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SpaceX settles on Friday for Starhopper’s next flight test milestone, FAA permitting
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has published Notices-to-Airmen (NOTAMs) for SpaceX’s next Starhopper flight milestone, a 200m (650 ft) hop now scheduled no earlier than Friday, August 16th.
During this upcoming test, the unusual Starship testbed and prototype will likely spend at least 30-60 seconds in the air, propelled by a lone Raptor engine producing up to ~200 tons (440,000 lbf) of thrust. Starhopper will then attempt to land a hundred or so feet east of its spartan launch mount on a dedicated landing pad. If successfully completed, CEO Elon Musk believes that either or both of SpaceX’s Mk1 and Mk2 Starship prototypes will be ready to begin their own series of more ambitious flight tests as early as September or October.
On July 25th, Starhopper lifted off – untethered – for the first time ever on its second try, following a scrubbed July 24th launch attempt and an otherwise successful July 16th static fire test that engulfed Starhopper in an impressive fireball.
Aside from starting a minor brush fire that burned a few acres surrounding the Boca Chica launch facilities, Starhopper’s untethered flight debut was by all appearances an unqualified success. SpaceX’s sixth full-scale Raptor (SN06) performed nominally over the ~20-second flight and Starhopper was quickly returned to its launch pad just a few days later, at which point technicians began working to reattach the rocket’s quick-disconnect (QD) umbilicals.
A bit more than a week after that, SpaceX performed several hours of tests with Starhopper on August 9th, culminating in an apparent wet dress rehearsal (WDR) in which the low-fidelity Starship prototype was loaded with liquid oxygen and methane propellant, a helium pressurant, and nitrogen for its maneuvering thrusters. Following Starhopper’s inaugural flight, the seemingly successful WDR served as a critical verification that the vehicle remains a structurally sound and functional pressure vessel and tested all the systems it will need for its next flight trial.
On the same day, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that SpaceX was effectively waiting – hardware ready – for the FAA to approve Starhopper’s 200m flight plan and/or arrange an updated experimental permit for the suborbital launch vehicle. Starhopper’s current FAA permit allows for unlimited flight tests but limits the altitude of those tests to 25m (80 ft) above ground level (AGL).
By all appearances, the fact that the FAA has published NOTAMs from August 16th through the 18th for Starhopper’s 200m flight arguably indicates that the regulatory agency has also permitted SpaceX to fly the experimental vehicle. On the other hand, no such updated vehicle or flight permit has been published on the FAA’s website and US bureaucratic institutions are not exactly known for rational and logical processes. Just three days away from the opening of the window, it looks like we’ll find out in the next few days if SpaceX has everything it needs to attempt Starhopper’s next major flight test.
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News
Tesla plans to use Unreal Engine for driver visualization with crazy upgrade
This could change the way Driver Visualization looks for Tesla owners.

Tesla looks to be planning a major upgrade to its driver visualization for Autopilot with a crazy upgrade from its current version.
Tesla’s driver visualization appears on the center screen and shows the vehicle, its surroundings, and, when it is operating on Autopilot or Full Self-Driving, shows the route of travel.
It has improved over the years, and even includes things like pedestrians, pets, and the shapes of other vehicles. It also helps with manual driving because it can be a good representation of your surroundings when trying to change lanes or merge in traffic.
However, it appears Tesla is planning a pretty substantial upgrade with the
Coding found in the 2025.20 firmware by Tesla hacker greentheonly showed the company is planning to utilize Unreal Engine for Autopilot visualization. He said the one Tesla currently uses is “godot-based.”
Hm, I did not notice it at first, but it looks like Tesla is adding unreal-engine based AP viz (the one you see today is godot-based).
The binaries are already shipping starting from firmware 2025.20 only on amd-based s and x cars for nowtime to see if that could be activated…
— green (@greentheonly) August 8, 2025
Unreal Engine is a 3D computer graphics game engine that was developed by Epic Games, the developer of the popular third-party shooter game Fortnite. It was first released back in 1998, and the most recent version is Unreal Engine 5. The sixth version is in development, and it could be out in 2027 or 2028.
However, Tesla could use it for a more realistic representation of vehicle surroundings. It would undoubtedly improve driver visualization, creating a smoother and freer-flowing depiction of what is outside of the car.
Tesla’s Autopilot visualization could look like this with Unreal Engine https://t.co/OOKNpeDM6F pic.twitter.com/mnjaxW36tO
— The Tesla Newswire (@TeslaNewswire) August 13, 2025
News
SpaceX is rolling out a new feature to Starlink that could be a lifesaver
Starlink now has a new Standby Mode that will enable low-speed internet access in the event of an outage.

SpaceX is rolling out a new feature to Starlink that could be a lifesaver in some instances, but more of a luxury for others.
Starlink is the satellite internet service that Elon Musk’s company SpaceX launched several years ago. It has been adopted by many people at their homes, many airlines on their planes, and many maritime companies on their ships.
It has been a great way for customers to relieve themselves of the contracts and hidden fees of traditional internet service providers.
Now, Starlink is rolling out a new service feature on its units called “Standby Mode,” which is part of Pause Mode. The company notified customers of the change in an email:
“We’re reaching out to you to let you know the Pause feature on your plan has been updated. Pause now includes Standby Mode, which comes with unlimited low-speed data for $5.00 per month, perfect for backup connectivity and emergency use. These updates will take effect in 30 days. All of your other plan features remain the same. You are able to cancel your service at any time for no charge.”
SpaceX did not define how fast these “low speeds” will be. However, there are people who have tested the Standby Mode, and they reported speeds of about 500 kilobytes per second.
The mode is ideal for people who might deal with internet or power outages, but still need to have some sort of internet access.
It could also be used as a backup for people who want to stay with their ISP, but would like to have some sort of alternative in case of an outage for any reason.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk says this essential Tesla Robotaxi feature will be here soon
Tesla will work to solve automatic parking at available Supercharger stalls with future updates.

Elon Musk reiterated that one feature, which is ultimately an essential part of the operation of the Tesla Robotaxi platform, will be here soon.
Tesla released a new video of its longest Full Self-Driving demo yesterday, showing off a zero-intervention drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The drive is roughly seven hours and 360 miles long, and not a single need for the driver to touch the wheel was recorded.
Tesla flexes its most impressive and longest Full Self-Driving demo yet
There was one question that was brought up by an owner that brings up an interesting point. Tesla still needs to solve the vehicle’s ability to pull into Superchargers automatically, something that does not currently have a high success rate, at least for the owner who got a response from CEO Elon Musk.
Musk assured him that a Tesla’s ability to pull into open parking spaces at Superchargers would be more reliable with future software updates. Owners can see how many and which exact stalls are available before traveling to a Supercharger, so Teslas should be able to identify these stalls and pull in automatically:
Yeah, it will work essentially perfectly with future software updates
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2025
This is a small part of what will be imperative for the charging experience when Robotaxi launches in the coming years. Tesla plans to enable customer-owned cars to potentially enter the Robotaxi fleet and become an autonomous ride-sharing vehicle by next year.
However, it still needs to figure out autonomous charging. There are two parts to that process: pulling into the spot and charging without human need to connect the Supercharger to the vehicle.
Tesla used to consider a robotic snake-arm charger for this, but it has talked about induction charging more recently. Wireless charging seems to be the route that Tesla plans to go, but it might take some time to resolve the energy loss issue and make it an efficient charging method.
Tesla flexes Robotaxi wireless charging — autonomy from top to bottom
Tesla has said its wireless charging efficiency is “well above 90 percent.”
Nevertheless, Tesla is still working toward figuring out all of the edge cases of Robotaxi operation. Figuring out charging without the need of a human is just one part of the puzzle it still has yet to solve, but with its improvements over the past few years, there’s no doubt Tesla will find the missing piece.
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