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SpaceX set for third Falcon Heavy launch: here’s how to watch live

The first Falcon Heavy Block 5 rocket lifts off from Pad 39A on April 11th. Both side boosters will be reused on Flight 3, also known as STP-2. (Pauline Acalin)

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SpaceX is T-18 hours to its second Falcon Heavy launch in barely 70 days, set to lift off with the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) rideshare mission no earlier than (NET) 11:30 pm EDT (03:30 UTC), June 24th.

According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, STP-2 is without a doubt the company’s “most difficult launch ever”, owing to a multitude of high-stakes performance requirements, US military and NASA oversight, several technical milestones, challenging booster and fairing recoveries, and much, much more. Should SpaceX succeed on all fronts, the company will have taken a massive leap towards being able to offer competitive launch services that can fulfill all of the US government’s many different spaceflight needs.

Prelaunch Appetizers ???

Challenges all the way down

Likely the single most challenging aspect of STP-2 is the performance the mission’s Falcon 9 upper stage will have to deliver. SpaceX describes the challenge below:

“[The STP-2 mission] will deliver 24 satellites to space on the DoD’s first-ever SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch. [It] will be among the most challenging launches in SpaceX history, with four separate upper-stage engine burns, three separate deployment orbits, a final propulsive passivation maneuver, and a total mission duration of over six hours.”
SpaceX.com/STP-2

According to older USAF documents (STP-2’s original launch target was mid-2015), those numbers could actually rise as high as five separate upper-stage Merlin Vacuum burns and a mission duration of more than 7.5 hours. Given the last-second decision to move Falcon Heavy’s center core recovery from ~40 km offshore to more than 1240 km offshore, it’s fairly likely that five burns and 7.5 hours will be closer to the reality of STP-2. In short, the center core will move from a gentle recovery to what will probably be SpaceX’s hottest and hardest booster recovery ever to transfer as much margin as possible to STP-2’s upper stage.

Falcon Heavy’s upper stage discards its payload fairing to prepare the STP-2 payload stack for deployment. (SpaceX)

With regard to that extra spicy reentry, Falcon Heavy center core B1057 – the second Block 5 center core built by SpaceX – is now expected to attempt a landing aboard drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) more than 1240 km (770 mi) off the coast of Florida, potentially smashing the current record of ~970 km (600 mi).

At the same time, fairing recovery vessel GO Ms. Tree (formerly Mr. Steven; renamed due to change in ownership) is steaming hard, heading anywhere from 1400-1600 km into the Atlantic Ocean. Falcon Heavy STP-2 will be the vessel’s first attempted fairing catch since December 3rd, 2018, nearly seven months ago. It will likely crush the previous record for most distant fairing recovery attempt by 50% or more. Whether or not the vessel succeeds and catches its first Falcon fairing(s) ever, it’s exciting to see Ms. Tree (Mr. Steven) out and about for a fairing recovery after months of inactivity.

Falcon Heavy Flight 2. The booster in the middle - B1055 - was effectively sheared in half after tipping over aboard drone ship OCISLY. (Pauline Acalin)
Falcon Heavy Flight 2 readies for launch with three Block 5 boosters; B1052, B1053, and center core B1055. (Pauline Acalin)

As always, SpaceX will host an official Falcon Heavy STP-2 livestream, beginning around T-15 minutes and likely lasting at least 1-2 hours as the rocket’s upper stage prepares for a ~7.5-hour orbital marathon.

Want to remember the awesomeness of Falcon Heavy every single day? Consider a limited-edition set of high-quality prints, signed by both Teslarati photographers to commemorate the rocket’s inaugural Starman launch.

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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 to launch in India in July with vehicles already arriving: report

Tesla is finally making serious moves toward launching in India, with showrooms opening in July, a report claims.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is finally bringing its business to India, a new report indicates, as the company is already shipping vehicles from China to the market where it has attempted to launch business for several years.

We first heard of Tesla planning to launch in India about a decade ago when CEO Elon Musk and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in California at the Fremont Factory in 2015.

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Over the years, the two have hinted that the automaker would eventually land in India, but issues with import duties have delayed Tesla’s attempts.

Now, there seems to be some serious movement in Tesla’s plans, as it has reportedly shipped the first batch of vehicles from China to India, according to Bloomberg. The outlet says these are Model Y Rear-Wheel-Drive configurations.

Tesla is also planning for other parts of the launch, like preparing for Supercharging, aftermarket parts and merchandise purchasing for vehicle owners and fans, and spare parts from various regions, including the United States, China, and the Netherlands.

The company and the Indian government must have come to some sort of agreement that was catalyzed by Musk and Modi’s meeting in February in the U.S.

It is a long time coming, and it now gives Tesla access to an incredibly vast market in India, where a very small percentage of 2024’s total automotive sales were comprised of electric vehicles.

Another interesting tidbit about the launch is that the vehicles will be coming from Gigafactory Shanghai and not Gigafactory Berlin as previously thought. Reports from other publications, like Reuters, indicated the German production facility was building vehicles for India early last year.

India has a very strict policy that favors domestic manufacturing, which is why the import duties were so high for foreign automakers looking to bring their product into the market. These duties were reduced from 110 percent to just 15 percent, as long as companies aim to invest in India and meet certain investment and sales targets.

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SpaceX and Elon Musk share insights on Starship Ship 36’s RUD

Starship Ship 36 experienced a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly during a static fire attempt.

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Elon Musk and SpaceX provided an explanation for the Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (RUD) of Starship Ship 36 on Wednesday. As per Musk, preliminary data suggests that a nitrogen composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) in the vehicle’s payload bay failed below its proof pressure.

On Wednesday evening, Ship 36 experienced a RUD during a static fire attempt. Videos of the incident that were shared online showed Starship Ship 36 exploding into a massive fireball at its launchpad in Starbase, Texas. Images taken in the aftermath of the explosion showed significant damage to the plumbing in the area. The site’s pad structure was also destroyed.

Elon Musk shared some information immediately after the incident. In a response to a post from space enthusiast @Erdayastronaut, Musk stated that “Preliminary data suggests that a nitrogen COPV in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure.”

Musk also noted that, “If further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design.”

SpaceX provided more insight into the incident in a post on its official website.

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“After completing a single-engine static fire earlier this week, the vehicle was in the process of loading cryogenic propellant for a six-engine static fire when a sudden energetic event resulted in the complete loss of Starship and damage to the immediate area surrounding the stand.

“The explosion ignited several fires at the test site, which remains clear of personnel and will be assessed once it has been determined to be safe to approach. Individuals should not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue,” SpaceX wrote in its post.

SpaceX highlighted that despite Starship Ship 36’s RUD, the incident will not result in any hazards to the surrounding communities in the Rio Grande Valley. And in a post on X, SpaceX also confirmed that everyone in the Starship team was safe and accounted for after Ship 36’s explosion.

While Ship 36’s RUD is a speed bump for the Starship program, SpaceX is a company that is known to grow stronger with every adversity. Thus, it would not be surprising if SpaceX implemented numerous improvements to Starship after this incident–improvements that would make the vehicle more reliable and safer than before.

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Tesla has started rolling out initial round of Robotaxi invites

Tesla is putting safety above all in its initial Robotaxi rollout.

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Credit: @BLKMDL3/X

Tesla has started rolling out an initial round of invites for its upcoming Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas.

Screenshots shared by several Tesla community members who received the invites provided a quick overview of the autonomous ride-hailing service.

As noted in a techAU report, the initial round of Robotaxi service invites has gone to longtime Tesla owners and active members of the EV community. These include owners such as @SawyerMerritt, @BLKMDL3, @WholeMarsBlog, @ItsKimJava, and @HerbertOng, all of whom shared screenshots of the invitation that Tesla has sent about the upcoming service.

You’re Invited to Early Access of Tesla Robotaxi!

The Future is Now! You’re invited to Early Access of Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin, TX!

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As an Early Access rider, you can be among the first to use our new Robotaxi App and experience an autonomous ride within our geofenced area in Austin. Through this exclusive preview, you’ll have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback on our Robotaxi service.

Based on Tesla’s message, it appears that participation in the service would be strictly invite-only for now. Participants must also download Tesla’s dedicated Robotaxi App to hail a ride. Rides can also be requested and initiated to and from any location within a geofenced area of Austin.

The robotaxi service will be available from 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM, seven days a week, though these hours may change depending on factors such as inclement weather. Interestingly enough, Tesla is inviting the first participants of the Robotaxi program to share photos and videos of their experience with the service.

While the vehicles themselves are autonomous and would operate without human input, the Robotaxis would still be accompanied by a Tesla staff member to monitor the vehicle. This strategy suggests that Tesla is really putting safety above all in its initial Robotaxi rollout.

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