Connect with us

News

SpaceX teases progress towards Starship’s orbital launch debut

Published

on

A recorded address from SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell to a graduating class of college seniors unexpectedly teased progress building the 35 Raptor engines that will power Starship’s imminent orbital launch attempt.

In a seemingly calculated move, the famous SpaceX executive’s prerecorded address included a glimpse of a screen on the factory floor tasked with tracking progress towards Starship’s first “orbital launch.” Featuring a basic graphic clearly depicting the aft ends of a Starship upper stage and Super Heavy booster, the display ultimate indicated that SpaceX has already “shipped” at least 11 of the almost three-dozen Raptor engines needed for the combined rocket’s first launch attempt.

Just three months ago, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed well-sourced reports from NASASpaceflight.com that the company was aiming to attempt Starship’s first orbital launch no later than July 2021. Two months later, regulatory documents revealed more concrete details for said launch attempt, indicating that Starship and Super Heavy’s first combined launch would see the ship spend some 80 minutes in space before reentering and splashing down off the coast of Hawai’i.

Not long after, Musk revealed that SpaceX boosted Super Heavy’s engine count from 28 to 29 and implied that even the first few orbital launch attempts would use a full complement of 29 engines. Combined with Starship’s three sea level and three vacuum-optimized Raptors and indications that the first one or more orbital-class ships and boosters will be expended without any recovery attempt, it became clear that SpaceX would need to radically expand Raptor production to meet such unprecedented demand for engines.

All Starships will require six Raptor engines. (SpaceX)
According to Musk, each Super Heavy booster will need 29 Raptors – eventually growing to 32 after a future upgrade. (SpaceX)

All told, SpaceX will need to manufacture, qualify, and deliver at least 35 Raptor engines to fully outfit every Starship and Super Heavy pair. If initial test flights are meant to expend both stages, that already exceptional challenge expands to require 35 engines for every launch attempt. Eventually, SpaceX’s goal is to manufacture hundreds of Raptor engines per year to outfit dozens of Starships and Super Heavy boosters, but Raptor only began full-scale integrated ground testing a little over two years ago.

Despite the challenges, SpaceX appears to be more than up to them and the display Shotwell walked past within the last month or two suggests that the company’s main Hawthorne, California factory has already “shipped” almost a third of the engines required for Starship’s inaugural orbital test flight. In this case, “shipped” likely means that those 11 engines have left the factory and headed to McGregor, Texas to be cleared for flight.

Advertisement

Several may already have made it through qualification testing and been delivered to Boca Chica – in fact, two new engines arrived at SpaceX’s Starship factory just last weekend. However, the rapid-fire arrival of dozens of Raptors will be unlike anything yet seen in Boca Chica. Altogether, SpaceX has sent a total of 30-35 Raptors to Boca Chica in the last two years. In the runup to Starship’s first orbital launch attempt, possibly as early Q3 2021, SpaceX will need to deliver ~35 Raptors in two months – an unprecedented influx of engines that will be easily tracked by the public.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of SpaceX’s calculated Starship launch teaser is the presence of a 25-day countdown, indicating that something is supposed to happen within the next two to four weeks. Given the display’s focus on “engines shipped,” the timer is likely counting down to an internal shipment target for the mission’s 35th and final engine. If SpaceX hits that target and Shotwell’s class address was recorded within the last week or so, all 35 orbital test flight Raptors could feasibly leave the factory floor by the end of the first full week of July, leaving a few weeks to finish qualification testing and ship each engine to Boca Chica before the end of the month.

If SpaceX can clear all 35 Raptors for flight by the end of July, it’s plausible that clean qualification testing could leave the first orbital-class Starship and Super Heavy booster ready for their launch debut in August or September – and almost certainly before the end of the year.

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.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

Tesla investors will be shocked by Jim Cramer’s latest assessment

Jim Cramer is now speaking positively about Tesla, especially in terms of its Robotaxi performance and its perception as a company.

Published

on

Credit: CNBC Television/YouTube

Tesla investors will be shocked by analyst Jim Cramer’s latest assessment of the company.

When it comes to Tesla analysts, many of them are consistent. The bulls usually stay the bulls, and the bears usually stay the bears. The notable analysts on each side are Dan Ives and Adam Jonas for the bulls, and Gordon Johnson for the bears.

Jim Cramer is one analyst who does not necessarily fit this mold. Cramer, who hosts CNBC’s Mad Money, has switched his opinion on Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) many times.

He has been bullish, like he was when he said the stock was a “sleeping giant” two years ago, and he has been bearish, like he was when he said there was “nothing magnificent” about the company just a few months ago.

Now, he is back to being a bull.

Cramer’s comments were related to two key points: how NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang describes Tesla after working closely with the Company through their transactions, and how it is not a car company, as well as the recent launch of the Robotaxi fleet.

Jensen Huang’s Tesla Narrative

Cramer says that the narrative on quarterly and annual deliveries is overblown, and those who continue to worry about Tesla’s performance on that metric are misled.

“It’s not a car company,” he said.

He went on to say that people like Huang speak highly of Tesla, and that should be enough to deter any true skepticism:

“I believe what Musk says cause Musk is working with Jensen and Jensen’s telling me what’s happening on the other side is pretty amazing.”

Tesla self-driving development gets huge compliment from NVIDIA CEO

Robotaxi Launch

Many media outlets are being extremely negative regarding the early rollout of Tesla’s Robotaxi platform in Austin, Texas.

There have been a handful of small issues, but nothing significant. Cramer says that humans make mistakes in vehicles too, yet, when Tesla’s test phase of the Robotaxi does it, it’s front page news and needs to be magnified.

He said:

“Look, I mean, drivers make mistakes all the time. Why should we hold Tesla to a standard where there can be no mistakes?”

It’s refreshing to hear Cramer speak logically about the Robotaxi fleet, as Tesla has taken every measure to ensure there are no mishaps. There are safety monitors in the passenger seat, and the area of travel is limited, confined to a small number of people.

Tesla is still improving and hopes to remove teleoperators and safety monitors slowly, as CEO Elon Musk said more freedom could be granted within one or two months.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla launches ultra-fast V4 Superchargers in China for the first time

Tesla has V4 Superchargers rolling out in China for the first time.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla already has nearly 12,000 Supercharger piles across mainland China. However, the company just initiated the rollout of the ultra-fast V4 Superchargers in China for the first time, bringing its quick-charging piles to the country for the first time since their launch last year.

The first batch of V4 Superchargers is now officially up and running in China, the company announced in a post on Chinese social media outlet Weibo today.

Tesla China teases arrival of V4 Superchargers in 2025

The company said in the post:

“The first batch of Tesla V4 Superchargers are online. Covering more service areas, high-speed charging is more convenient, and six-layer powerful protection such as rain and waterproof makes charging very safe. Simultaneously open to non-Tesla vehicles, and other brands of vehicles can also be charged. There are more than 70,000 Tesla Superchargers worldwide. The charging network layout covers 100% of the provincial capitals and municipalities in mainland China. More V4 Superchargers will be put into use across the country. Optimize the charging experience and improve energy replenishment efficiency. Tesla will accompany you to the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas with pure electricity!”

The first V4 Superchargers Tesla installed in China are available in four cities across the country: Shanghai, Zhejiang, Gansu, and Chongqing.

Credit: Tesla China

Tesla has over 70,000 Superchargers worldwide. It is the most expansive and robust EV charging network in the world. It’s the main reason why so many companies have chosen to adopt Tesla’s charging connector in North America and Europe.

In China, some EVs can use Tesla Superchargers as well.

The V4 Supercharger is capable of charging vehicles at speeds of up to 325kW for vehicles in North America. This equates to over 1,000 miles per hour of charging.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk hints at when Tesla could reduce Safety Monitors from Robotaxi

Tesla could be reducing Safety Monitors from Robotaxi within ‘a month or two,’ CEO Elon Musk says.

Published

on

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Elon Musk hinted at when Tesla could begin reducing Safety Monitors from its Robotaxis. Safety Monitors are Tesla employees who sit in the front passenger seat during the driverless rides, and are there to ensure safety for occupants during the earliest rides.

Tesla launched its Robotaxi fleet in Austin last Sunday, and after eight days, videos and reviews from those who have ridden in the driverless vehicles have shown that the suite is safe, accurate, and well coordinated. However, there have been a few hiccups, but nothing that has put anyone’s safety in danger.

A vast majority — close to all of the rides — at least according to those who have ridden in the Robotaxi, have been performed without any real need for human intervention. We reported on what was the first intervention last week, as a Safety Monitor had to step in and stop the vehicle in a strange interaction with a UPS truck.

Watch the first true Tesla Robotaxi intervention by safety monitor

The Tesla and UPS delivery truck were going for the same street parking space, and the Tesla began to turn into it. The UPS driver parallel parked into the spot, which was much smaller than his truck. It seemed to be more of an instance of human error instead of the Robotaxi making the wrong move. This is something that the driverless cars will have to deal with because humans are aggressive and sometimes make moves they should not.

The Safety Monitors have not been too active in the vehicles. After all, we’ve only seen that single instance of an intervention. There was also an issue with the sun, when the Tesla braked abnormally due to the glare, but this was an instance where the car handled the scenario and proceeded normally.

With the Robotaxi fleet operating impressively, some are wondering when Tesla will begin scaling back both the Safety Monitors and Teleoperators that it is using to ensure safety with these early rides.

CEO Elon Musk answered the inquiry by stating, “As soon as we feel it is safe to do so. Probably within a month or two.”

Musk’s response seems to confirm that there will be fewer Teleoperators and Safety Monitors in the coming months, but there will still be some within the fleet to ensure safety. Eventually, that number will get to zero.

Reaching a point where Tesla’s Robotaxi is driverless will be another significant milestone for the company and its path to fully autonomous ride-sharing.

Eventually, Tesla will roll out these capabilities to consumer-owned vehicles, offering them a path to generate revenue as their car operates autonomously and completes rides.

For now, Tesla is focusing on perfecting the area of Austin where it is currently offering driverless rides for just $4.20 to a small group of people.

Continue Reading

Trending