Connect with us

News

Weekly Space Recap: August 14 – August 20

A collage of the last week in space! (Credit SpaceX, Richard Angle)

Published

on

Here are some of the stories you may have missed in the past week. The third week of August 2023 featured SpaceX attempting a back-to-back Starlink launch, Starship updates, and Crew 7 preparations for launch to the International Space Station.

But first, over the weekend it was confirmed that Russia’s Luna 25 mission crashed into the Moon, another failure from the Russian space program. This was the first mission to the Moon for Russia in 47 years.

Russia was aiming to be the first to land at the Moon’s southern pole, and the Lunar lander had made it into a stable orbit, but during a planned lowering of the orbit, it went a bit too far and created new craters on the surface of the Moon.

Meanwhile, India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander is progressing nominally so far. It is scheduled to attempt a landing on the Moon’s Southern Hemisphere as soon as August 23rd.

Last week’s recap!

A possible Starship test launch soon? – A maritime exclusion zone was listed for August 31st for “rocket launch activities” while unlikely to launch then, it signifies that SpaceX is getting much closer to the 2nd test flight as they await word from the FAA and the review of the mishap report submitted by SpaceX to them.

SpaceX launched 22 Starlink satellites –  This was the 99th dedicated Starlink mission, bringing the total # of Starlink satellites launched to 4,962.

SpaceX attempts back-to-back Starlink launches – SpaceX had originally planned to launch 21 Starlink satellites from California after the 22 from Florida.

Advertisement

However, Hurricane Hilary in the Eastern Pacific forced the droneship to retreat to the Port of San Diego for safety reasons. That launch is now planned for no earlier than August 21st at 11:04 p.m. PT (6:04 UTC on August 22).

Crew Dragon Endurance readied to ISS flight – The capsule, flying for its 3rd time, was delivered to LC-39A to be attached to the Falcon 9 rocket. Crew 7 arrived at Kennedy Space Center Saturday afternoon, and last night, the rocket was rolled out to the launch pad for pre-launch testing, such as the static fire and dry-dress rehearsal for the crew. The launch is scheduled for NET on August 25th at 3:49 a.m. ET (07:49 UTC).

SpaceX showcases new hot stage ring for Starship – After months of speculation, SpaceX finally revealed how they will attempt stage separation during the 2nd test flight. The Raptor engines will ignite while still attached to Booster 9, with the exhaust gases being vented out through the sides.

The hot stage ring attached to Booster 9 (Credit SpaceX)

And that’s pretty much all for last week!

This week looks to be exciting with India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission attempting to land on the Moon, Crew 7 launching to the International Space Station, and of course, a couple more Starlink launches.

Thanks for reading the Weekly Space Recap!

Questions or comments? Shoot me an email at rangle@teslarati.com, or Tweet me @RDAnglePhoto.

Launch journalist, specializing in launch photography. Based on the Space Coast, a short drive from Cape Canaveral and the SpaceX launch pads.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Swedish unions consider police report over Tesla Megapack Supercharger

The Tesla Megapack Supercharger opened shortly before Christmas in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Charging/X

Swedish labor unions are considering whether to file a police report related to a newly opened Tesla Megapack Supercharger near Stockholm, citing questions about how electricity is supplied to the site. The matter has also been referred to Sweden’s energy regulator.

Tesla Megapack Supercharger

The Tesla Megapack Supercharger opened shortly before Christmas in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm. Unlike traditional charging stations, the site is powered by an on-site Megapack battery rather than a direct grid connection. Typical grid connections for Tesla charging sites in Sweden have seen challenges for nearly two years due to union blockades.

Swedish labor union IF Metall has submitted a report to the Energy Market Inspectorate, asking the authority to assess whether electricity supplied to the battery system meets regulatory requirements, as noted in a report from Dagens Arbete (DA). The Tesla Megapack on the site is charged using electricity supplied by a local company, though the specific provider has not been publicly identified.

Peter Lydell, an ombudsman at IF Metall, issued a comment about the Tesla Megapack Supercharger. “The legislation states that only companies that engage in electricity trading may supply electricity to other parties. You may not supply electricity without a permit, then you are engaging in illegal electricity trading. That is why we have reported this… This is about a company that helps Tesla circumvent the conflict measures that exist. It is clear that it is troublesome and it can also have consequences,” Lydell said.

Police report under consideration

The Swedish Electricians’ Association has also examined the Tesla Megapack Supercharger and documented its power setup. As per materials submitted to the Energy Market Inspectorate, electrical cables were reportedly routed from a property located approximately 500 meters from the charging site.

Tomas Jansson, ombudsman and deputy head of negotiations at the Swedish Electricians’ Association, stated that the union was assessing whether to file a police report related to the Tesla Megapack Supercharger. He also confirmed that the electricians’ union was coordinating with IF Metall about the matter. “We have a close collaboration with IF Metall, and we are currently investigating this. We support IF Metall in their fight for fair conditions at Tesla,” Jansson said.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla HW4.5 spotted in new Model Y, triggers speculation

Owners taking delivery of recent Model Y builds have identified components labeled “AP45.”

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Hardware 4.5 computer appears to have surfaced in newly delivered Model Y vehicles, prompting fresh speculation about an interim upgrade ahead of the company’s upcoming AI5 chip.

Owners taking delivery of recent Model Y builds have identified components labeled “AP45,” suggesting Tesla may have quietly started rolling out revised autonomy hardware.

Hardware 4.5 appears in new Model Y units

The potential Hardware 4.5 sighting was first reported by Model Y owner @Eric5un, who shared details of a Fremont-built 2026 Model Y AWD Premium delivered this January. As per the Model Y owner, the vehicle includes a new front camera housing and a 16-inch center display, along with an Autopilot computer labeled “AP45” and part number 2261336-02-A.

The Tesla owner later explained that he confirmed the part number by briefly pulling down the upper carpet liner below the Model Y’s glovebox. Other owners soon reported similar findings. One Model Y Performance owner noted that their December build also appeared to include Hardware 4.5, while another owner of an Austin-built Model Y Performance reported spotting the same “AP45” hardware.

These sightings suggest that Tesla may already be installing revised FSD computers in its new Model Y batches, despite the company not yet making any formal announcements about Hardware 4.5.

What Hardware 4.5 could represent

Clues about Hardware 4.5 have surfaced previously in Tesla’s Electronic Parts Catalog. As reported by NotATeslaApp, the catalog has listed a component described as “CAR COMPUTER – LEFT HAND DRIVE – PROVISIONED – HARDWARE 4.5.” The component, which features the part number 2261336-S2-A, is priced at $2,300.00.

Longtime Tesla hacker @greentheonly has noted that Tesla software has contained references to a possible three-SoC architecture for some time. Previous generations of Tesla’s FSD computer, including Hardware 3 and Hardware 4, use a dual-SoC design for redundancy. A three-SoC layout could allow for higher inference throughput and improved fault tolerance.

Such an architecture could also serve as a bridge to AI5, Tesla’s next-generation autonomy chip expected to enter production later in 2026. As Tesla’s neural networks grow larger and more computationally demanding, Hardware 4.5 may provide additional headroom for vehicles built before AI5 becomes widely available.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s Grokipedia is getting cited by OpenAI’s ChatGPT

Some responses generated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT have recently referenced information from Grokipedia.

Published

on

UK Government, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Some responses generated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT have recently referenced information from Grokipedia, an AI-generated encyclopedia developed by rival xAI, which was founded by Elon Musk. The citations appeared across a limited set of queries.

Reports about the matter were initially reported by The Guardian

Grokipedia references in ChatGPT

Grokipedia launched in October as part of xAI’s effort to build an alternative to Wikipedia, which has become less centrist over the years. Unlike Wikipedia, which is moderated and edited by humans, Grokipedia is purely AI-powered, allowing it to approach topics with as little bias as possible, at least in theory. This model has also allowed Grokipedia to grow its article base quickly, with recent reports indicating that it has created over 6 million articles, more than 80% of English Wikipedia. 

The Guardian reported that ChatGPT cited Grokipedia nine times across responses to more than a dozen user questions during its tests. As per the publication, the Grokipedia citations did not appear when ChatGPT was asked about high-profile or widely documented topics. Instead, Grokipedia was referenced in responses to more obscure historical or biographical claims. The pattern suggested selective use rather than broad reliance on the source, at least for now.

Broader Grokipedia use

The Guardian also noted that Grokipedia citations were not exclusive to ChatGPT. Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude reportedly showed similar references to Grokipedia in some responses, highlighting a broader issue around how large language models identify and weigh publicly available information.

In a statement to The Guardian, an OpenAI spokesperson stated that ChatGPT “aims to draw from a broad range of publicly available sources and viewpoints.” “We apply safety filters to reduce the risk of surfacing links associated with high-severity harms, and ChatGPT clearly shows which sources informed a response through citations,” the spokesperson stated.

Anthropic, for its part, did not respond to a request for comment on the matter. As for xAI, the artificial intelligence startup simply responded with a short comment that stated, “Legacy media lies.”

Continue Reading