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SpaceX ready for second ever reused Falcon 9 launch on June 19

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8 years ago

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 “1029” is nearly ready to conduct its second commercial launch later this weekend after today’s successful static fire at Launch Complex 39A. Static fire was initially planned for June 13th but was delayed to the 14th and then the 15th, with the launch date also being delayed by two days to June 19th. This small delay is likely a result of launch pad readiness procedures taking a bit longer than intended.

Now scheduled with a window of 2-5 p.m. EST on June 19th, a successful launch will mark the second successful reuse of a Falcon 9 first stage and thus the second ever reuse of an orbital-class rocket. This particular first stage, 1029, is coincidentally symbolic in the sense that it launched SpaceX’s first mission after the Amos-6 failure last year, when a complex series of events led to a massive explosion that destroyed Falcon 9, the Amos-6 payload, and severely damaged the site it was to launch from. Elon Musk deemed it “the most difficult and complex failure” SpaceX had ever faced. It was all the more surprising that the company returned to flight just over four months later, in an industry in which failures of the same scale can result in launch vehicle groundings of multiple years (the Space Shuttle, Orbital ATK’s Antares).

1029 after recovery in the Pacific Ocean. 1 in the “1029” indicates that it is a first stage and 029 implies that it is the 29th Falcon 9 to be manufactured. SpaceX has recently begun to physically label each stage with their serial numbers between their landing legs. (SpaceX)

The best possible demonstration of a launch company’s confidence in their ability to spring back from a trying failure may well be a willingness to reuse the actual launch vehicle that marked their return to flight. And that is exactly what SpaceX is about to attempt with the second launch of 1029, which flawlessly orbited Iridum’s first set of ten NEXT satellites in the company’s return to flight after Amos-6.

Falcon 9 1029 will be tasked with placing the satellite in a geostationary transfer orbit, meaning that the satellite itself will use its own bi-propellant thrusters to reach its final geostationary orbit above Earth. With a mass estimated around 4000 kilograms, 1029 will very likely be able to attempt a recovery by landing on SpaceX’s West coast Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS), known as Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). There have also been reports of the mythical Optimus Prime robot conducting tests aboard OCISLY yesterday, hinting that this recovery may be the first time that the robot will be allowed to attempt to secure the recovered first stage after landing on the drone ship.

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An automated method of securing recovered stages after landing has the potential to progress SpaceX’s goal of rapid reusability, and BulgariaSat-1 will mark the beginning of a schedule that has SpaceX attempting to launch Falcon 9 three times in 14 days, a truly impressive accomplishment even if delays stretch it out to 20+ days.

 

BulgariaSat-1 has lately been called Bulgaria’s first true satellite, but it is really the country’s second satellite. Manufactured and assembled by the Palo Alto, California-based Space Systems Loral (SSL), it will offer much broader coverage of the Europe and Balkans regions and provide high quality satellite television and telecommunications services in a bid to expand Bulsatcom’s market.

Much like cars are often built off of the same chassis, BulgariaSat-1 is based upon a communications satellite bus (SL-1300) that has flown successfully dozens of times and currently has dozens of active variants in geostationary orbits. BulgariaSat-1 will be the sixth SL-1300 derived satellite that SpaceX themselves have launched, and the company has four other SL-1300 satellite scheduled for launch in 2017 and 2018.

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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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Tesla launches ‘Mad Max’ Full Self-Driving Speed Profile, its fastest yet

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2 hours ago

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October 15, 2025

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Credit: Teslarati

Tesla launched its fastest Full Self-Driving Speed Profile with the v14.1.2 Software Update on Wednesday, as “Mad Max” mode has overtaken “Hurry” as the most spirited travel option on FSD.

On Wednesday evening, Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, teased that the v14.1.2 Software Update would be released to those drivers in the Early Access Program (EAP). He said it was a “much-awaited feature.”

Tesla just teased something crazy with the next Full Self-Driving update

Many people, myself included, believed it would be the introduction of “Banish,” which would be a perfect complement to the Actually Smart Summon (ASS) suite, as it would find a parking spot and park itself after dropping you off at the front door of your destination.

However, Elluswamy’s post on X finished with two emojis: one a race car, the other being smoke behind the car.

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On Wednesday night, we received the v14.1.2 software update to the new Model Y, which revealed that “Mad Max” mode was the new addition:

The release notes state that:

“Introduced new speed profile MAD MAX, which comes with higher speeds and more frequent lane changes than Hurry.”

It is pretty interesting that Tesla would introduce yet another speed profile that is even faster and more aggressive than “Hurry.” Personally, I’ve found Hurry to be realistic in terms of other drivers and their aggressiveness, speed of travel, and overall lane change behavior, especially on interstates.

Mad Max mode will be an interesting adjustment.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk first talked about Mad Max mode back in 2018 in posts on X, first mentioning the feature with the Tesla Semi:

Musk then teased Mad Max mode in 2019 with an early Autopilot update, stating that it would be an ideal option for aggressive traffic seen in places like Los Angeles. There was formerly a mode of the same name back in the late 2010s:

Now that it’s here, we’ll be testing it very soon and giving you a good idea of what to expect when it releases to others in the coming weeks.

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Tesla just teased something crazy with the next Full Self-Driving update

Published

4 hours ago

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October 15, 2025

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East | X

Update 9:56 p.m. ET: We got it…

Tesla launches ‘Mad Max’ Full Self-Driving Speed Profile, its fastest yet

Tesla just teased something crazy with the next Full Self-Driving update, which will be released to Early Access Program (EAP) members today.

Tesla just recently released the v14 Full Self-Driving update, and it followed up just a few days later with v14.1.1.

The subsequent release helped refine a handful of things, especially an issue with stuttering at intersections and overall indecisiveness, but it was more of a smoothing over of the initial v14.1 Full Self-Driving release.

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However, on Wednesday evening, Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said that the company would be releasing v14.1.2 to EAP members today, and that it would “debut a much-awaited feature.”

He followed that up with a racecar emoji and a smoke emoji, potentially hinting toward something speed-related. However, it could mean something totally different.

Some suggested it was potentially a new Speed Profile that could rank above the “Hurry” option, but that seems unnecessary. As far as other features that have been teased, one that definitely comes to mind is the “Banish” feature that was recently teased by CEO Elon Musk.

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Banish is essentially the finishing touch to Tesla’s Actually Smart Summon (ASS), which launched earlier this year.

While ASS will bring your car to your location using the Tesla app on your phone, Banish does just the opposite by dropping you off at the door of your destination and finding a parking spot on its own.

Elon Musk teases ‘Banish’ feature to pair perfectly with Summon

This was recently teased by Musk yet again, as he said earlier this month that Full Self-Driving would be capable of it very soon.

Based on what we’ve seen out of v14.1 and v14.1.1, there is some potential that Banish could be released and could be the feature that Elluswamy is hinting toward, although there is no direct evidence of that.

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Luckily, I was able to get into the EAP, so as the feature is released and the Release Notes are available, we’ll be able to report on exactly what feature is on the way.

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Tesla benefits from new incentive program that’s active after tax credit loss

Published

7 hours ago

on

October 15, 2025

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla benefits from an incentive program in Texas that has become active following the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit, which was a significant advantage for EV drivers.

In Texas, the State Commission on Environmental Quality has a grant program for light-duty motor vehicles that are either purchased or leased by consumers.

Referred to as the Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Purchase or Lease Incentive Program (LDPLIP), the program opened on October 13 and provides grants for consumers who want to buy new energy vehicles.

Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might

The program allows for grants of up to $2,500 for electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

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These are the eligibility criteria:

  • Individuals or entities who purchase or lease an eligible vehicle on or after September 1, 2025, and who apply for or acquire title and registration of the vehicle in Texas
  • Applicants must have taken possession of the vehicle before applying
  • Applicants must commit to operating and registering the vehicle in Texas for at least one year

Additionally, the car must:

  • Be included on the TCEQ Eligible Vehicle List
  • Be new and must not have been the subject of any prior retail sale or lease
  • Have a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less

They are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

The good news is that Tesla’s entire vehicle lineup, as of October 7, qualifies. Here is what the LDPLIP’s list of qualifying vehicles shows for Tesla:

  • Tesla Cybertruck AWD
  • Tesla Cybertruck Beast
  • Tesla Model S AWD
  • Tesla Model S Plaid
  • Tesla Model X AWD
  • Tesla Model X Plaid
  • Tesla Model Y Long Range RWD
  • Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD
  • Tesla Model Y Performance
  • Tesla Model 3 Long Range RWD
  • Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD
  • Tesla Model 3 Performance

This list was published during the day of October 7, which is coincidentally the same day Tesla launched its Tesla Model 3 ‘Standard’ and Tesla Model Y ‘Standard.’

We reached out to the program to confirm that these vehicles qualify for that grant, and we will update when we hear back.

With the loss of the Federal EV Tax Credit, local programs are still available to help with the cost of an EV. Although electric cars are affordable, there are benefits to choosing one, especially as these grant programs continue to become available.

The full list of vehicles that qualify for the grant is available here.

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