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SpaceX leaps closer to launching NASA astronauts after parachute testing milestone
SpaceX says it has completed a test campaign of Crew Dragon’s upgrade parachutes, reaching a milestone that CEO Elon Musk recently described as a necessity before the spacecraft can be certified to launch NASA astronauts.
Beginning in late-October 2019, SpaceX kicked off an extensive test campaign of Crew Dragon’s recently-upgraded “Mark 3” parachute system, performing more than a dozen consecutively successful tests in a single week. SpaceX started with high-stress single-chute tests simulating far higher loads than Crew Dragon could ever technically exhibit in flight, resulting in two back-to-back failures.
SpaceX further improved the design with supplier Airborne Systems and began testing anew, successfully completing 10 single-chute tests in a row in a matter of days. Immediately after individual testing was completed as planned, SpaceX began multi-chute tests, initially simulating Crew Dragon’s ability to ensure a soft and survivable landing even if one of its four parachutes fully fails before splashdown.
Most recently, SpaceX announced on December 4th that it had completed the 7th consecutively successful multi-chute drop test, leaving three additional tests to go before reaching its goal of at least 10 consecutive successes.
Now, a bit less than three weeks after that 7th test, SpaceX says it has completed the 10th multi-chute drop test of Crew Dragon’s upgraded Mk3 parachutes, achieving the tentative goals set by CEO Elon Musk and NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine just two months ago. By the numbers, since Bridenstine first announced his expectation of “as many as 10 drop tests between now and the end of the year”, SpaceX alone has completed at least 20 successful tests in a row in the last eight weeks, averaging more than one test every three days.
“We could see as many as 10 drop tests between now and the end of the year and depending on how the next 10 drop tests go, we will know how many more drops tests we are going to add.”
Jim Bridenstine, October 10th, 2019
As Bridenstine indicated, this does not necessarily guarantee that NASA, SpaceX, or both entities won’t choose to perform additional tests, but a full 20 successful parachute tests in a row is an undeniable sign that Crew Dragon’s latest upgrades are bearing fruit. In simpler terms, SpaceX and Crew Dragon should be closer than ever to achieving the requirements NASA has laid out to certify spacecraft for human spaceflight.
With a successful orbital launch and recovery (including parachutes) already under its belt, Crew Dragon’s next milestone – scheduled to launch no earlier than (NET) January 11th – is a suborbital In-Flight Abort (IFA) test that will technically serve as the second full-system recovery test. If that launch, abort, and Atlantic Ocean contingency splashdown go as planned, there is a very good chance that NASA will finally close out SpaceX’s parachute systems for Crew Dragon’s first crewed launch.
Known as Demo-2, SpaceX has said that the mission’s Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon hardware will be ready for launch as early as late-December. If Dragon’s IFA test and any additional subsystem tests run into problems, Demo-2 hardware will of course no longer be ready, per se, but if those tests are completed without issue, SpaceX has indicated that Crew Dragon’s first astronaut launch could follow as soon as February or March 2020.
The road to SpaceX’s first human launch has been long and winding, but – barring calamity – the milestone appears, at long last, to be well within reach. Accounting for potential technical or NASA paperwork-related delays, it’s extremely likely that the first NASA astronauts will be at the helm of a Crew Dragon spacecraft on top of a Falcon 9 rocket less than six months from now.
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Tesla Robotaxi just got a big benefit from the U.S. government
The NHTSA is looking to help streamline the application process for companies developing driverless vehicles.

Tesla Robotaxi just got a big benefit from the U.S. Government, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking to ease some rules and streamline the application process that could hinder the development and licensing of autonomous vehicles.
Tesla is set to launch its Robotaxi platform in the coming days or weeks, but regulation on autonomous vehicles is incredibly slim, so automakers are left in a strange limbo as permissions to operate are usually up to local jurisdictions.
The NHTSA still has the ultimate say, but it is now adopting a new strategy that will see companies gain an exemption from federal safety standards and streamline the entire application process.
The agency is authorized to grant exemptions to permit manufacturers to produce vehicles over a two or three-year period that might not comply with certain Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Robotaxi, for example, will eventually not have a steering wheel or pedals, through the Cybercab that Tesla unveiled last October.
The exemption program the NHTSA announced today would be possible through Part 555 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act:
“NHTSA may grant a Part 555 exemption if at least one of four bases listed in the statute is met and NHTSA determines that the exemption is consistent with the public interest and the Safety Act. The statute also authorizes NHTSA to subject an exemption to terms the agency deems appropriate and requires that NHTSA publish notice of the application and provide an opportunity to comment.”
The rapid and non-stop innovation that is being performed is tough to keep up with from a legal standpoint. The NHTSA recognizes this and says current legislation is appropriate for traditional vehicles, but not for the self-driving cars companies are producing now:
“The current Part 555 process was designed for traditional vehicles. As currently applied, this process is not well suited for processing exemptions involving ADS-equipped vehicles in a timely manner or overseeing the unique complexities involving their operations. This has resulted in long processing times for applications for ADS-equipped vehicles. NHTSA must improve its Part 555 processing times substantially to keep pace with the rapid innovation of the ADS industry and to ensure that exemptions remain effective tools for nurturing groundbreaking safety technologies.”
Now, the NHTSA will be “enhancing application instructions” to help manufacturers understand the requirements involved in the application process. This will streamline the entire process by “reducing the need for NHTSA to request additional information from the manufacturer,” the agency says.
First Tesla driverless robotaxi spotted in the wild in Austin, TX
Next, the NHTSA is going to have a more flexible approach to evaluating exemptions for ADS-equipped vehicles:
“To build flexibility into the Part 555 process while also accounting for the unique aspects of those exemptions, NHTSA intends to develop terms that could be included in Part 555 exemption grants, when appropriate, to condition operations of exempted ADS-equipped vehicles on enhanced and continuing oversight from NHTSA. NHTSA would expect to administer this enhanced oversight through letters, which could be updated over time, mirroring real-world ADS development. This will enable NHTSA to focus its initial review during the application stage and align the Part 555 oversight approach more closely to exemptions administered under NHTSA’s Automated Vehicle Exemption Program (AVEP), which have proven effective for ADS.”
This will benefit any company making autonomous vehicles, but it will especially benefit Tesla in the short-term as it is readying for the launch of Robotaxi.
Tesla is trading up 1.89 percent at the time of publication.
Part 555 Letter June 2025 by Joey Klender on Scribd
News
SpaceX produces its 10 millionth Starlink kit
The first 5 million Starlink kits took nearly four years to build.

SpaceX has achieved a major milestone, producing its 10 millionth Starlink kit. The accomplishment was celebrated across the company’s Hawthorne, California, and Bastrop, Texas, facilities.
The milestone was shared in social media by Sujay Soman, Senior Facilities Engineer, in a LinkedIn post, which has since been deleted.
Starlink Production Ramp
Soman noted in his LinkedIn post that the first 5 million Starlink kits took nearly four years to build, but the next 5 million kits were completed in just 11 months. This underscores SpaceX’s intense efforts to ramp up the satellite internet system’s production, and it reflects the private space company’s manufacturing prowess.
The SpaceX Senior Facilities Engineer shared a couple of photos of the Machine Maintenance and Facilities team in Bastrop to commemorate the event.
“Today, Starlink Product teams across our Hawthorne and Bastrop sites produced the 10th Million Starlink Kit! It took almost 4 years to build our first 5 million kits, and we doubled that in about 11 months. Monumental accomplishment!” Soman wrote in his post.

World-Changing Technology
The Starlink kits, featuring dish hardware and supporting equipment, enable users to connect to the company’s growing constellation of low Earth orbit satellites. With over 6,000 satellites launched to date, Starlink now provides fast and reliable internet connectivity to over 6 million customers worldwide. This was a significant increase from the 5 million customers that the company reported in February 2025.
SpaceX has not detailed its next production targets, but the production of Starlink’s 10 millionth kit milestone signals the company’s readiness to scale further. Being an Elon Musk-led company, SpaceX is arguably the best in the business when it comes to efficient and cost-effective manufacturing. It would then be unsurprising if SpaceX announces another Starlink production milestone soon.
News
Tesla retires yoke steering wheel in base Model S and X
Tesla’s controversial steering yoke is now exclusive to the Model S and Model X Plaid.

Tesla has closed a chapter in the saga of the Model S and Model X’s controversial steering yoke. Following the announcement of the new iterations of the flagship vehicles, Tesla promptly removed the steering option for the vehicles’ base variants.
This means that if drivers wish to experience the Model S or Model X with a yoke, they would have to go Plaid.
The new Model S and Model X
The refresh of the Model S and Model X were quite minor, with the two vehicles featuring a new front camera, a new color, and a handful of other small changes like new exterior styling for the Model S Plaid. Tesla also noted on its website that the two vehicles now have a much smoother and quieter ride.
The changes were quite polarizing, with some appreciating the subtle improvements made to the two flagship cars and others arguing that Tesla should have done more. Others, however, noted that the level of improvements implemented on the Model S and Model X would already be considered major refresh for a tech company like Apple.
No More Yoke Unless Plaid
When Tesla refreshed the Model S and Model X in 2021, the vehicles were released with a steering yoke as standard. The yoke was controversial, with critics stating that it was unsafe and fans stating that it made driving the Model S and Model X fun. Tesla later introduced a round steering wheel option for the Model S and Model X, which later became standard on the two flagship vehicles.
This remains true today, with the most recent versions of the Model S and Model X still being released with a round steering wheel as standard. Those who wish to experience the Model S and Model X Plaid as envisioned by the company and its CEO, Elon Musk, however, might find it a good idea to spend the extra $1,000 for the vehicles’ yoke steering wheel.
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