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SpaceX ready for another Starlink launch attempt: fourth time’s the charm?

Falcon 9 booster B1051 is scheduled to become the third SpaceX rocket to attempt to launch and land five times. (Richard Angle)

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For the fourth time, SpaceX is about to (attempt to) launch 57 Starlink satellites and two Earth-imaging satellites, hopefully ending more than six weeks of delays.

SpaceX’s ninth launch of upgraded v1.0 Starlink satellites, the Starlink V1 L9 mission will also be the tenth Starlink launch overall, as well as the second time the company has hosted commercial payloads on one of its internet satellite launches. Following Starlink V1 L8’s successful rideshare debut with three Planet Skysat Earth imaging satellites on June 13th, Starlink V1 L9 will carry two similar but different Earth imaging satellites built for BlackSky by LeoStella.

To fit those two commercial spacecraft and the extra hardware needed to mount and deploy them, SpaceX has removed three satellites (versus two removed from V1 L8) from the normal 60-satellite stack. It’s unclear why the otherwise similar missions differ in that regard but either way, Starlink V1 L9 – hopefully for the last time – is scheduled to launch no earlier than 1:12am EDT (05:12 UTC) on Friday, August 7th.

As noted in several past launch and scrub articles on Teslarati, Starlink V1 L9 is also notable because of the Falcon 9 booster assigned to it.

“For Falcon 9 booster B1051, the Starlink V1 L9 mission will be its fifth launch, making it the third SpaceX rocket to fly on five separate orbital-class missions. If B1051 manages to successfully land aboard drone ship of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) some 630 km (~390 mi) off the coast of Florida, it will also become the second Falcon 9 booster to launch and land five times in a row.

A safe landing would see B1051 join the ranks of one other Falcon 9 booster – B1049 – which completed its fifth launch and landing on June 3rd, 2020. Back on March 14th, Falcon 9 booster B1048 technically became the first SpaceX rocket to successfully complete five orbital-class launches, although an extremely rare in-flight engine failure came close to prematurely ending the mission and fully precluded a successful landing.”


Teslarati.com — July 8th, 2020

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B1051 stands vertical at Pad 39A around its first Starlink-9 launch attempt in late-June. (Richard Angle)
Falcon 9 B1049 became the first SpaceX booster to launch and land five times on June 3rd. (Richard Angle)

Originally expected as early as June 23rd, just 20 days after Falcon 9 B1049 became the first orbital-class booster to successfully launch and land five times, Falcon 9 B1051’s own fifth-flight milestone is now slated to occur a little more than two months later – still impressive by any account.

Beyond Starlink-9, SpaceX has another few Starlink missions tentatively slated to launch over the next 4-8 weeks, while Argentina’s SAOCOM 1B radar satellite launch recently slipped to late-August for mysterious reasons. As early as next month, SpaceX will also attempt its second NASA astronaut launch and first operational International Space Station (ISS) ferry mission just four months after a flawless astronaut launch debut.

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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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Xiaomi CEO congratulates Tesla on first FSD delivery: “We have to continue learning!”

Xiaomi has become one of Tesla’s strongest rivals in China.

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Credit: Tesla/X

Just days after unveiling the Xiaomi YU7, a vehicle that is considered as the Model Y’s strongest competitor yet, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun gave a nod of respect to Tesla and its Full Self-Driving (FSD) program. 

In a post on Weibo, Lei Jun highlighted the remarkable nature of Tesla’s first autonomous delivery. He also acknowledged that Xiaomi still has much to learn in the electric vehicle industry.

Xiaomi CEO’s Nod of Respect

Lei Jun’s comments about Tesla’s FSD delivery were shared as a response to Tesla VP Grace Tao’s post about the recent feat. The Tesla VP shared several key aspects of the delivery, from the fact that there was no driver in the Model Y to the vehicle reaching over 70 mph as it drove to its owner. 

“For the first time in history, the vehicle was delivered to the owner by itself. There was no driver or remote control throughout the journey, and the maximum speed reached 115 kilometers per hour, and it arrived safely at the customer’s door. This is a brand new Model Y. Tesla always surpasses imagination with disruptive innovation. A new era, exciting!” Tao wrote in her post.

In his response, the Xiaomi CEO acknowledged Tesla’s incredible feat. “Tesla is indeed amazing, leading the industry trends in many areas, especially FSD. We still have to continue learning!” he wrote.

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Xiaomi’s Recent Tesla Competitor

The Xiaomi CEO’s comments show that Tesla’s projects and leadership garner a lot of respect in the global electric vehicle sector. While Tesla and Elon Musk tend to be media punching bags in the United States and Europe, the company and its CEO seem to be taken very seriously in China. This was despite China being the world’s most competitive electric vehicle market.

Xiaomi itself has become one of Tesla’s strongest rivals in China, with its first car, the SU7, bringing the fight to the Tesla Model 3. Its most recent vehicle, the YU7, could very well be the Model Y’s most legitimate rival yet, as it is more affordable, bigger, and more feature-laden than Tesla’s best-selling crossover. The YU7 has garnered quite a lot of attention, with Xiaomi receiving 200,000 firm orders for the vehicle within the first three minutes of its launch.

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Tesla silences FSD critics by posting full video of Model Y delivering itself to customer

When Elon Musk posted that the first Tesla had delivered itself to its owner, critics were quick to question his statement.

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Credit: Tesla/X

It is no secret that Tesla still has ardent critics today, many of whom remain convinced that the company and its leadership are lying about Full Self-Driving (FSD) and its capabilities. It was then no surprise that when Elon Musk announced that the first Tesla had successfully delivered itself to its owner, critics were quick to question the CEO’s statement.

Videos of the all-electric crossover’s solo drive to its owner soon silenced Tesla critics and their claims.

Tesla Posts FSD Video Proof—Twice

While Musk’s post on X about a Tesla delivering itself to a consumer was a notable update, his claims were not accompanied by any video. This was taken by some Tesla critics as a hint that the CEO’s claims were false, and that the feat probably did not happen. Musk, for his part, noted that Tesla would soon be posting a video of the self-driving car’s drive to its owner.

The electric vehicle community did not have to wait very long. Tesla later posted a video of its first autonomous vehicle delivery ever on X, much to the shock of social media users. As could be seen in the video, a Tesla Model Y was able to travel about 30 minutes on its own, from the end of Giga Texas’ production line to the home of its owner, several miles away. Tesla even posted the vehicle’s full 30-minute drive on its official X account later on. 

Critics Are Still Skeptical, But It’s Cope at this Point

Of course, Tesla skeptics remained unconvinced that the feat was legitimate, with some pointing out that the Model Y customer seems to have had an X account for years but never posted, at least until his car was delivered. Others also claimed that the whole setup seemed suspicious since the Model Y looked like it had manufacturer plates as it navigated Austin’s streets.

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These concerns, however, do not seem like very strong arguments, especially at this point. Based on the evidence, it seems like Tesla really has figured out autonomous driving, and its cars are now able to operate safely on real-world roads on their own. Many have also become silent in their criticisms of Tesla’s FSD feat, especially after the company posted the full video of the Model Y’s autonomous drive. Overall, Tesla critics may remain doubtful about the company and Musk’s claims, but these concerns seem to have become forced at best.

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Ford CEO favors Waymo’s LiDAR approach over Tesla’s vision-only self-driving

Farley stated that Waymo’s LiDAR-based approach made “more sense.”

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Credit: Jim Farley/X

Ford CEO Jim Farley shared some skepticism about Tesla’s camera-only approach to self-driving during a recent appearance at the Aspen Ideas Festival. When asked to compare Waymo and Tesla’s autonomous driving systems, Farley stated that Waymo’s LiDAR-based approach made “more sense,” citing safety, consumer trust, and the limitations of camera-based models.

Waymo’s LiDAR vs. Tesla’s Vision-Only Approach

Farley was speaking with author Walter Isaacson when he made his comments about Tesla and Waymo’s self-driving systems. As they were conversing about autonomous cars, Isaacson asked Farley which approach to self-driving he preferred.

“To us, Waymo,” Farley said, though he also stated that both Tesla and Waymo have “ made a lot of of progress” on self-driving, as noted in a Fortune report. He also confirmed that he has had conversations about the matter with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Despite this, he said that Ford still considers LiDAR as a pivotal part of autonomous driving. 

“When you have a brand like Ford, when there’s a new technology, you have to be really careful. We really believe that LiDAR is mission critical… Where the camera will be completely blinded, the LiDAR system will see exactly what’s in front of you,” the Ford CEO stated. 

Tesla and Ford’s self-driving plans

Tesla recently launched a limited Robotaxi service in Austin, which uses autonomous cars with safety monitors in the front passenger seat. While controversial, Musk has maintained that Tesla’s vision-only approach will ultimately prove safer and more cost-effective in the long term. Tesla seems to be making headway towards this goal, with Musk stating recently that the first Model Y has been delivered autonomously to a customer in Austin.

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Ford, for his part, is not pursuing its own fully autonomous, urban-driving system anymore. Instead, the company is focusing on “high-speed, eyes-off” experiences like BlueCruise. Ford does plan to partner with a company that has achieved true autonomous driving in the future, as soon as the technology is available.

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