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SpaceX's "Christmas tree" is a Raptor engine for the holidays
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk showed off a holiday-themed Raptor engine “Christmas tree” with its very own star on top. Musk noted via a tweet that the company’s Starship propulsion team is “making great progress” building, testing, and refining the Raptor engines that will one day propel the next-generation rocket to Earth orbit and beyond.
On December 13th, Musk revealed that SpaceX is preparing to ship the 17th completed Raptor engine to the company’s McGregor, Texas rocket test and development facilities, the site of several dedicated test stands for the Starship engine. Likely one of the most complex rocket engines ever designed, built, or tested, Raptor relies on an exotic combustion cycle, referring to the specifics of how engines turn their propellant into meaningful thrust.
Raptor uses what is known as full-flow staged combustion (FFSC) and is the first FFSC engine to graduate beyond ground testing and actually fly, thus far having completed two flight tests in July and August 2019 as part of SpaceX’s Starhopper test campaign. In simple terms, the FFSC cycle aims to extract as much energy from a rocket’s propellant as efficiently as possible, resulting in what is theoretically the most efficient possible chemical propulsion from a given fuel and oxidizer combination.
Due to the sheer complexity required to achieve full-flow staged combustion, the engine type is incredibly rare and only two other (once) functional examples exist – one developed by Soviet engineers in the 20th century and the other built, tested, and inexplicably scrapped by NASA in the 2000s. In fact, the Soviet RD-270 engine’s thrust-to-weight ratio is likely second only to SpaceX’s own Merlin 1D engine, an absolutely spectacular achievement for a propulsion bureau operating in the late 1960s.
RD-270 had major development challenges and would likely have taken years of additional hardware-rich (i.e. destructive trial and error) testing to produce an engine actually capable of reliable flight. Before the program was cancelled in 1970, 22 engines were tested and no single RD-270 survived to perform a fourth static fire, a testament to the immense challenge of FFSC engines.

SpaceX appears to have had a much better go of it with Raptor, although many, many engines have definitely been destroyed or irreparably damaged since the full-scale engine’s February 2019 static fire debut. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that the 17th completed Raptor engine is almost ready to head to McGregor, Texas to kick off development and acceptance testing.
It remains to be seen when exactly Raptor engines will be mature and reliable enough to perform the 3-10 minute burns needed to send a Starship to orbit, let alone the Moon or Mars, but Musk appears confident that SpaceX is making great progress along those lines.
Per photos and info posted by NASASpaceflight.com earlier today, Raptor engine SN15 is already installed on a recently-reactivated McGregor test stand ahead of its first rocket-related test in almost half a decade.
Formerly used to test Falcon 9 first stages before SpaceX built a new stand for Falcon 9 and Heavy, that tripod stand has been reactivated for the sole purpose of supporting vertical Raptor engine static fire testing, which Musk says will simplify and expedite development by making test conditions much more flight-like. As of now, all subscale and full-scale Raptor engine static fire testing has been performed at horizontal test stands in McGregor, apparently resulting in wear and behavior that would not likely appear if engines were tested vertically.
SpaceX has gone through the same process with its Merlin engine programs, beginning with horizontal testing (far easier and simpler) but ultimately building a number of dedicated vertical test bays to ensure that engine acceptance and development tests can be performed under more flight-like conditions.
According to NASASpaceflight, SpaceX may have already fired up Raptor SN15 on its reactivated tripod test stand earlier this week, kicking off Raptor’s first Starhopper-free vertical static fire testing. It’s now unclear where the twin horizontal Raptor test bays will fit into future engine testing given Musk’s comments. More importantly, every completed Starship and Super Heavy rocket will require several dozen new Raptor engines and every one of those engines will likely need to pass acceptance testing (including static fires) in McGregor before they can be installed on a launch vehicle.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket already requires 10 engines per new booster and upper stage, a test burden SpaceX has only managed with the help of two Merlin 1D stands and one Merlin Vacuum stand, all vertical. In other words, it’s safe to say that the reactivated tripod stand is likely just the first of several vertical Raptor test stands to come.

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News
Robotaxis are already making roads safer, Waymo report reveals
Waymo Driver is already reducing severe crashes and enhancing the safety of vulnerable road users.

Industry leaders such as Elon Musk have always maintained that autonomous robotaxis will make roads safer. A recent blog post from Waymo about the safety of its self-driving cars suggests that Musk’s sentiments are on point.
Way More Safety
Waymo Driver is already reducing severe crashes and enhancing the safety of vulnerable road users. As per a new research paper set for publication in the Traffic Injury Prevention Journal, Waymo Driver had outperformed human drivers in safety, particularly for vulnerable road users (VRUs).
Over 56.7 million miles, compared to human drivers, Waymo Driver achieved a 92% reduction in pedestrian injury crashes. It also saw 82% fewer crashes with injuries with cyclists and 82% fewer crashes with injuries with motorcyclists. Waymo Driver also slashed injury-involving intersection crashes by 96%, which are a leading cause of severe road harm for human drivers. Waymo Driver saw 85% fewer crashes with suspected serious or worse injuries as well.
What They Are Saying
Mauricio Peña, Waymo’s Chief Safety Officer, was optimistic about Waymo Driver’s results so far. “It’s exciting to see the real positive impact that Waymo is making on the streets of America as we continue to expand. This research reinforces the growing evidence that the Waymo Driver is playing a crucial role in reducing serious crashes and protecting all road users,” the Chief Safety Officer noted.
Jonathan Adkins, Chief Executive Officer at Governors Highway Safety Association, also noted that Waymo’s results are very encouraging. “It’s encouraging to see real-world data showing Waymo outperforming human drivers when it comes to safety. Fewer crashes and fewer injuries — especially for people walking and biking — is exactly the kind of progress we want to see from autonomous vehicles,” Adkins stated.
Elon Musk
Tesla hints at June 1 launch of Robotaxi platform in Austin
Tesla has hinted at a potential launch date for the Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas.

Tesla just dropped its biggest hint yet about the potential launch date of its Robotaxi ride-hailing platform in Austin, Texas, shedding more light on when to expect it to take off.
In preparation for the ride-hailing service to launch, Tesla has been in talks with the City of Austin for months. It has also spent recent months bolstering its Full Self-Driving suite, aiming for it to handle initially supervised rides with the use of teleoperators to keep things safe and dependable, at least early on.
The company has also said that it expects the Robotaxi service, which will drive passengers in Tesla Model Y vehicles to start, to launch in Austin in June. However, Tesla has not given an exact date.
Now, Tesla is hinting that Robotaxi could launch on June 1, based on a very vague X post it published on May 1:
Of course, this is extremely speculative. However, it’s the first time Tesla has made any suggestions about a potential launch date, so it’s worth taking it seriously.
While the automaker has often missed timelines in the past, most notably the launch of a “feature-complete” Full Self-Driving platform, this is the first time we’ve seen Tesla be so adamant and truly reiterate a target date.
Tesla has not shied away from this June date for the Robotaxi launch yet, something that is worth noting as we move closer to June. All signs point toward Tesla being able to come through on this timeline, and it could be one of its biggest accomplishments yet on the grand scheme of things. The Robotaxi rollout will be controlled and small to start, the company noted on its most recent Earnings Call.
CEO Elon Musk said:
“The team and I are laser-focused on bringing robotaxi to Austin in June. Unsupervised autonomy will first be solved for the Model Y in Austin.”
At first, it also seems as if the first Robotaxi rides will be available to a select group, as Musk said the ability to order one will not be available to the general public until later in the month. He also said the initial fleet will be between 10 and 20 vehicles:
“Yeah. We’re still debating the exact number to start off on day one, but it’s, like, I don’t know, maybe 10 or 20 vehicles on day one. And watch it carefully. They scale it up rapidly after that. So, we want to make sure that you’re paying very close attention the first time this happens. But, yeah, you will be able to — end of end of June or July, just go to Austin and order a Tesla for autonomous drive.”
While the June 1st date of the Robotaxi launch is extremely speculative, Tesla seems convinced that its vehicles could already handle this task. It would be something to see them come through on this date, especially on the first day of the month.
News
Is the affordable Tesla Model Y’s features hiding in plain sight?
Variants of the Model Y that could bring down the vehicle’s price would likely be appreciated by consumers.

Just recently, rumors emerged in China suggesting that a more affordable Tesla Model Y variant internally dubbed the ”E80” would be produced in Giga Shanghai this May. A look at Tesla’s current affordable vehicles suggests that the features of the upcoming Model Y variant may be hiding in plain sight.
Model Y “E80” Rumors
Reports from Chinese publications suggested that the affordable Model Y “E80” will be a stripped down version of the new Model Y. Thus, the vehicle may be equipped with smaller wheels, single-layer windows on its sides, no rear display, half the number of speakers, single-color ambient interior lighting, fabric seats with no heating or ventilation functions, and a manual trunk.
These reductions, the rumors suggested, would allow Tesla China to offer the Model Y “E80” at an affordable price of 190,000–210,000 ($26,000–$28,800). Other rumors suggested that the vehicle will be priced even more aggressively, at around 150,000-170,000 yuan ($20,500-$23,300).
Hiding in Plain Sight
What is quite interesting about the Model Y “E80” rumors is the fact that Tesla has actually released stripped-down versions of its vehicles to make them more affordable. Based on the features that were bundled in these vehicles, one could make an inference about the features that the Model Y “E80” will have, at least considering its rumored aggressive pricing.
In August last year, Tesla Mexico launched a variant of the Model 3 sedan that is quite unlike the vehicle’s base variant in the United States. The vehicle was priced at MXD 749,000 (USD 40,000), which was MXD 50,000 (USD 2,670) lower than the Model 3 RWD’s previous price in Mexico, which stood at MXD 799,000 (USD42,730).
With its more affordable price, Tesla Mexico’s base Model 3 featured textile seats instead of vegan leather, acoustic glass only on its front windows, and no secondary display for rear passengers. Its ambient lights were also limited to just white. Lastly, the vehicle did not have heated or cooled seats or a heated steering wheel. These reductions are very similar to the rumored feature set of the Model Y “E80” in China.
The Tesla Cybertruck Long Range Rear Wheel Drive is another base variant that could provide hints at the affordable Model Y’s features. Similar to Tesla Mexico’s base Model 3, the Cybertruck LR RWD features textile seats and no second-row display. Interestingly enough, the Cybertruck LR RWD is $10,000 cheaper than the Cybertruck. That’s similar to the rumored price difference between the new Model Y in China and the vehicle’s supposed affordable “E80” variant.
Still Compelling Enough?
Perhaps the biggest question at this point would be if the rumored Model Y “E80,” even with its stripped-out features, will be compelling enough for consumers. While such concerns are valid, one must not forget that the Model Y is still a premium vehicle.
Thus, variants of the Model Y that could bring down the vehicle’s price would likely be appreciated by consumers. The fact that the rumored “E80” will be produced in Giga Shanghai speaks volumes as well, especially since China is home to the most competitive EV market in the world. Giga Shanghai also exports vehicles to several territories worldwide.
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