Connect with us

News

SpaceX’s Starship rocket program just had one of its best nights yet

Published

on

Before dawn on May 4th, SpaceX successfully fueled a full-scale Starship prototype and (partially) tested an installed Raptor engine for the first time ever – perhaps the Starship program’s best night yet.

While just a small test relative to what’s soon to come, the milestone is still an extremely significant one for SpaceX and its next-generation launch vehicle. Designed to launch atop the Super Heavy booster, both Starship and its booster are meant to be fully reusable, potentially making the launch system one of the cheapest in operation on Earth. Despite that unprecedented full reusability, they should still be able to place dozens (perhaps up to 100-150+) metric tons of payload into orbit in a single launch.

To get to that point, however, SpaceX must develop and demonstrate a cornucopia of technologies and approaches – most of which are unprecedented – at a scale unmatched by ever other launch vehicle in history, save two or three. It was perhaps the most fundamental of those steps that was on the table earlier this morning.

Perhaps the single most important and uncertain part of SpaceX’s ambitious Starship architecture, SpaceX’s May 4th wet dress rehearsal (WDR) was mainly a test of Starship’s overall structure and the manufacturing apparatus SpaceX has created to build it. Despite how exotic and challenging some of Starship’s goals may sound, SpaceX’s approach to production for its newest launch vehicle is arguably the single biggest risk for the program.

Notably, CEO Elon Musk says that the ultimate goal is to roll out a single finished Starship rocket every single week and at a cost of something like $5-10 million per vehicle. Including the Super Heavy booster, the production goals of which remain unknown, SpaceX effectively wants to mass-produce dozens of fully-reusable rockets – all larger (and potentially more capable) than NASA’s Saturn V Moon rocket – for anywhere from a tenth to a hundredth of the cost.

Advertisement
Part of SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas Starship factory is pictured here on March 19th, 2020. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)

As if those goals weren’t ambitious enough, SpaceX intends to achieve them with perhaps the most spartan, minimalist factory ever attempted for orbital-class rockets. At the moment, all Starship hardware built by SpaceX to date has been manufactured in a series of tents, more recently graduating to a trio of warehouse-sized sprung structures. A large hangar – apparently dedicated to building pad infrastructure – is just shy of complete, while a separate windbreak structure and a vertical assembly building (VAB) are used to stack (assemble) full-scale Starship subsections built inside tents.

Unlike almost every other launch vehicle in history, Starship production – excluding its Raptor engines and certain other subassemblies and parts – is done in tents and is almost entirely divorced of the clean room operations rocket factories are famous for. Despite the extensive use of hand-welded seams and parts on SpaceX’s early Starship prototypes, the company has already proven that it’s well on its way to building Starships in just a week or two.

Starship SN3 was finished (more or less) on March 26th. (Elon Musk)
Starship SN4 was finished and transported to the launch pad on April 23rd, less than a month later. (NASASpaceflight – bocachicagal)
Meanwhile, Starship SN5 will probably be ready to roll to the launch pad as early as next week, although it may have to wait a bit longer than that if Starship SN4 survives testing.

While it appears that SpaceX only performed a partial wet dress rehearsal with liquid methane and oxygen and completed a test of part of Starship SN4’s installed Raptor engine (known as the preburner), it means that a Starship has survived a truly launch vehicle-like procedure for the first time ever. In other words, Starship SN4’s May 4th success served as SpaceX’s most important verification yet that its exotic Starship manufacturing approach could be viable for building actual orbital-class rockets.

Up next, SpaceX will attempt to perform a full wet dress rehearsal (WDR) and a static fire test of Starship SN4 and its lone Raptor engine. That test attempt could come as soon as this evening.

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 Full Self-Driving’s European launch frustrations revealed by Elon Musk

Tesla plans to launch Full Self-Driving in Europe later this year, but regulatory bodies are proving to make it a bigger challenge than it needs to be.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Europe and Middle East | X

Tesla Full Self-Driving is set to launch in Europe in the future, but the region’s governing bodies are not giving the suite any chance to move forward, according to CEO Elon Musk, who blames the regulatory processes for robbing citizens of a safer mode of travel.

The automaker revealed late last year that it planned to bring Full Self-Driving to Europe sometime in 2025. However, Musk said that the launch of the suite is being continuously prolonged by both individual and European Union officials, dragging their feet with approvals.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Musk said the company is still dealing with and waiting for approvals from both the Dutch government and the EU’s governing officials, giving an indication that some progress has been made, but ultimately, there are still some bodies that are taking their time:

He continued by stating that the delays are “very frustrating” and they “hurt the safety of people in Europe” because of Autopilot’s statistical prowess, which shows it is much safer than human drivers.

Tesla is readying for the launch of a completely driverless Robotaxi platform in the U.S., which is set to occur in the coming days. While the initial rollout of the platform will be reserved for a select few, public rides are slated for June 22, meaning anyone will be able to come to Austin and hail a Tesla Robotaxi through the company’s smartphone app.

The first Robotaxi without a driver was spotted in Austin yesterday and shared on X:

First Tesla driverless robotaxi spotted in the wild in Austin, TX

Musk dropped several hints that the Robotaxi launch, which has been rumored for June 12, is imminent. For now, the operation will take place in Austin and will eventually expand, likely to California next, as noted in past reports. The City’s official website confirmed that Tesla gained a license as an Autonomous Vehicle operator in the City of Austin earlier this week.

Tesla applied for a similar license in California earlier this year.

Continue Reading

Energy

Tesla Lathrop Megafactory celebrates massive Megapack battery milestone

The Tesla Megapack is the backbone of Tesla Energy’s battery deployments.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Megapack/X

The Tesla Lathrop Megafactory recently achieved a new milestone. As per the official Tesla Megapack account on X, the Lathrop Megafactory has produced its 15,000th Megapack 2 XL battery.

15,000 Megapack Batteries

Tesla celebrated the milestone with a photo of the Lathrop Megafactory team posing with a freshly produced Megapack battery. To commemorate the event, the team held balloons that spelled out “15,000” as they posed for the photo.

The Tesla Megapack is the backbone of Tesla Energy’s battery deployments. Designed for grid-scale applications, each Megapack offers 3.9 MWh of energy and 1.9 MW of power. The battery is extremely scalable, making it perfect for massive energy storage projects.

https://twitter.com/Tesla_Megapack/status/1932578971700638203

More Megafactories

The Lathrop Megafactory is Tesla’s first dedicated facility for its flagship battery storage system. It currently stands as the largest utility-scale battery factory in North America. The facility is capable of producing 10,000 Megapack batteries every year, equal to 40 GWh of clean energy storage.

Thanks to the success of the Megapack, Tesla has expanded its energy business by building and launching the Shanghai Megafactory, which is also expected to produce 40 GWh of energy storage per year. The ramp of the Shanghai Megafactory is quite impressive, with Tesla noting in its Q1 2025 Update Letter that the Shanghai Megafactory managed to produce over 100 Megapack batteries in the first quarter alone.

Advertisement

Tesla Energy’s Potential

During the first quarter earnings call, CEO Elon Musk stated that the Megapack is extremely valuable to the energy industry. 

“The Megapack enables utility companies to output far more total energy than would otherwise be the case… This is a massive unlock on total energy output of any given grid over the course of a year. And utility companies are beginning to realize this and are buying in our Megapacks at scale,” Musk said.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla launches “TeslaVision” video contest to celebrate Model Y deliveries

The program marks a revival of Tesla’s popular Project Loveday initiative back in 2017.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Tesla has announced the TeslaVision Contest, a global video showcase inviting fans and owners to highlight the impact of the company’s vehicles on people. 

The program marks a revival of its Project Loveday initiative in 2017, which was extremely well-received by the electric vehicle community. 

A Contest to Celebrate the New Model Y

As per the TeslaVision contest’s official website, the program is being rolled out to commemorate the launch and deliveries of the new Model Y across all continents. Thus, the contest could be seen as a global celebration and showcase of owners and fans who made Tesla the household brand that it has become today.

Participants are tasked with creating a 90-second or shorter video demonstrating how Tesla vehicles provide “more freedom, more safety, more fun, more convenience.” Submissions must be uploaded to YouTube and shared on X and Instagram with the tag @Tesla and the phrase “TeslaVision contest.” 

Videos must align with Tesla’s mission to accelerate sustainable energy, be suitable for all ages, and avoid references to non-Tesla brands. English text or voice-overs are required, and entrants must relinquish rights to their content for Tesla’s commercial use.

Advertisement
https://twitter.com/Tesla/status/1932559030892802153

A Big Prize Awaits

When Tesla launched Project Loveday in 2017, the company noted that the contest’s winner would receive an all-expenses paid invitation to an upcoming Tesla product launch. For TeslaVision, the grand prize is a lot more tangible, with the winner receiving a new Model Y AWD. They will also get an all-expenses-paid trip to Gigafactory Texas. Second and third-place winners will also receive a Giga Texas tour. 

Finalists will be selected based on creativity, originality, relevance to the prompt, and entertainment value. Tesla will shortlist 100 videos, with the top 10 subject to public voting to influence the final judging. The contest is open to legal residents of the United States, Mexico, and Canada, aged 18 or older, with a valid driver’s license and Tesla account. No purchase is necessary, though entries are limited to just one per person. 

Continue Reading

Trending