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SpaceX shifts South Texas focus to Starship’s orbital launch pad

SpaceX's orbital Starship launch site (OLS) took several big steps towards initial readiness on Wednesday, July 28th. (NASASpaceflight - bocachicagal)

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4 years ago

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Highlighted by a Wednesday jam-packed with important milestones, SpaceX appears to be shifting its focus in South Texas to the completion of Starship’s first orbital launch pad.

Boca Chica will be the first time in its history that SpaceX has faced the challenge of (or had the opportunity to) build an orbital launch complex from scratch after gaining a great deal of expertise modifying, reactivating, and rebuilding two existing pads in Florida and one in California. SpaceX’s Boca Chica facilities must also support what will be the most powerful rocket ever built (or tested) and a planned flight rate and turnaround capability that drastically exceeds anything the company (or anyone else, really) has attempted.

As a result, the site looks almost nothing like SpaceX’s other launch facilities. On top of the already significant hurdles faced, SpaceX is also attempting to complete its from-scratch facility in record time and work on Starship’s orbital launch site (OLS) really only began in earnest around the start of 2021. That aggressive work schedule has begun to clearly bear fruit in the last few months and arguably reached a bit of a local peak on Wednesday, July 28th.

A Tower Is Born

Kicking off the day after an aborted attempt on Tuesday, SpaceX began what would turn out to be an extremely busy Wednesday around 5am CDT (UTC-5) with the installation of the Starship launch tower’s ninth and final prefabricated section, effectively completing the structure’s skeleton. Unlike all other SpaceX pads, save for Pad 39A’s single-purpose Dragon and Crew Access Arm, Starship’s first orbital launch pad will lean heavily on a massive steel tower.

By all appearances, Starship’s launch tower will host an elevator-like carriage outfitted with several large arms on its exterior and will use those arms to stabilize, stack, fuel, and maybe even catch Starships and Super Heavy boosters. The tower will be integral to routine Starship launch operations, in other words.

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With the installation of one last steel segment, that tower grew to a height of ~145m (~440 ft) and isn’t expected to get any taller after a 10m/30ft lightning rod is eventually added. SpaceX’s pad team can now begin the process of finalizing tower construction, ranging from adding cladding on its rectangular exterior and welding all nine steel sections together to filling its four legs with concrete.

Tank and Table

Just a few hours after the start of Tower Section #9 installation, a fleet of SpaceX’s self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) left the build site with two major pieces of orbital pad hardware in tow. For the first time in three months, one of those payloads was an OLS propellant storage tank built by SpaceX itself out of parts almost identical to those found on Starship. Since the first two ground support equipment (GSE) tanks were rapidly installed in April, activity on that front has been curiously stagnant.

Since modifications of those tanks began in-situ over the last month or so, the general consensus has been that a fairly minor design flaw or oversight was discovered well after production began, requiring a significant pause to rework and redesign the crucial pad components. In the meantime, work on contractor-built GSE tank shells meant to eventually insulate SpaceX’s thin cryogenic storage tanks continued unabated and one water tank and six shells have already been more or less completed. With any luck, GSE tank #5’s delivery to the OLS means that SpaceX has removed the roadblock(s) and is ready to move into plumbing and tank farm activation.

Simultaneously, a far more significant part known as the Starship ‘launch table’ also left SpaceX’s Boca Chica build site after nearly six months of around-the-clock assembly and outfitting. Designed to secure, fuel, and launch orbital Starships, the launch table has to be able to withstand the ~5000 metric ton (~11 million lb) weight of a fully-fueled Starship, hold Super Heavy in place during static fires and prelaunch ignitions that could produce ~7500 metric tons of thrust, and survive the unspeakable fury of 33 Raptor engines operating simultaneously.

Unlike all other major orbital Starship launch pad parts, the custom launch mount and table’s successful and near-total completion is an absolute necessity for any kind of orbital test flight or full-up Super Heavy static fire. Only part of the tank farm is truly necessary and the vast majority of the tower’s intended tasks can be completed with workarounds if neither are fully ready. Without the launch mount, however, testing much beyond what SpaceX has already accomplished is mostly impossible in the near term.

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This table will eventually be installed on a tall, six-legged launch mount. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)

Raptor Invasion

Finally, while less pressing, SpaceX also accepted delivery of four Raptor engines on top of three more that were delivered to Boca Chica on Tuesday. According to CEO Elon Musk, Starship’s first orbital test flight(s) will happen with a full complement of engines installed, meaning that SpaceX will need to build, qualify, and ship at least 35 new Raptors for a single flight.

SpaceX recently completed assembly of the 100th full-scale Raptor engine at its Hawthorne factory and HQ – an encouraging sign that the engines needed for Starship’s orbital launch debut will be ready for flight sooner than later.

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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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Tesla Cybertruck gets Full Self-Driving v14 release date, sort of

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14 hours ago

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October 7, 2025

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Tesla Cybertruck owners are wondering when they will get access to the company’s Full Self-Driving version 14.1 that rolled out to other owners today for the first time.

Cybertruck owners typically receive Full Self-Driving updates slightly later than other drivers, as the process for the all-electric pickup is different. It is a larger vehicle that requires some additional attention from Tesla before FSD versions are rolled out, so they will be slightly delayed. CEO Elon Musk said the all-wheel steering technically requires a bit more attention before rollout as well.

After some owners got access to the v14.1 Full Self-Driving suite this morning, Cybertruck owners sought out a potential timeframe for when they would be able to experience things for themselves.

Tesla owners show off improvements with new Full Self-Driving v14 rollout

They were able to get an answer from Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Head of AI, who said:

“We got you. Coming soon.”

The release of FSD v14.1 for Cybertruck will not be tempered, either. Elluswamy then confirmed that Tesla would be rolling out the full-featured FSD v14 for the pickup, meaning it would be able to reverse and park itself, among other features.

Elluswamy said it would be capable of these features, which were void in other FSD releases for Cybertruck in the past.

Tesla’s rollout of FSD v14.1 brings several extremely notable changes and improvements to the suite, including more refined operation in parking garages, a new ability to choose parking preferences upon arriving at your destination, a new driving mode called “Sloth,” which is even more reserved than “Chill,” and general operational improvements.

Those who were lucky enough to receive the suite have already started showing off the improvements, and they definitely seem to be a step up from what v13’s more recent versions were capable of.

CEO Elon Musk called v14 “sentient” a few weeks back, and it seems that it is moving toward that. However, he did state that additional releases with more capabilities would be available in the coming weeks, but many owners are still waiting for this first version.

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Tesla launches two new affordable models with ‘Standard’ Model 3, Y offerings

It is the first time Tesla has revealed any details about what it planned to launch in terms of its new, lower-cost vehicles, which are mainly aimed at countering the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit.

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16 hours ago

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October 7, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially launched its affordable models with the new Model 3 and Model Y ‘Standard’ versions hitting the company’s Online Design Studio on Tuesday.

It is the first time Tesla has revealed any details about what it planned to launch in terms of its new, lower-cost vehicles, which are mainly aimed at countering the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit.

Here’s what Tesla went with for its release of the new affordable models.

Tesla Model Y ‘Standard’

The Model Y Standard is a stripped-down version of the all-electric crossover and starts at $39,990.

Deliveries are slated for November and December, the company says if you plan to order one, and it comes with a few major changes to improve efficiency and bring down cost for owners.

  • New athletically tuned exterior and new alloy wheels to improve aerodynamics
  • 15.4″ touchscreen in the front, the same as the other trims
  • Available in three colors: Stealth Grey (free), White ($1,oo0 extra), Diamond Black ($1,500 extra)
  • Textile and vegan leather interior
  • Range sits at 321 miles
  • New front fascia
  • Covered glass roof (textile on inside)
  • Windows are not acoustically laminated for a quieter cabin
  • Manual mirrors and seats
  • Smaller frunk
  • No rear infotainment screen
  • No basic Autopilot
  • 69 kWh battery
  • New 19″ Aperture wheels
  • 0-60 MPH in 6.8 seconds
  • 7 speaker stereo, down from 15 speakers in premium models

Tesla Model 3 ‘Standard’

The Model 3 Standard was a surprise offering from Tesla, as many had only anticipated the company to refine and offer a more affordable version of the Model Y.

Coming in at $36,990, it features many of the same changes Tesla made with the Model Y “Standard,” all ways to improve price and make it less flashy than the more premium offerings.

Deliveries are also slated for November for this vehicle, and it features relatively the same stripped-down offerings as the Model Y Standard.

  • Available in three colors: Stealth Grey (free), White ($1,oo0 extra), Diamond Black ($1,500 extra)
  • Textile and vegan leather interior
  • Range sits at 321 miles
  • Covered glass roof (textile on inside)
  • Manual mirrors and seats
  • No rear infotainment screen
  • No basic Autopilot
  • 69 kWh battery
  • New 19″ Aperture wheels
  • 0-60 MPH in 6.8 seconds
  • 7 speaker stereo, down from 15 speakers in premium models
@teslarati 🚨 Tesla’s Affordable Models are here! Let’s talk about them! #tesla #fyp #viral #teslaev #elonmusk ♬ Natural Emotions – Muspace Lofi

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Tesla owners show off improvements with new Full Self-Driving v14 rollout

Some of the big things that Tesla faced head-on with the development and release of v14 were navigating in parking garages and handling parking after arriving at a destination.

Published

18 hours ago

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October 7, 2025

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East/X

Tesla owners with access to the company’s Full Self-Driving new version, v14, which rolled out on Tuesday morning, are showcasing some of the very impressive improvements that have arrived.

CEO Elon Musk called v14 “sentient” a few weeks ahead of its rollout, claiming the newest iteration of the company’s Full Self-Driving platform would be the most accurate to date.

Tesla FSD (Supervised) V14.1 with Robotaxi-style dropoffs is here

It was obvious this narrative had Tesla owners keeping their expectations high, as there were very evidently things that needed to be improved upon that were present in v13. I wrote about several improvements I was hoping to see, and based on the release notes for v14, Tesla did have these things in the works already.

Some of the big things that Tesla faced head-on with the development and release of v14 were navigating in parking garages and handling parking after arriving at a destination.

Tesla said it was working to increase the capabilities of Summon within parking garages, as many owners believe that is where it would be the most beneficial.

While that does not appear to be part of this initial v14 rollout, it does seem Tesla is focused on improving the suite’s ability to navigate through these garages, including stopping for a ticket to enter the facility, finding a spot, and parking in an appropriate space.

It was evident this was a huge improvement based on one example from an owner who received v14:

If you look closely, you will even see the car shift slightly to the right when it arrives at the ticketing station, making it easier for the driver to hand over their ticket and payment. It then moves back out to the right when leaving to return to the center of the lane. It’s very intuitive.

Additionally, it appears to be more accurate when parking, thanks to improvements that enable owners to select the type of parking upon arrival at a destination.

In the v14.1 release notes, Tesla said that it has added “Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, in a Parking Garage, or at the Curbside.”

One owner chose to navigate home and chose a garage to park in. Full Self-Driving performed it without any issues:

These are just two evident improvements so far, and there are likely many more on the way. The changes and fixes will be tracked by anyone with access to FSD v14 in the coming weeks.

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