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SpaceX’s second rocket recovery drone ship leaves port during Starlink launch

Pictured here during SpaceX's Starlink-12 recovery, OCISLY will likely pass right by JRTI as the drone ships essentially swap spots for the second Starlink launch in three days. (Richard Angle)

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On October 18th, SpaceX’s second booster recovery ‘drone ship’ left Port Canaveral at the exact same time as a Falcon 9 rocket was launching 60 Starlink satellites a dozen miles to the north.

A remote point-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera recently installed by NASASpaceflight.com at the port quite literally captured drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) vacating its berth and a Falcon 9 lifting off on SpaceX’s Starlink-13 mission in the same frame. That one frame helps capture some of the sheer scale and spectacle of the reusable rocket infrastructure SpaceX has built from nothing in a few short years, as well as the feats of spaceflight that reusability has begun to enable.

In essence, in a single camera frame, viewers can watch a massive SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket weighing ~560 metric tons (~1.3 million lbs) and standing 70 meters (~230 ft) tall lift off on the way to a drone ship (Of Course I Still Love You) landing some 630 km (390 mi) downrange and, ultimately, to Earth orbit.

In the foreground, distant rocket exhaust likely glimmering on its deck, an entirely separate football-field-sized drone ship known as Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) begins a journey to an almost identical Atlantic Ocean landing zone to catch a different Falcon 9 rocket’s own Starlink launch and landing three days later.

Around eight minutes after liftoff, Starlink-13 Falcon 9 booster B1051 performed a flawless, bullseye landing on drone ship OCISLY, completing the rocket’s sixth orbital-class launch. If things went well during stage securing operations, OCISLY and JRTI could easily pass just a few miles (or less) apart as JRTI is towed out to – literally – the exact same landing zone.

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Drone ship JRTI last supported Falcon 9’s July 20th ANASIS II launch and landing. (SpaceX)

Starlink-13 complete, SpaceX appears to be on track to launch another Starlink mission just three days later. Known as Starlink-14 or Starlink V1 L14, it will be the namesake 14th launch of operational v1.0 Starlink satellites, also marking SpaceX’s 13th Starlink launch in 2020 and 15th Starlink launch overall. Starlink-14 is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) Launch Complex 40 (LC-40) no earlier than (NET) 12:36 pm EDT (16:36 UTC), Wednesday, October 21st. L-1d weather forecasts predict a 60% chance of favorable conditions.

As previously discussed on Teslarati, if Starlink-14 launches on schedule or is delayed by less than 72 hours, the Falcon 9 booster supporting it will break SpaceX’s (and thus the world’s) rocket turnaround record.

NextSpaceflight.com reports that SpaceX has assigned Falcon 9 booster B1060 to Starlink-14. If Starlink-14 lifts off on schedule on October 21st, B1060 will beat out B1058 for the crown of fastest booster turnaround, launching twice in just 48 days. Falcon 9 B1058 set the current world record when it beat NASA’s Space Shuttle (54 days) with a 51-day turnaround earlier this year.”

Teslarati.com – October 15th, 2020

Falcon 9 booster B1060 completed its first launch and landing on June 30th, followed by a second mission on September 3rd. (SpaceX)

As usual, SpaceX will host an official webcast typically scheduled to begin ~15 minutes before launch. Tune in around 12:20 pm EDT (16:20 UTC) to catch Falcon 9’s Starlink-14 launch and landing live.

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 confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Robotaxi will hit five new cities in the United States in the coming months, the company confirmed.

After launching in Austin, Texas, in late June and the Bay Area of California just a few weeks later, Tesla has been attempting to expand its Robotaxi suite to new states and cities in the U.S., and even outside of the country.

The Robotaxi suite is a ride-hailing service Tesla offers, but the details of it change with each jurisdiction, as regulations vary. For example, in Austin, Tesla can operate the Robotaxi suite without anyone in the driver’s seat, as long as the vehicle does not enter a freeway.

Credit: Tesla

In the Bay Area, a Safety Monitor rides in the driver’s seat, essentially acting as the vehicle operator with Full Self-Driving controlling the car.

The local regulations and how Tesla handles them will continue to be a relevant part of the discussion, especially as the company aims to expand the Robotaxi program to different areas. This has been a primary focus of the company for several months, especially within the United States.

CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla was aiming to launch Robotaxi in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. However, the company detailed five specific cities where it will launch Robotaxi next during the Annual Shareholder Meeting on Thursday.

Tesla will launch Robotaxi in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, and Miami next, broadening its Service Area for the suite to more major cities across the U.S.

It has said it plans to offer the service to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year, but it does not seem as if it will expand to more than a handful of cities this year, which is still tremendous progress, all things considered.

As far as autonomy is concerned, Tesla has always had lofty expectations and has made some even loftier statements.

At the Shareholder Meeting, Musk said that the company would likely be able to enable vehicle owners to text while the vehicle drives, alleviating them from potentially having some of the responsibility they have behind the wheel.

Tesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’

It is not confirmed that Tesla will roll this out in the next few months, but Musk said there is a possibility.

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Tesla launches another new Model Y trim at a bargain price with massive range

It is the second most-affordable Model Y trim level in China, trailing the base Rear-Wheel-Drive and coming in under the All-Wheel-Drive.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched yet another new Model Y trim level, but this time it is in China, and it is at a bargain price.

It also has an insane range rating.

On Friday, Tesla launched the new Model Y Long Range Rear-Wheel-Drive in China, priced at 288,500 yuan ($40,500), an incredible deal considering it is not a stripped-down version of the vehicle like the Model Y Standard.

It is the second most-affordable Model Y trim level in China, trailing the base Rear-Wheel-Drive and coming in under the All-Wheel-Drive.

The big appeal with this new Model Y trim is obviously its price, but its range rating is also one of the best we’ve seen. Rated at 821 kilometers on the CLTC scale, it converts to 510 miles. It uses a 78.4 kWh CATL battery.

Converted to real-world range, however, that 821-kilometer range rated by the CLTC actually is equivalent to about 357 miles on the EPA scale, which is still a very respectable number and comes in at a higher range than the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive configuration that is available in the U.S.

Tesla has truly brought a wide variety of Model Y trims to the Chinese market, including a new Model Y L configuration that features a slightly longer wheelbase, as well as additional interior features like extended thigh legrests and captain’s chairs with armrests.

It is unclear whether Tesla will bring a Premium Rear-Wheel-Drive option of the Model Y to the U.S., especially as it has already rolled out four configurations of the all-electric crossover in the market. With the new Standard offerings, Tesla will likely keep its lineup as simple as possible.

However, the company has hinted that there is a slim possibility the Model Y L could come to the U.S. sometime late next year, but CEO Elon Musk said that it is not a guarantee.

Tesla is more concerned with self-driving efforts in the U.S., and despite calls from customers for larger vehicles, it does not seem concerned with making them available, at least not for now.

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Tesla Model Y Performance set for new market entrance in Q1

The lightning-fast trim level of the all-electric crossover packs a variety of new improvements, including more range and better acceleration, thanks to aerodynamic improvements and other performance-based changes.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s new Model Y Performance is set to arrive in a new market in Q1 2026, a company executive confirmed on Friday.

The lightning-fast trim level of the all-electric crossover packs a variety of new improvements, including more range and better acceleration, thanks to aerodynamic improvements and other performance-based changes.

It was initially launched in Europe, and then it made its way to the United States. However, it will soon be available in a new market: Canada.

Raj Jegannathan, a Tesla executive, confirmed on Friday that the company would be bringing its Performance trim of the Model Y to the Canadian market early next year:

Interestingly, the Model Y Performances that enter the Canadian market will likely come from Gigafactory Berlin and not Gigafactory Texas, even though it is logistically more advantageous.

There is a 25 percent tariff on U.S.-built vehicles currently, and Tesla has been sending Germany-built Model Y vehicles to Canada to avoid this and keep prices reasonable for customers.

Some Model Y owners in Canada have already confirmed that their units came from the German production facility, not the United States.

Model Y Performance deliveries have not yet started in the United States, but are slated for late November or early December.

Tesla refined the Model Y Performance’s exterior design with new front and rear fascia designs, a new performance carbon spoiler, 21″ Arachnid wheels and tires, and adaptive damping to help with better handling.

Tesla launches Model Y Performance in the U.S.

There are also new Drive Modes for better control during high-speed driving.

It also packs the same improvements as the new Model Y features over its predecessors, including acoustic glass and premium sound-damping materials for a quieter cabin, and heated and ventilated front sport seats.

In the United States, it is priced at $57,490. It will very likely be higher in Canada due to logistics costs and other factors.

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