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SpaceX Starship landing leg upgrades imagined in new fan renders

Future SpaceX Starship prototypes will need a substantially improved landing leg design to avoid issues that have threatened past prototypes and (in part) destroyed SN10. (NASASpaceflight - bocachicagal)

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After new official Starship renders appeared to include the first view of an upgraded landing leg design, a SpaceX fan and digital artist took it upon themselves to sketch out what those new rocket legs might look like.

For almost a full year, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been talking about a need for upgraded Starship landing legs and the challenges posed by that seemingly straightforward goal. Now, after Starship SN10 narrowly became the first prototype to land in one piece, and do so in spite of malfunctioning legs, a new design capable of significantly improving reliability, stability, and toughness has likely become a front-and-center priority.

https://twitter.com/TerminalCount/status/1367261799293272068

Notably, during SN10’s spectacular landing, at least two or three of the Starship’s six flip-out landing legs failed to properly deploy, leaving just a half to two thirds of the legs needed to fully withstand the momentum of a Starship landing. Starship SN10 didn’t make it easy on those remaining legs, either, and was still traveling at least 15-20 mph (6-8 m/s) at touchdown. As a result, Starship crushed those legs into oblivion, leaving the rocket more or less resting on its skirt with no more than a few inches of ground clearance, if anything.

About eight minutes later, the prototype violently depressurized, producing a massive fireball as any remaining propellant flashed into gas and ignited. It’s unclear if that post-landing explosion was caused – in part or full – by SN10’s landing leg failures or if the rocket was more or less doomed before touchdown by some other technical bug. Regardless the flight test was still a spectacular and historic success for SpaceX, while simultaneously shedding light on shortcomings that can be addressed with Starship SN11 and beyond.

As it turns out, mere hours prior to Starship SN10’s successful launch, landing, and self-destruction, a series of new, official SpaceX renders released as part of an update for a private Starship launch around the Moon may have revealed the latest glimpse of an updated landing leg design.

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Notably, the updated design – at least insofar as Erc X’s concepts are within the vicinity of the ground truth – is reminiscent of an earlier leg concept SpaceX revealed in April 2020 as part of a NASA announcement. Around that time, SpaceX – third fiddle to Dynetics and a Blue Origin-led team – won funds to begin the process of designing and building a Starship variant capable of landing NASA astronauts on the Moon in the mid-2020s.

Lunar Starship vs. its more general-purpose crew variant. (SpaceX)
A newer render hints at a possible Starship landing leg design update, moving from six narrow legs to four wide platforms. (SpaceX)

As the fan renders show, there are many different possible landing leg configurations that could feasibly fit into the curious trapezoidal shrouds visible on SpaceX’s latest official Starship renders. Knowing SpaceX and its CEO, it’s also possible – if not likely – that these latest renders are already months old and one or several versions outdated.

Either way, given Starship SN10’s successful landing and progress with Starships SN11 and SN15 thru SN18,, it’s safe to say that significantly upgraded landing legs could start appearing at SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas factory any day now

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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Elon Musk gives key update on plans for Tesla Diner outside of LA

More Tesla Supercharger Diners are on the way, Elon Musk says, as long as the initial one is successful.

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tesla diner supercharger in los angeles california at night
Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk has given a key update on its plans for the Tesla Supercharger Diner, as the first location in Los Angeles is set to open today, July 21.

The idea for the Supercharger Diner, which resembles a 50s-style eatery with elements of futuristic technology, is seven years in the making. Many wondered whether Tesla would expand its idea for a Supercharger restaurant outside of LA, and now we have an answer directly from Musk.

Elon Musk confirms awesome new features at Tesla Diner Supercharger

The Tesla CEO said that the company will establish these types of experiences “in major cities around the world, as well as at Supercharger sites on long distance routes.”

The Supercharger Diner has plenty of ways to draw in customers, and although the food and merchandise sold at the location will not be a major contributor to Tesla’s balance sheet, where investors want to see it, it could pay off in other ways.

The Diner is not exclusive to Tesla owners, so those who drive gas cars can still stop in for a burger, fries, and a shake while roaming around Los Angeles. The features of the Diner, however, do require a Tesla vehicle.

In-car ordering and movie screens syncing to the center touchscreen are two things that Tesla owners will enjoy that other drivers will not. These might be trivial, but the experience on its own could be a way that some consider buying a Tesla.

It might sound crazy that a singular diner experience would flip someone to buy a car, but it’s not the most outlandish thing we’ve ever come across.

The question is where Tesla will plan to build these Supercharger Diners. Musk has already indicated that Starbase, Texas, will be one location, which fits with one of his other companies, SpaceX.

Austin could be an ideal location, but New York, Miami, Washington D.C., Boston, and plenty of other popular metro areas within the U.S. could see their own diners in the coming years.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla analyst says this stock concern is overblown while maintaining $400 PT

Tesla reported $2.763 billion in regulatory credit profits last year.

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Credit: Tesla

One Tesla analyst is saying that a major stock concern that has been discussed as the Trump administration aims to eliminate many financial crutches for EV and sustainable industries is overblown.

As the White House continues to put an emphasis on natural gas, coal, and other fossil fuels, investors are concerned that high-powered sustainability stocks like Tesla stand to take big hits over the coming years.

However, Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter believes it is just the opposite, as a new note to investors released on Monday says that the situation, especially regarding regulatory credits, is “not as bad as you think.”

Tesla stacked emissions credits in 2023, while others posted deficits

There have been many things during the Trump administration so far that have led some investors to consider divesting from Tesla altogether. Many people have shied away due to concerns over demand, as the $7,500 new EV tax credit and $4,000 used EV tax credit will bow out at the end of Q3.

The Trump White House could also do away with emissions credits, which aim to give automakers a threshold of emissions to encourage EV production and cleaner powertrains. Companies that cannot meet this threshold can buy credits from other companies, and Tesla has benefitted from this program immensely over the past few years.

As the Trump administration considers eliminating this program, investors are concerned that it could significantly impact Tesla’s balance sheet. Potter believes the issue is overblown:

“We frequently receive questions about Tesla’s regulatory credits, and for good reason: the company received ~$3.5B in ‘free money’ last year, representing roughly 100% of FY24 free cash flow. So it’s fair to ask: will recent regulatory changes threaten Tesla’s earnings outlook? In short, we think the answer is no, at least not in 2025. We think that while it’s true that the U.S. government is committed to rescinding financial support for the EV and battery industries, Tesla will still book around $3B in credits this year, followed by $2.3B in 2026. This latter figure represents a modest reduction vs. our previous expectation…in our view, there’s no need for drastic estimate revisions. Note that it’s difficult to forecast the financial impact of regulatory credits — even Tesla itself struggles with this — but the attached analysis represents an honest effort.”

Tesla’s regulatory credit profitability by year is:

  • 2020: $1.58 billion
  • 2021: $1.465 billion
  • 2022: $1.776 billion
  • 2023: $1.79 billion
  • 2024: $2.763 billion

Potter and Piper Sandler maintained an ‘Overweight’ rating on the stock, and kept their $400 price target.

Tesla shares are trading at $329.63 at 11:39 a.m. on the East Coast.

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Tesla rolls out update to Robotaxi service that makes pickups so much better

The update was confirmed by CEO Elon Musk in a post on social media platform X.

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Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer/X

Tesla has rolled out a minor update to its Robotaxi service that will likely make the driverless ride-hailing system notably better and more convenient for consumers. The update was confirmed by CEO Elon Musk in a post on social media platform X.

Robotaxi service updates

The Robotaxi update was observed by users of the driverless ride-hailing service over the weekend. As observed by Tesla enthusiast Owen Sparks, the Austin Robotaxi fleet no longer strictly navigates to the pickup point listed on the app. Instead, the Robotaxis now stop in the exact location of a user’s phone.

Elon Musk confirmed the update, noting in a post on X that the change was an upgrade to the service. It’s a reactively minor update in the grand scheme of things, but it should make the Robotaxi service feel more organic and humanlike.

https://twitter.com/OwenSparks_/status/1947124143989923955
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1947163583592452482

Driverless taxis

Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin has been receiving good reviews from users since it was launched, with many praising the vehicles for their cautious and humanlike behavior. Some users on social media even noted that Tesla’s Robotaxis feel safer on the road than cars from services like Uber, which are manually driven.

Tesla’s minor updates to its Robotaxi service are expected to make the customer experience of the driverless ride-hailing service more refined. By doing so, Tesla could ease customers into its service, even if only a fraction of ride-hailing users are familiar with fully autonomous cars. With this in mind, even small updates like picking up customers based on their specific phone location will likely go a long way towards making Tesla’s Robotaxis more accepted by the general public. 

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