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SpaceX debuts upgraded drone ship with record-breaking rocket landing

A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster has successfully completed five orbital-class launches and landings for the first time, marking the halfway point to the rocket's design goal. (SpaceX)

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SpaceX has successfully launched and landed the same Falcon 9 booster five times for the first time ever while simultaneously debuting an upgraded drone ship formerly stationed on the West Coast.

With this launch under SpaceX’s belt, the company has fully proven that the March 2020 in-flight engine failure suffered during the inaugural fifth launch of a Falcon 9 was a fluke. Even more importantly, with Falcon 9 B1049.5 safely aboard drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI), SpaceX can now begin preparing for the booster’s sixth launch – a first for the company as it pushes towards a 10-flight goal.

Now passing the halfway point almost a little over 24 months after SpaceX debuted Falcon 9’s Block 5 upgrade, there is a strong chance that at least one booster – perhaps even B1049 – will either cross the 10-flight mark or get within a few launches of it by the end of the year. SpaceX has some 18 more launches nominally planned over the next 7 months, a number that doesn’t even include 14-18 additional Starlink launches targeted in 2020.

(SpaceX)
(SpaceX)
Falcon 9 B1049 streaks into the sky on its fifth orbital-class launch and third Starlink mission. (Richard Angle)

Just 15 minutes after liftoff and six minutes after Falcon 9 B1049’s record-breaking landing, the rocket’s second stage successfully deployed SpaceX’s eighth batch of 60 Starlink satellites, also the 7th batch of upgraded v1.0 spacecraft. With this launch complete, after a several-week period of orbit-raising, SpaceX will soon have ~475 operational satellites in its space-based internet constellation.

According to comments made by COO and President Gwynne Shotwell in a May 25th interview with Aviation Week’s Irene Klotz, SpaceX aims to complete 14 Starlink launches – ~840 satellites worth – before it starts to roll out Starlink internet service to customers around the world.

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Given that SpaceX has another two Starlink missions planned in June alone, the company could easily cross the 14 launch mark in August or September, opening the constellation for an alpha, beta, or possibly even wider release by the end of Q3 2020. In typical SpaceX fashion, its record-breaking eighth Starlink launch and the start of a potential four-launch month has come four days after the company successfully launched astronauts into orbit for the first time, arguably the single most important mission in its 18-year history.

60 new Starlink satellites depart Falcon 9’s second stage and begin to spread out ahead of orbit-raising. (SpaceX)

Now with that historic launch safely behind SpaceX and a new, gently-used booster nearly back in the stable, the company can get back to tackling an extremely busy Starlink and commercial launch manifest over the next several months. Stay tuned!

The Starlink-8 webcast can be rewatched here.

Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.

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 brings Model Y L ‘Launch Series’ to the U.S. at $61,990

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Tesla has officially launched the Model Y L in the United States and Puerto Rico for $61,990. It is the longer-wheelbase version of the Model Y, and has been available in China since last year.

Tesla brings the Model Y L to the U.S. just months after it phased out the only pure SUV in its lineup, the Model X. It is slightly longer than the Model Y configurations that are already available in the U.S., and features a three-row, six-seat setup with Captain’s Chairs being among the many features that make this a truly fantastic offering.

The Model Y L is priced competitively at $61,990, and features 325 miles of range and a 0-60 MPH in just 4.4 seconds.

Tesla also added a handful of new features that are not available in even the Premium Model Y. Here’s a full list of its features:

  • Heated/Ventilated Front Seats with Powered Thigh Cushion
  • Heated/Ventilated Captain’s Seats in Second Row with Powered Armrests & One-Touch Fold
  • Heated Third-Row Seats with Power Recline, One-Touch Fold & Child Seat Anchors
  • Improved Airflow, Increased Efficiency, More Range
  • 89 cubic feet of trunk space
  • Upgraded Acoustic Glass and Suspension to Minimize Road Noise
  • Adaptive Damping for a Smooth, Stable Ride
  • Staggered Tires for Enhanced Grip
  • Larger Tailgate for Better Rear Visibility and Bigger Windows Overall
  • 16″ First Row and 8″ Second Row Touchscreens
  • 19-Speaker Immersive Tesla Audio
  • 50W Wireless Charging Pads with Active Cooling and Charging Ports for All Other Seats
  • FSD Supervised and Integrated Grok AI

Tesla is also delivering these first units as a “Launch Series,” which comes with additional features, such as:

  • Door Trim Puddle Lights
  • Suede Dashboard Wing
  • Exterior and Interior Badging
  • Floor Mats
  • Sill Plates

The launch of the Model Y L in the U.S. marks a huge offering from Tesla to U.S. consumers. People have been calling for Tesla to bring a larger car to the U.S., and it needed it more than ever now that the Model X is gone.

It is a huge accomplishment for Tesla to get the Model Y L to the U.S., and after reporting strong deliveries today, it will be interesting to see how this car impacts future quarterly delivery reports.

Deliveries for the Model Y L “Launch Series” are slated for September or October of this year.

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Tesla just told us twice that Model Y L is coming to the U.S.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla just told us twice that the Model Y L is coming to the U.S., and two social media posts definitely just tipped the company’s hand, as if they wanted it to be any other way.

The two social media posts basically confirm that the slightly longer version of the Model Y will be heading to the United States soon, and many have speculated that the company could launch the vehicle as soon as this weekend.

The first post was directly from Tesla, and it showed an incredibly long Dachshund, with words above that said, “Looking forward to the long weekend.”

Anyone who knows Tesla knows the company loves to troll its fans and have fun, and this is a perfect example of that. While not a direct acknowledgement, Tesla is very involved on social media, especially CEO Elon Musk’s platform X, and the company is well aware of what is being discussed within the community.

With recent sightings of Model Y L test mules in California, peeks of the vehicle at Giga Texas, and a large call for the car to come to the U.S., Tesla is simply stoking conversation with this.

However, the company also made another move that was recognized on social media. Tesla has a large gallery that includes photos of its products so media and others can use them. This gallery applies to the U.S. market specifically, unless otherwise specified.

Tesla uploaded a Model Y L to the Gallery last night:

This seems to be another indication that the Model Y L is coming to the United States.

Musk said last year that the Model Y L could make its way to the United States late this year, but it was not something that was set in stone by Tesla. The company definitely needs to establish something in the SUV market that is larger than the Model Y, and the Model Y L might be the answer.

Even still, there are consumers out there who would love Tesla to develop something even larger, like a competitor to the Tahoe or Expedition. Tesla has not really given much of an indication that it will go in that direction.

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Tesla is using vehicle microphones to improve build quality: here’s how

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is using the vehicles’ internal microphones to improve build quality, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy revealed recently.

It’s no secret that Tesla is always finding ways to make its manufacturing operations more efficient, accurate, and valuable. Constantly trying to make its cars better, the company has never placed any restrictions on what it will do to improve everything from panel gaps to paint.

As Teslas have been driving autonomously on the property of the Gigafactory Texas plant for a while now, Moravy revealed to Herbert Ong in a new interview that cars rolling off production lines now autonomously navigate themselves through a bumps, squeaks, and rattles (BSR) portion of the line. This helps to identify any loose or improperly installed internal parts.

The cabin’s microphones, which are used for a variety of things in ownership, simultaneously monitor any noises inside the vehicle while it rolls through the BSR portion of the production line. Moravy actually revealed that Tesla is trying to build “Full Self-Hearing,” an AI system that will detect minor imperfections so they can be corrected before delivery.

It’s no secret that build quality is something that Tesla struggled with as it scaled to a fully massive production operation that manufactures over 1.6 million vehicles per year. However, in recent years, especially, there have not been as many complaints. Tesla has truly improved upon its build quality and paint quality over the past several years, especially in the U.S.

Tesla’s ‘megacasts’ are key to massive build quality improvements

While those improvements have been evident, there are still some complaints; no automaker is perfect with this. But this step will now ensure that every single car that rolls off the production lines at Gigafactory Texas will be void of any creaks, squeaks, or squeals when it leaves the factory.

This measure is one of the most unique we’ve seen in terms of a strategy to avoid build quality issues, but it is not exclusive to Tesla.

Ford uses acoustic analysis AI to find abnormalities in seat motors, climate control units, and other components. Suppliers and OEMs will also use microphone arrays or particle velocity sensors in end-of-line stations.

The full interview with Lars Moravy is available below:

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