spain. Recent job openings also hint at Tesla starting FSD tests in Austria. Apart from this, the company is also holding FSD demonstrations in Germany, France, and Italy.
Tesla Optimus showed off its newest capability as progress on the project continues to accelerate toward an ultimate goal of mass production in the coming years.
Tesla is still developing Optimus and preparing for the first stages of mass production, where units would be sold and shipped to customers. CEO Elon Musk has always marketed the humanoid robot as the biggest product in history, even outside of Tesla, but of all time.
He believes it will eliminate the need to manually perform monotonous tasks, like cleaning, mowing the lawn, and folding laundry.
However, lately, Musk has revealed even bigger plans for Optimus, including the ability to relieve humans of work entirely within the next 20 years.
JUST IN: Elon Musk says working will be ‘optional’ in less than 20 years because of AI and robotics. pic.twitter.com/l3S5kl5HBB
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) November 30, 2025
Development at Tesla’s Artificial Intelligence and Robotics teams has progressed, and a new video was shown of the robot taking a light jog with what appeared to be some pretty natural form:
Just set a new PR in the lab pic.twitter.com/8kJ2om7uV7
— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 2, 2025
Optimus has also made several public appearances lately, including one at the Neural Information Processing Systems, or NeurIPS Conference. Some spectators shared videos of Optimus’s charging rig, as well as its movements and capabilities, most interestingly, the hand:
You have to hand it to Elon 🤟 pic.twitter.com/fZKDlmGAbe
— Ric Burton · NeurIPS 2025 (@_ricburton) December 2, 2025
The hand, forearm, and fingers have been one of the most evident challenges for Tesla in recent times, especially as it continues to work on its 3rd Generation iteration of Optimus.
Musk said during the Q3 Earnings Call:
“I don’t want to downplay the difficulty, but it’s an incredibly difficult thing, especially to create a hand that is as dexterous and capable as the human hand, which is incredible. The human hand is an incredible thing. The more you study the human hand, the more incredible you realize it is, and why you need four fingers and a thumb, why the fingers have certain degrees of freedom, why the various muscles are of different strengths, and fingers are of different lengths. It turns out that those are all there for a reason.”
The interesting part of the Optimus program so far is the fact that Tesla has made a lot of progress with other portions of the project, like movement, for example, which appears to have come a long way.
However, without a functional hand and fingers, Optimus could be rendered relatively useless, so it is evident that it has to figure this crucial part out first.
Tesla hosts Rome Mayor for first Italian FSD Supervised road demo
Tesla FSD (Supervised) blows away French journalist after test ride
