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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket nails first operational NASA astronaut launch [updated]

Falcon 9 B1061 successfully lifts off with four astronauts on Crew Dragon's operational launch debut. (Richard Angle)

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Update: SpaceX has successfully resolved a handful of minor thermal control issues facing the brand new Crew Dragon capsule currently ferrying four astronauts in low Earth orbit (LEO).

As previously noted, shortly after the spacecraft reached orbit, two redundant thermal control system pumps registered pressure spikes, pushing Crew Dragon to use the backup pump. SpaceX was able to resolve that issue, effectively restarting the pumps and confirming healthy operation. Several hours later, the backup pump (“Loop B”) suffered another minor issue but was again returned to healthy operations. Simultaneously, Crew-1 astronauts found themselves stuck at an (admittedly comfortable) cabin temperature of 23C (~73F).

More pressingly, three of four heaters used to warm the propellant fed to Crew Dragon’s small Draco maneuvering and attitude control thrusters were automatically disabled a few hours after liftoff. Essential for most operations in orbit and necessary for Dragon to be allowed to remain docked with the ISS, restoring the functionality of at least one of the three heaters was essential, and SpaceX was thankfully able to restore function to all three by relaxing excessively conservative limits in the spacecraft’s flight software. Thanks to SpaceX’s fast work, Dragon is now in perfect health and ready for two crucial Draco burns at 11:20 am and 12 pm EST (UTC-5) on Monday, November 16th and is still scheduled to arrive at the ISS around 11 pm EST.


Right on schedule, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has successfully lifted off on the company’s operational NASA astronaut launch debut, sending four crew members on their way to the International Space Station (ISS) in a historic moment for commercial spaceflight.

Days prior, NASA and SpaceX completed a multi-day “flight readiness review (FRR),” the results of which made SpaceX the first private company in human history to be qualified by a national space agency for routine astronaut launches. As is now more or less routine, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket assigned to NASA’s Crew-1 mission performed flawlessly over the 12 minutes it was involved in the launch, including nominal booster and upper stage performance, a successful booster landing at sea, and a smooth Dragon deployment from Falcon 9’s expendable second stage.

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In a small point of concern, Crew Dragon capsule C207 (colloquially named Dragon Resilience by its crew) appeared to suffer a minor hardware or software fault shortly after orbital insertion, offering the first public glimpse behind the scenes as ground teams coordinated with Dragon’s orbiting astronaut crew to diagnose and fix the issue.

Falcon 9 B1061 successfully lifts off with four astronauts on Crew Dragon’s operational launch debut. (SpaceX)

According to information revealed by SpaceX and NASA officials as they interacted with Crew-1 NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japanese (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, Crew Dragon’s fault detection software was tripped sometime after reaching orbit. Both thermal control system (TCS) “loop” pumps – likely referring to pumps used to circulate a liquid-based radiator system to maintain capsule temperature – experienced off-nominal pressure spikes, causing the spacecraft computer to switch to the second pump (“Loop B”).

As SpaceX’s main earth-to-ground communications team member (CapCom) noted, the TCS pump issue was far from critical given that both pumps appeared to be healthy – and one of those two redundant pumps functioning healthily – moments after Dragon alerted its passengers to the issue. Deemed to be not a showstopper, SpaceX continued the mission and permitted Crew Dragon to begin its first orbit-raising thruster burn – the first of a fairly complex series of ‘phasing’ burns needed to safely rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS).

Crew Dragon basks in golden hour sunlight. (SpaceX)
Crew Dragon and its four astronaut passengers deployed from Falcon 9’s second stage around 12 minutes after liftoff. (SpaceX)
An overview of Crew Dragon’s complex path to the ISS. (SpaceX)

Unfortunately, due to a 24-hour weather delay from November 14th to November 15th, the complexities of orbital rendezvous mean that Crew Dragon’s Crew-1 mission to the ISS will involve a roughly day-long cruise phase. Had SpaceX been able to launch on the 14th, the cruise phase would have been just 8.5 hours long – perhaps the fastest crewed US space station rendezvous ever. Crew-1 will thus align quite closely with SpaceX’s Demo-2 astronaut launch debut, although likely not interspersed with manual astronaut piloting tests this time around.

On top of Crew Dragon’s thus far successful performance, Falcon 9 also completed a task critical for future Crew Dragon launches when new booster B1061 safely landed aboard SpaceX drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). While normally a distinctly secondary objective, booster recovery was all but essential for SpaceX and NASA during the Crew-1 launch after NASA’s recent reveal that B1061 has been assigned to launch Crew-2 as early as March 31st, 2021. In the likely event that the Falcon 9 booster is in good condition and NASA signs off after shadowing SpaceX’s refurbishment process, SpaceX will also become the first private company in history to launch astronauts into orbit on a flight-proven rocket booster. Additionally, thanks to plans to reuse Crew Dragon capsule C206 of Demo-2 fame, Crew-2 will also mark the first time in history that US astronauts launch into orbit in a reused space capsule.

Crew-1 and Falcon 9 booster B1061 passed through main engine cutoff (MECO), stage separation, second stage ignition and propulsion, booster reentry, and booster landing without issue. (SpaceX)

If the Crew-1 cruise phases goes according to plan, Crew Dragon will autonomously ferry Hopkins, Glover, Walker, and Noguchi from a ~200 km (~125 mi) parking orbit to the International Space Station (ISS) between now and Monday, November 16th, nominally docking with the space station around 11 pm EST (04:00 UTC 17 Nov). From liftoff to reentry, Crew-1 is expected to be the longest continuous spaceflight of a US spacecraft in American history, spending approximately six months in orbit. For JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, his Crew-1 launch also made him the third astronaut in human history to fly to orbit on three separate vehicles.

Ultimately, for SpaceX, the company has never been closer to achieving its foundational goal of enabling the affordable expansion of humanity into space than it is after today’s successful Crew-1 launch.

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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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Elon Musk reveals big plans for Tesla Optimus at the Supercharger Diner

Will Optimus deliver my Tesla Club on roller skates? I’m hopeful.

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Credit: Elon Musk | X

Elon Musk revealed on X on Wednesday that Tesla Optimus will soon be getting a job at the Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles, and its role will be right on par with what we believed the humanoid bot would be perfect for.

While Optimus was spotted serving popcorn at the Diner on Monday as it opened for the first time, that’s its only job, at least for now. Musk said Optimus will be getting a promotion in 2026, and it will be a food runner, bringing your order straight to your car, eliminating the need to go inside yourself.

It will complete what Tesla hopes is a full-fledged 50s diner experience, curated by the imagination of the future. In the 1950s, drive-in diners were a common hangout to grab a bite and watch a movie. Tesla opened its Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles earlier this week, but it has a futuristic twist to it.

You can order food directly from your car, sync your center touchscreen and speakers to the two massive projection screens that Tesla is playing movie scenes on at the Diner, and even go inside for a true break from your car.

Next year, Tesla will take it a step further, Musk confirmed:

The Diner features 80 Superchargers that can be used by both Tesla and non-Tesla EVs, provided that the manufacturer of the electric car has access to the company’s robust network. It is also available to non-EV owners, as they can park their cars and stop in for a quick bite to eat.

Tesla’s full menu at the Diner is available here, and its focus for the restaurant was to provide healthier options by sourcing most of its food from local, organic, and humane farms:

Optimus’s capabilities seem to be progressing to a point where Tesla feels confident that the humanoid robot can handle carrying food and delivering it to customers at their cars. Whether it will be put on roller skates is another question, but we’re hopeful Optimus can do it when it gets its promotion next year.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla Q2 2025 earnings: What Wall Street expects

The company has faced mounting pressure this year, with TSLA stock down 19% year-to-date.

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Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is set to release its second-quarter 2025 financial results after markets close on Wednesday, July 23. The company has faced mounting pressure this year, with TSLA stock down about 19% year-to-date. 

What Wall Street expects

As noted in a TipRanks report, Wall Street has remained cautious about the electric vehicle maker due to concerns about the EV segment in general, competition, reduced margins, federal EV regulations, and CEO Elon Musk’s political activities. 

Overall, Wall Street expects Tesla to post earnings per share of $0.39, down 25% from a year ago. Tesla’s revenue is forecasted to fall 13% to $22.19 billion, and analysts also expect the electric vehicle maker to post lower margins this quarter.

Analyst expectations

Tesla delivered approximately 384,120 vehicles in Q2, a 13.5% drop year-over-year, as per Main Street Data. The company also produced over 410,000 vehicles and deployed 9.6 GWh of energy storage products during the quarter. 

Ahead of the earnings call, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard reiterated a Buy rating and a $335 per share price target. He also adjusted his Q2 revenue forecast to $21 billion, down from his previous estimate of $24.1 billion. Despite short-term softness, Sheppard maintained his 2025 and 2026 projections, citing confidence in Tesla’s high-margin Robotaxi business model.

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Barclays analyst Dan Levy kept a Hold rating with a $275 price target. He stated that the company faces “increasingly weaker fundamentals,” but he also suggested that Tesla’s Robotaxi story could drive optimism. Levy expects modest gross margin improvement quarter-over-quarter and flagged the full-year EPS estimate drop from $3.20 to $1.84. Delays in launching the affordable Tesla model remain a downside risk, Levy noted.

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Tesla expands FSD Transfer offer to Europe and the Middle East

Tesla’s FSD transfer offer has long been used as a quarterly sales lever in North America.

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East/X

Tesla has extended its Full Self-Driving (FSD) transfer promotion beyond North America, opening the door for owners in Europe and the Middle East to carry over their existing FSD systems to a new vehicle. 

The move comes days after Elon Musk acknowledged a user’s request for FSD transfers in Europe on X, which the CEO called a “fair” ask. Tesla Europe later confirmed the offer via its official X account.

FSD transfers reaching new markets

FSD transfers have been used as a quarterly sales lever in North America, with its most recent availability in April 2025, as noted in a Not a Tesla App report. While this incentive had remained exclusive to the U.S. and Canada, Tesla’s latest announcement marks the first time the program has been rolled out internationally. 

Interestingly enough, the offer hasn’t yet been extended to other FSD-enabled regions like China. This suggests that Tesla may be prioritizing markets where regulatory approval for FSD remains pending. European Tesla owners, after all, have been waiting literal years for FSD to be rolled out into their countries. 

https://twitter.com/teslaeurope/status/1947332091160449119

How the program works

The process for FSD transfers is straightforward. Existing Tesla owners with FSD must place a new vehicle order and complete delivery during the active promotion period. During checkout, customers are instructed not to add FSD to the new car. Instead, they must notify a Tesla advisor of their intent to transfer their existing vehicle’s FSD. 

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On delivery day, FSD will be deactivated on the old vehicle and activated on the new one. Customers are not required to trade in or sell their original Tesla that had FSD, though once the license is moved, the old vehicle reverts to just Basic Autopilot features.

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