Technology

Tesla Makes 3 Million Vehicles, Gigafactory Shanghai Tops 1 Million

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

According to a Tweet from Elon Musk, Tesla has now manufactured more than 3 million vehicles. Musk congratulated Gigafactory Shanghai for topping the 1 million Mark.

Gigafactory Shanghai assembles Model 3 and Model Y vehicles for the Asian and European markets. In China, Tesla faced recent challenges like COVID-19 related lockdowns that forced it to limit operations at Gigafactory Shanghai. It also faced pushback from the Chinese government, which limited the presence of Tesla vehicles at government-operated facilities due to concerns that their cameras could be used for espionage. Tesla denies that its cameras are active in China but built a datacenter to allay China’s concerns anyway.

Tesla is currently expanding Gigafactory Shanghai to increase its manufacturing capacity. It plans to manufacture as many as 21,000 vehicles a week when the expansion is complete.

Tesla has seen impressive growth in the past couple of years, including setting a string of quarterly records for vehicle deliveries in 2020, 2021, and the first half of 2022. It managed to get approval for a limited opening of Gigafactory Berlin despite the headaches that regulatory red tape and environmentalist groups likely caused Elon Musk. Gigafactory Texas also opened this year.

Its most recent setback involved a reduced quarterly profit in Q3 2022. It sold millions of dollars in bitcoin, likely to keep revenue from looking worse. Elon Musk called Gigafactory Berlin and Gigafactory Texas “money furnaces” due to ongoing supply chain and production issues.

Tesla had to pause taking new orders of Model 3 Long Range vehicles in the United States and Canada due to a backlog that already extends into 2023. The Model 3 Long Range may qualify for new EV tax credits by meeting battery and critical mineral criteria. Tesla’s deals to source some raw materials like nickel from countries with strong environmental regulations, like the United States and Australia, may help. However, the Model 3 will have to cost less than $55,000 to qualify.

Tesla has attempted to solve this issue by manufacturing more of its own parts, including breaking ground on a new battery factory in Fremont and floating the possibility of buying a semiconductor chip plant. It already controls enough of its own manufacturing to earn the Model 3 high marks on Cars.com’s list of top American-Made vehicles but has still fallen short due to supply chain problems.

Elon Musk also sold $6.9 billion in Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) amid a looming court battle over his attempt to back out of a deal to buy Twitter.

Despite the challenges, Tesla has established itself as the top manufacturer of electric vehicles by number of EVs produced and delivered. Tesla stock had gained significantly over the past couple of years, even earning inclusion in the S&P 500 in 2020, mostly due to its strong number of deliveries. Yes, some other major automakers are starting to make inroads in EVs and produce more vehicles every year. However, Tesla has made more EVs than any other automaker with more than 3 million vehicles produced.

Space

SpaceX Becomes Contender for European Space Agency Contracts

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX became one of a few international contenders for European Space Agency (ESA) launch contracts. Ongoing diplomatic tensions due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to suspension of Roscomos’ agreements to provide launch services for European space missions.

The upcoming Mars rover ExoMars was one of the impacted scientific research missions. It had originally been slated to launch in September 2022 but will be postponed due to cancellation of its launch on a Russian rocket.

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher listed Japan as another possible launch provider for upcoming missions. Mitsubishi Industries currently operates Japan’s H-IIA and H-IIB rockets and launches satellites from the Tanegashima Space Center. Aschbacher especially cited a next-generation rocket that Japan is working on.

Other possibilities include tapping India to launch hardware. Europe has its own native rocket manufacturer, Arianespace.

Aschbacher cited SpaceX as one of the most capable out of all the options. “SpaceX … is the more operational of those and certainly one of the back-up launches we are looking at.”

He cautioned that talks are still in the exploratory phase as they discuss the technical details of launching hardware on other rockets. Important factors include making certain that the hardware is compatible with the launch vehicle and the rockets’ vibrations will not damage satellites.

If the ESA taps SpaceX, it will serve as a temporary backup launch provider. Arianespace’s upcoming Ariane 6 rocket still shows progress.

SpaceX is certainly no stranger to working with space agencies like NASA. It currently launches crews and cargos to the International Space Station as a NASA contractor. It also has contracts to launch hardware like the Europa Clipper and components for the Lunar Gateway. It is developing a Starship-derived lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis Program, which NASA plans to launch with the Artemis III program.

The ESA is also pursuing closer relations with NASA in the wake of tensions with Russia. Along with the United States, Russia, Canada, and Japan, the ESA is currently a partner in the International Space Station. The ESA previously formed partnerships with NASA on a variety of endeavors, including the Sentinel-6 satellite and the Lunar Gateway.

Tensions with Russia also nixed deals between private organizations like OneWeb and Russia to launch hardware. OneWeb decided to launch some Internet-providing satellites on a SpaceX rocket after a deal to launch them on a Russian rocket fell through. Despite past spats between OneWeb and SpaceX, which owns the competing Starlink satellite constellation, Elon Musk promised to treat OneWeb like any other customer.

Technology

Security Researcher Hacks Starlink With Off-the-Shelf Equipment

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Security researcher Lennert Wouters hacked the Starlink satellite constellation with $25 in off-the-shelf equipment. He presented his findings at a computer security conference in Las Vegas.

The security vulnerability involves the widespread deployment of Starlink’s terminals, which connect users to the constellation. SpaceX can manufacture 20,000 Starlink terminals a week and deployed terminals passed the 100,000 mark in August 2021.

Wouters operated a homemade circuit board, also commonly known as a modchip. He could attach it to any Starlink terminal to bypass secure boot protections by interfering with the normal electrical power rails during bootup.

The chip could enable an attacker to gain privileged access to a Starlink terminal, though only if the attacker has physical access to the terminal. The attack does not work remotely and will not affect any of the 2,700 Starlink satellites that are already in orbit. He made the modchip plans available on GitHub to supplement the presentation he made at the computer security conference.

The GitHub description of the circuit board indicates that he expects a recording of the talk to be up soon. It also warns to use the circuit board schematics at one’s own risk. It especially warned that use of the circuit board could do damage to the terminal and disassembling a Starlink terminal could void the warranty.

The plans and description did not include full details of the glitch that Wouters’ customized circuit board could exploit. SpaceX may already be working on a firmware update that fixes the glitch based on the information he provided to claim a bug bounty award. It did already issue a firmware update to disable UART output.

SpaceX operates a bug bounty that anyone who can find a flaw in Starlink’s Internet service may qualify for. In a rare official statement, it complimented Wouters on his findings.

Starlink documentation describes security measures that it already takes, including making each Starlink network device’s unique identification difficult to replicate and reserving the option to disable devices that are used for malicious activity. It also makes it difficult for one Starlink terminal to directly locate or take control of other terminals. The documentation includes the disclaimer that SpaceX can’t always control what terminal owners do with their Starlink terminals once SpaceX has shipped them to buyers.

SpaceX’s beefing up of Starlink security already included improving its ability to resist jamming in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. SpaceX had sent as many as 13,000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine as part of the international response to the invasion. Since then, Russian officials spouted the usual rhetoric that included threats against the International Space Station partnership and even Elon Musk. However, the rhetoric seems to be all talk and no action, considering that NASA and Roscosmos recently finalized a deal to fly two cosmonauts on the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

The Starlink security enhancements have not covered someone attaching a customized circuit board to a terminal to gain access to the entire network. Wouters covered his discovery of the security flaw in a talk titled “Glitched on Earth by Humans: A Black-Box Security Evaluation of the SpaceX Starlink User Terminal.”

Technology

Tesla to Conduct 3-1 Stock Split

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla shareholders agreed to a 3-1 stock split in a vote during the annual shareholder meeting on August 4, 2022. This means shareholders will triple their number of shares if they hold until after the split occurs.

Stock splits generally make shares more affordable for retail investors by increasing the number of shares. Tesla made an oblique reference to the impressive gains that Tesla stock has made since August 2020, when it made its last stock split. It said in a June 6, 2022, proxy statement:

“We believe the stock split would help reset the market price of our common stock so that our employees will have more flexibility in managing their equity, all of which, in our view, may help maximize stockholder value. In addition, as retail investors have expressed a high level of interest in investing in our stock, we believe the stock split will also make our common stock more accessible to our retail shareholders.”

Tesla helped its share value by setting a series of company records for quarterly vehicle deliveries and opening Gigafactories in Berlin and Texas. However, revenue and profits slid a bit in Q2 2022 despite its sale of $963 million in bitcoin.

Recent challenges included a COVID-19 related lockdown in China that forced Tesla to shut down operations at Gigafactory Shanghai. Tesla likely hoped to reduce its reliance on Gigafactory Shanghai to produce vehicles for the European market with the opening of Gigafactory Berlin. It also previously teased plans to expand Gigafactory Shanghai by leasing more land.

More recently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased the possibility of building a Gigafactory in Canada. A recording from a company-wide meeting indicates that Tesla is currently considering a location for its next big factory.

However, Musk indicated that increasing production capacity for Gigafactory Texas is a North American priority. Along with sourcing nickel from a U.S. mining company and breaking ground on a battery manufacturing factory in California, the increased capacity would help Tesla keep the top ratings it received from Cars.com last year for building the most American-made cars.

(Yes, President Biden did snub Tesla despite the American-made label when discussing electric vehicle manufacturers. Twice. Elon Musk did seem intent on not letting Biden ignore Tesla, though.)

Despite the snubbing, the U.S. Senate recently approved a bill that will provide up to $7500 in tax breaks for purchases of electric vehicles assembled in the United States – which could provide a boost for sales of vehicles made at Tesla’s U.S. factories. Besides Gigafactory Texas, it also has Gigafactories in Fremont, Nevada, and New York.

The Gigafactory in Nevada manufacturers batteries for the Model 3 and parts for the Powerwall and Powerpack. It has occasionally been the center of drama that included an attempted cybersecurity attack and allegations that Tesla fired an employee for reporting theft at the Gigafactory.

The New York factory manufactures solar panels, solar roofs, the Powerwall, and the Powerpack. It was formerly operated by SolarCity, which Tesla acquired in 2016. As part of Tesla’s leasing agreement with New York State, the factory provides 800 jobs and will ramp up to 5,000 jobs over 10 years.

Tesla has not yet determined a date for the 3-1 stock split. It had first proposed the stock split in March.

Space

SpaceX Raises $250 Million in Latest Funding Round

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX raised $250 million from five unnamed investors in the latest equity funding round, bringing the total amount raised in 2022 to $2 billion. It did not disclose the valuation in this funding round.

In its May funding round, SpaceX was valued at $127 billion. Unlike Tesla, SpaceX is not a publicly traded company. Instead, it attracts investment from private investors. While private investors might sometimes sell their shares to somebody else, any “broker” or financial advisor offering stock in SpaceX is probably committing fraud. Elon Musk has occasionally floated the idea of spinning Starlink off as a separate company and conducting an IPO.

SpaceX likely plans to use the money to fund development for the Starship-Super Heavy rocket and Starlink. The orbital test for Starship has been repeatedly delayed due to the FAA’s regulatory requirements, which include going through all the public comments it received and studies of the environmental impact of Starship-related activity.

Elon Musk has floated the possibility of moving Starship testing to Cape Canaveral in Florida. He occasionally expressed frustration with the process required by regulatory agencies like the FAA, which possibly decided to increase its scrutiny after a few Starship prototypes suffered fiery disintegrations during high-altitude tests. SpaceX finally nailed it with a test of the SN15 prototype.

SpaceX launches new Starlink satellites every couple of weeks to build the capacity of its satellite Internet service. It recently received approval to provide Internet service for offshore applications like oil rigs and boats. SpaceX signed deals with airlines like the charter plane service JSX to provide in-flight Internet service. Starlink can also provide service for large land vehicles like RVs and buses. (Mounting a Starlink terminal to the hood of your car is still not a good idea, though.)

Investors may be attracted by multi-million-dollar contracts offered by NASA, including the Commercial Crew program that regularly ferries astronauts to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Crew Dragon. So far, SpaceX has the only privately owned spacecraft that is approved for crewed spaceflight, though Boeing has been making progress with the delayed Starliner. Boeing successfully sent an uncrewed Starliner to the International Space Station in a May 2022 flight test.

Axiom Space has a contract with NASA for a series of flights to the International Space Station to prepare to add inflatable modules. NASA recently decided that private flights to the International Space Station must be commanded by experienced former NASA astronauts like Peggy Whitson, who will command the AX-2 mission.

The Crew Dragon is also used (and reused) for private flights like Inspiration4. SpaceX plans to use it for the Polaris Program, which will take the Crew Dragon to altitudes that are comparable to the 1960s’ Gemini Program. The Gemini Program reached altitudes up to 853 kilometers, which was an altitude record at the time. The International Space Station’s orbit can vary from 205 to 248 kilometers in altitude.

Goals for the Polaris Program include testing a new EVA suit model. Inspiration4’s Jared Isaacman will command the first mission of the program, called Polaris Dawn.

Once Starship gets off the ground and becomes fully operational, SpaceX will be in a better position to justify the $2 billion in venture capital that it received so far in 2022. Musk indicated that Starship could be used for a variety of purposes like quickly sending cargo between two widely separated locations on Earth – and, in fact, the U.S. Air Force has already shown interest with a budget line item for a study on sending humanitarian supplies or critical cargo for troops where it may be needed the most.

Space

UAE Announces Astronaut Selected to Fly on SpaceX Crew Dragon

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi will fly with Crew-6 on a SpaceX Crew Dragon. Al Neyadi will become the first UAE astronaut to serve a full increment on the International Space Station, joining Expeditions 68 and 69.

The UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre booked the flight through Axiom Space, which had a seat available thanks to a deal with NASA. Axiom Space agreed to give up a seat on the Russian Soyuz so that NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei could fly to the International Space Station in 2021.

Axiom Space currently has a separate multi-flight contract with SpaceX to send its astronauts to the International Space Station as part of preparations to add inflatable modules to the ISS. The first flight, AX-1, returned to Earth on April 25, 2022. Retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will command the next flight, AX-2.

The UAE had previously sent Major Hazzaa al-Mansoori to the ISS for an eight-day mission in 2019. Al-Mansoori flew on a Russian Soyuz. Sultan Al-Neyadi will be the first UAE astronaut to serve a full increment on the International Space Station.

The UAE is not part of the full list of International Space Station partners. This marks the first time a non-partner will have an astronaut serve a full increment on the space station.

The UAE has quite an active space program of its own. It successfully placed the “Hope” orbiter in Mars orbit in February 2022 and has plans to put a lunar rover on the Moon as early as 2024. It also has tentative plans to put a colony on Mars by 2117 and operates a simulation called the “Mars Science City.”

Al Neyadi has been training alongside other UAE astronauts, as well as astronauts and cosmonauts representing the ISS partners, at Johnson Space Center in Texas. Crew-6 is slated to launch in Spring 2023.

NASA plans to keep the International Space Station until 2030. However, Russia indicated that it could pull out as early as 2024. Russia built several critical modules for the International Space Station. However, leaving the ISS will not be as easy as disconnecting the modules it built, which relies on utilities provided by the American modules. Elon Musk has also indicated that he could have SpaceX help keep the ISS in orbit if needed.

NASA already has plans in the works for a replacement to the International Space Station. Axiom Space could spin off its inflatable modules to create an independent space station and essentially rent space to paying customers like NASA. Blue Origin, Nanoracks, and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation are also developing designs for a future space station under contracts with NASA.

SpaceX doesn’t seem to have a design in the running for NASA’s next space station. However, it has several NASA contracts of its own, including sending cargo to the ISS on the Cargo Dragon and sending crew on the Crew Dragon. It also has contracts to launch components for the Lunar Gateway, the Europa Clipper, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Space

Next Commercial Crew Flight Delayed Due to Damaged SpaceX Rocket

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

NASA and SpaceX delayed launch of Crew-5 due to a Falcon 9 booster that was damaged in transport. The launch is now set for no earlier than September 29.

Crew-5 is the fifth operational flight in NASA’s Commercial Crew program and will reuse the “Endurance” Crew Dragon. SpaceX was the first private aerospace company to create a fully operational spacecraft for ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station.

Boeing gained ground with a successful uncrewed test of the Starliner in May 2022. NASA added flights to SpaceX’s Commercial Crew Dragon and transferred astronauts to the Crew Dragon to account for delays in the Starliner and possible fallout from diplomatic tensions with Russia. When both the Starliner and the Crew Dragon are operational, they will essentially take turns ferrying International Space Station crews to the space station.

According to a statement from NASA, SpaceX is currently replacing a damaged interstage and instruments on the booster. SpaceX and NASA teams are also thoroughly inspecting the booster to ensure that it will be ready to fly by September 29.

When the repairs are complete, the booster will make its first flight. NASA says that four Draco engines will be reused on a NASA flight for the first time. The Crew Dragon uses the Draco engines to control its orientation and make altitude adjustments.

When Crew-5 is finally ready to fly, it will send NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, JAXA’s  Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the International Space Station for an increment, or “Expedition,” that typically lasts 5-6 months. Anna Kikina is flying with this crew as part of a recently finalized deal with Roscosmos. Fellow cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev will fly on the Crew Dragon in Spring 2023.

Meanwhile, Russia’s next Soyuz mission, Soyuz MS-22, is scheduled to launch on September 21. It will ferry Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio to the International Space Station and return to Earth with cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Sergey Korsakov, and Denis Matveev.

Despite some heated rhetoric from Russian officials that included threats against SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and threats to deorbit the International Space Station, Russia shows little interest in actually ending its participation in the International Space Station. NASA’s Commercial Crew program ensures the United States’ continued access to the space station even amid Russian taunts about “trampolines” and “broomsticks,” which Elon Musk make sharp retorts to in the wake of the Crew Dragon’s continued success.

SpaceX also has an agreement to use the Cargo Dragon to send supplies and scientific experiments to the International Space Station. Its most recent cargo delivery included the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation, which will be mounted to the station’s exterior and study the ways that atmospheric dust interacts with worldwide ecosystems. It also included important equipment like an EVA suit that will replace one that leaked water during a recent spacewalk. The cargo mission had been delayed due to a hydrazine leak but successfully launched on July 14.

SpaceX Makes Deal With Mattel to Make Rocket Themed Toys

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX made a deal with Mattel to create rocket- and astronaut-themed toys. One line of toys will cater to children through the Matchbox brand and another will cater to collectors through the higher-end “Mattel Creations” platform.

Mattel is best known for long-popular toy brands like Barbie and Hot Wheels. It also produces Fisher-Price, American Girl, and Thomas & Friends toys.

Although Mattel isn’t particularly well-known for creating purely space-themed brands, it has created selections like “Barbie Miss Astronaut,” a 1960s tie-in with NASA’s Mercury Program. The Mercury Program launched six of NASA’s first astronauts into space in the early 1960s.

“As space exploration advances more quickly than ever before, we are thrilled to work with SpaceX and help spark limitless play patterns for the space explorer in every kid,” said Mattel Entertainment Partnerships SVP Nick Karamanos.

SpaceX’s rocket models include Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and the upcoming Starship/Super Heavy stack. Contracts for launch services with its operational rockets include launching crew and cargo to the International Space Station, as well as launching hardware for scientific endeavors like searching for dark matter and exploring Jupiter’s moon, Europa. SpaceX is also a contractor or subcontractor for operations like launching components of the Lunar Gateway into lunar orbit and sending uncrewed lunar landers to the Moon.

It is currently working on getting approval from the FAA for an orbital test of Starship – something that has been repeatedly delayed due to concerns about environmental impact and the sheer number of comments that the FAA received during its public comment period. Most of the comments were strongly in favor of the orbital test.

CEO Elon Musk indicated that he might move Starship-related testing operations from Boca Chica, Texas, to Cape Canaveral in Florida, likely due to frustrations caused by the regulatory delays. SpaceX expects that Starship will be able to do anything from deliver cargo and people to Mars to rapidly deliver humanitarian and military supplies around the world.

SpaceX has had its hand in designing model rockets based on its lineup of rockets and spacecraft before. However, this is the first time it has made a deal with a major toy manufacturer for a toy lineup.

Mattel’s new astronaut toys might include figurines of astronauts who have flown on the Crew Dragon, including Demo-2’s Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who flew on the final test flight of the Crew Dragon in 2020. (Mattel has not said whether it plans to do a tie-in with the animated show called “Bob and Doug,” though.) If it wants to include private astronauts like Inspiration4 organizer and commander Jared Isaacman, it may have to work out a separate deal with them due to intellectual property-related concerns.

The new SpaceX-themed toys are expected to drop in 2023.

Space

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to Launch on SpaceX Falcon Heavy

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

NASA tapped SpaceX to launch its next major space telescope, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, on a Falcon Heavy rocket. The launch is tentatively scheduled for October 2026.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will help scientists study dark matter and dark energy, which theoretically makes up 95% of the known universe. This type of matter and energy are called “dark” because they don’t interact with the electromagnetic spectrum like more familiar forms of matter and energy do. They can’t be detected by ordinary telescopes, for instance, because they don’t emit or reflect light like “normal” matter does.

The new space telescope will also help image exoplanets with its Wide-Field Instrument and Coronagraphic Instrument. With the ability to filter out direct light from the target star, it will be able to image “hot Jupiters” — planets that are Jupiter-sized or bigger that orbit close to their host stars.

This space telescope was originally named the Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST). It was renamed in honor of NASA’s first Chief Astronomer, Nancy Grace Roman. During her tenure at NASA during the 1960s and 1970s, Nancy Grace Roman became instrumental in making the iconic Hubble Space Telescope a reality.

NASA released a simple, yet entertaining, eight-bit game in honor of its next space telescope.

SpaceX touts its Falcon Heavy as “the world’s most powerful rocket.” It is capable of lifting up to 64 metric tons into orbit with 27 Merlin engines clustered into three equally sized groups.

A test flight for Falcon Heavy launched “Starman,” a Tesla Model 3 vehicle with a spacesuit in its driver’s seat. Although it missed its goal of sending the car to Mars, it will remain in an orbit around the sun that takes it past Mars’ orbit and sparked a cute exchange between Elon Musk and women’s education activist Malala Yousafzai.

NASA already tapped the Falcon Heavy to launch components of the Lunar Gateway into lunar orbit. The Falcon Heavy will also launch the Europa Clipper, which will take readings of Jupiter’s moon, Europa.

The launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will occur at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Technology

Tesla Fails to HODL Bitcoin Amid Decline in Revenue

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

According to Tesla’s Q2 earnings report, Tesla sold 75% of its bitcoin, likely taking a loss in a market that hasn’t recovered from “crypto winter.” It got $963 million for the bitcoin it sold.

The “crypto winter” stung plenty of bitcoin investors, including the El Salvadorean government, which invested heavily in bitcoin and hasn’t yet given up on its deeply flawed efforts to launch bitcoin as legal tender.

Tesla’s overall earnings and profits took a beating amid continuing supply chain issues. It earned $16.9 billion in revenue, down from $18.8 billion in Q1 2022. The revenue included about $2.3 billion in profit, better than expected but still down from the $3.3 billion in profit in Q1.

Tesla says its remaining digital assets – most likely 25% of the bitcoin that it originally purchased for $1.5 billion, plus some Dogecoin from online sales of merchandise – is valued at $218 million. Elon Musk says Tesla stopped accepting bitcoin payments for its electric vehicles out of concern for its environmental impact. He had met with North American cryptocurrency miners about the issue, likely leading to the creation of the Bitcoin Mining Council.

Elon Musk especially supports Dogecoin as a more “fun” cryptocurrency, and one that likely uses less energy per transaction. He plugged it when he hosted Saturday Night Live, though it didn’t help Dogecoin’s price any. He even reportedly adopted one of the breed of dog featured in the Doge meme, a Shiba Inu, as part of his show of support.

(Contrary to some reports, though, he likely never bought the cheap knockoff, Shiba Inu Coin.)

The company’s executives said that the bitcoin sale was meant to increase its cash on hand in the wake of China’s COVID lockdowns, which hurt its ability to produce cars at Gigafactory Shanghai. Despite the shutdown of Gigafactory Shanghai, Tesla says it ended Q2 with a strong month for producing vehicles, likely helped by the long-anticipated partial opening of Gigafactory Berlin and Gigafactory Austin.

Tesla also plans to increase the size of Gigafactory Austin by 500,000 square feet, according to regulatory filings. Gigafactory Austin currently makes Model Y vehicles. Tesla also plans to manufacture battery cells and the upcoming Cybertruck and Tesla Semi at Gigafactory Austin.

Plans to expand Gigafactory Shanghai seem to be on-again, off-again. However, Tesla may not entirely want to give up on China yet, considering its high investment in the country that includes a datacenter meant to placate the Chinese government with its concerns about espionage.

Tesla failed the Bitcoin “HODL Test” amid its current challenges with its supply chain and plans for expansion. However, executives say that it might repurchase bitcoin at some point in the future. It should simply take a lesson from El Salvador and not buy it at its all-time highs.

Technology

Tesla AI Director Steps Down

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla’s artificial intelligence director, Andrej Karpathy, resigned after five years with the company. He gave few indications of his future plans other than possibly pursuing other opportunities for “technical work in AI, open source and education.”

Earlier this year, Karpathy took a sabbatical, during which he backpacked around Europe and Asia.

Tesla plans to release Full Self-Driving to more than one million Tesla vehicle owners next month. As the AI director, Karpathy steered efforts to train the AI behind Tesla’s driver assist programs. Over the past year, Tesla spun up some of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, which are optimized for neural networks and AI. It uploaded a whitepaper on its “Dojo” system to Thron.com.

While neither Tesla nor Karpathy gave a reason for his departure, he lasted longer than many leaders on the Autopilot and FSD development teams. Like all of Musk’s companies, Tesla has become known for its demanding work culture. It has also successfully sued the occasional disgruntled employee for corporate espionage or leaking sensitive documents.

Tesla owners who opted to add Autopilot said that it showed a noticeable improvement during Karpathy’s tenure. It added new features like the ability to recognize stopped emergency vehicles with lights on and other vehicles’ stop and brake lights. Despite the improvements, the NHSTA routinely probes incidents that allegedly involved Tesla’s Autopilot or Full Self-Driving, including a few alleged accidents involving emergency vehicles.

Autopilot and Full Self-Driving routinely send data back to Tesla’s supercomputers. This helps train the AI and, along with footage from the onboard cameras, can be used as evidence in an accident. The data proved to the NSTB’s satisfaction that Autopilot was not active during a fatal crash in Texas in summer 2021 as investigators initially believed, for instance.

Despite the improvements, Tesla continues to warn that drivers should remain alert while using Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. As additional safety measures, it activated an interior camera that can track users’ alertness and added a required safety assessment that Tesla vehicle owners have to pass before they can use Full Self-Driving.

On the plus side, Tesla owners may eventually be able to save money on their insurance in real-time if they continue to show safe driving habits. In October 2021, it introduced a new insurance program with dynamic rates based on driving data. The pilot for this insurance program is currently only available in Texas but could be rolled out nationwide or even worldwide in the future. Tesla also has an insurance program in California but uses standard statistical metrics instead of the dynamic “Safety Score” in that state. (On the plus side, it doesn’t use variables like age or gender when calculating insurance rates.)

Tesla hasn’t said whether it has chosen a replacement for Andrej Karpathy yet. However, it’s easy to quickly upload your resume if you are interested in joining Tesla’s AI, Autopilot, and Full Self-Driving development teams.

Space

NASA Makes Deal to Fly Russian Cosmonauts on Crew Dragon

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

NASA finalized a deal with Russia’s Roscomos to fly two Russian cosmonauts on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Roscosmos will provide two seats on the Soyuz for NASA’s astronauts.

NASA typically pays $55 million a seat for flights on the Crew Dragon as part of the Commercial Crew program. Flights on the Soyuz can cost as much as $90 million per seat.

Cosmonauts Anna Kikina and Andrei Fedyaev will fly on separate Crew Dragon flights to the International Space Station scheduled for September 2022 and the spring of 2023. NASA assigned astronauts Frank Rubio and Loral O’Hara to the Soyuz flights.

SpaceX and the International Space Station has been the subject of disparaging comments from Russian politicians in the wake of diplomatic tensions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Dmitry Rogozin threatened to use the Russian modules to deorbit the space station, possibly raining debris on Europe or southern Asia. He also directly threatened Elon Musk in the wake of SpaceX sending Starlink terminals to Ukraine. Elon Musk posted a screenshot with a recap of Rogozin’s comments.

Musk also had this to say about it in a likely reference to Russia’s history of assassinating individuals in other countries:

Although Musk likely meant his comments lightly, his mother didn’t seem to appreciate his humor:

Rogozin has since been replaced as the head of Roscosmos. Russian deputy prime minister of space and defense Yury Borisov will take the reins as Roscosmos’ new chief.

Rogozin previously said that perhaps NASA’s astronauts could reach the International Space Station on “broomsticks” after an announcement that Russia will no longer sell rocket engines to the United States. Unlike some competitors, SpaceX makes its own rocket engines.

During the previous invasion of Crimea in 2014, Rogozin also said that NASA could use a trampoline to send astronauts to the International Space Station. After the launch of SpaceX’s successful Demo-2 mission in 2020, Elon Musk retorted, “The trampoline is working!”

The deal between NASA and Roscosmos was announced – and possibly finalized – after Rogozin departed. The deal had been in the works for months, with Russia previously floating some tentative plans to assign Anna Kikina to the Crew Dragon.

Despite both space agencies’ continued interest in cooperation even in the face of Rogozin’s bluster, some other international partners questioned the viability of working with Russia in future space ventures.

Now-former UK prime minister Boris Johnson referred to the ways that continued diplomatic tensions with Russia can affect major collaborative projects like the International Space Station, “I’ve been broadly in favor of continuing artistic and scientific collaboration, but in the current circumstances, it’s hard to see how even those can continue as normal.”

The European Space Agency terminated a deal with Russia to launch the ExoMars rover, jeopardizing its chances of launching in September 2022 as planned. An ideal launch window to Mars opens once every 26 months. The ESA is currently considering collaborating more closely with NASA on future missions.

Even with the current diplomatic tensions with Russia, NASA seems committed to pressing forward with its plans to keep the International Space Station operational until at least 2030. The current deal will permit both Russia and the United States to maintain access to the International Space Station even if something happens to either the Soyuz or the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

Elon Musk to Increase Childcare Benefits at SpaceX, Tesla

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Days after a report that Elon Musk fathered twins with a Neuralink executive, Musk announced that he would increase childcare benefits for employees at his companies.

Musk also said that the Musk Foundation had plans to donate directly to families and he planned to announce details next month.

Elon Musk has previously expressed support for people having more children, expressing concern about dropping birth rates.

He also cited a chart credited to the Wall Street Journal showing how birth rates have declined since 1960:

He did note an inverse relationship between how much money people have and how many kids they have, saying that “most people I know have zero or one kid.”

Some Twitter replies disagreed with Musk’s opinion that dropping birth rates was a problem. Others agreed that declining population was a problem or suggested that more people were needed to help with Musk’s plans for Mars.

Despite Musk’s overall support for people having children, he also pushed back against Texas Governor Gregg Abbot’s claims that Musk supported Texas’ social policies in the wake of the passing of a state bill banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

Tesla does not provide many details of childcare benefits on its website. However, it does mention that it offers “equal opportunities” for parents, including circumstances involving “pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, or related medical conditions).” Tesla moved its headquarters to Texas after a dispute with California over its response to COVID and recently opened Gigafactory Austin. Despite Tesla’s large investments in Texas, it joined a slate of companies that will pay the travel costs of employees who need to travel to a state where abortion is legal.

Elon Musk opened a private school called Ad Astra that, at last report, had 40 students. Ad Astra had apparently been created for children of SpaceX employees and takes the unusual approach of not separating kids by age.

More recently, Elon Musk made donations to schools and local communities in the Boca Chica area in a bid to attract prospective SpaceX employees.

One of Musk’s children died in 2002 due to sudden infant death syndrome. He has nine living children. An 18-year-old child recently successfully petitioned a court for a legal name and gender change, switching her birth name from Xavier Alexander Musk to Vivian Jenna Wilson. Wilson is the maiden name of Vivian Wilson’s mother, Justin Wilson.

In a statement, Vivian distanced herself from her biological father, saying that she didn’t “wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.”

Musk does not appear to have replied directly to this news, but had this to say on Twitter in 2020:

And this on Father’s Day 2022:

Despite Vivian Jenna Wilson’s decision, Musk seems to be doing his part to solve what he calls the birth rate crisis with nine children, including a set of twins with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis that were born in 2021. He will also improve childcare benefits at his companies to make it easier for employees to have kids if they want them.

SpaceX Launches Starlink Access Package for Boats, Oil Rigs

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In the wake of the FCC’s approval of Starlink service for large vehicles, SpaceX launched a $5,000 per month Starlink Internet service plan for yachts and oil rigs. It calls the new plan the Starlink Maritime service.

Starlink’s official website advertises Starlink Maritime as a service that can provide download speeds of up to 350 Mbps to users at sea.

The specialized Starlink kit for the new Maritime service costs $10,000 and includes two high-performance terminals. Starlink says that the terminals would require “minimal space” on the deck. Musk said that improving the terminals for use at sea, including making it more resistant to corrosive sea water and high winds, was the expensive part.

Elon Musk says that, even at the $5,000 a month price, it’s still cheaper than most alternative Internet access options for use at sea:

SpaceX operates several ships as part of its rocket launch services, which includes drone barges for rocket stages to land on. It also has a couple of recovery ships named “Bob” and “Doug” in honor of the two astronauts who flew on the Demo-2 mission, which was the first crewed mission for the SpaceX Crew Dragon. It formerly tried to catch rocket fairings in a net strung between two ships before deciding that it would be easier to simply retrieve and refurbish them.  So it would naturally be sensitive to the costs of maintaining an Internet connection at sea.

Starlink access for residential buildings costs $110 per month. Access for parked RVs costs $135 per month. The equipment for both costs $599, though SpaceX has repeatedly said that it plans to bring the price for the “Starlink kit” down by improving the efficiency of manufacturing them.

Starlink also has a $500 per month business plan that offers speeds up to 500 Mbps. The equipment for businesses costs a one-time fee of $2,500. Starlink said that one of the perks of the plan is that businesses can operate it from anywhere, making it useful for employees who expect to be on the go as part of their jobs.

Starlink promises that all of its services will try to keep latency as low as possible – something made more feasible by the low Earth orbits that its satellites operate in, as opposed to some competitors’ more distant geosynchronous orbits. However, it says that the Starlink Maritime service might occasionally experience service interruptions.

The terms and conditions also state that signals from Starlink might be slower during times of high usage. The satellites only have so much capacity and might slow signals down during times of high congestion.

SpaceX has indicated that it is ready to continue improving Starlink’s capacity by filling in the third Starlink orbital shell. This shell includes six orbital planes at an altitude of 560 kilometers and an inclination of 97.6 degrees. It will begin launching satellites into the third shell from Vanderberg Air Force Base in California at 6:39pm PDT on July 10, 2022. These satellites will go into a sun-synchronous orbit.

Technology

Elon Musk Backs Out of Twitter Deal

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

According to a new SEC filing, Elon Musk backed out of a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter. The filing indicates that Twitter failed to provide required information about the number of bots on the social media platform.

Bots are a chronic problem on Twitter. Operators have been accused of using them to spread propaganda and false information, shill minor altcoins, and spread scams. One common scam involved offering to send back two times the amount of crypto sent to an address or more.

That last is usually a bot but not always. One person from Florida and two more in Europe were arrested on charges related to hacking the Twitter accounts of Elon Musk and several other prominent figures to spread the crypto scam.

Meanwhile, Twitter indicated that it would pursue legal proceedings to force the deal to go through and ordered employees not to tweet about the deal. Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor expressed confidence that it could convince a Delaware court to push the deal through:

Twitter claims that only 5% of its accounts are bots. However, some have speculated the percentage could be as high as 50%.

The saga began when Elon Musk revealed a 9.2% stake in Twitter in a regulatory filing and indicated an interest in acquiring the social media company. The news naturally generated a considerable amount of social media chatter. Several Twitter employees reportedly quit their jobs in the wake of the finalized deal to acquire Twitter, saying that they did not want to work for the often abrasive Elon Musk.

Twitter had initially offered Musk a seat on its board of directors, but he turned it down due to the limitations it would put on his ability to grow his stake in Twitter.

Musk cited concerns about people’s ability to express themselves on social media without being censored. He called himself a “free speech absolutist” in one tweet. (He reportedly refused to block Russian propaganda sites on Starlink for the same reason even though he was perfectly willing to provide Starlink terminals to Ukraine.)

Many Twitter users expressed relief that the deal fell through or mocked Elon Musk. Others said that the entire drama revealed serious problems with Twitter.

Elon Musk may still be on the hook for a $1 billion penalty for walking away from the deal. It is possible that he was just looking for an excuse to walk away after a plummet in Tesla’s stock value – possibly making it harder for him to get a loan using his stock as collateral.

(Personally? I think he missed an opportunity to clean up Twitter a bit and add a marketplace that uses his favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, as a payment option.)

Technology

SpaceX Asks for Help in Battle Over Frequency Band

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX is asking Starlink users to petition the FCC and Congress for support of the Internet satellite constellation in its battle against Dish Network. At stake is the 12-gigahertz band that Starlink satellites transmit their data at and Dish Network wants to use for its 5G mobile data service.

It sent out emails to Starlink users with a link to a page titled “Don’t Let DISH Disable Your Internet,” which includes draft petitions that users can send to the FCC and Congress.

CNBC reporter Michael Sheetz published the email on Twitter:

If two satellites operating at similar frequencies try to send radio signals to locations that are near one another, they can cancel one another out. If you’ve ever listened to the radio in your car while driving long-distance, you might have noticed a similar phenomenon when the signal of one radio station fades and another station operating at the same or a neighboring frequency starts cutting in.

As usual when Starlink is involved in a dispute between SpaceX and another company, the FCC is playing referee in the fight between SpaceX and Dish Network. Dish has petitioned the FCC to allow it to use the 12-gigahertz band for 5G services.

The FCC had proposed using the 12.2 to 12.7 gigahertz frequencies for mobile services. The proposal claims that it will take measures to protect incumbents from interference while using the 12-gigahertz band.

However, SpaceX claims that allowing Dish Network to operate within the proposed frequencies will interfere with Starlink’s ability to deliver a reliable signal at the 12.2 to 12.7 gigahertz frequencies more than 77% of the time – thus negating its selling point as a “better than nothing” Internet service. This claim is based on a commissioned study on the impact of “harmful interference from terrestrial mobile service to SpaceX’s Starlink broadband terminals.”

SpaceX accuses Dish Network of misleading the FCC on its operations’ impact on devices that can transmit or receive radio signals in the 12-gigahertz band. It says that Dish Network’s desire to co-opt frequencies in this band could pose an existential risk to Starlink.

It could also become a problem for people who do not have many good options for Internet services. Many of Starlink’s customers live in sparsely populated or low-income areas where there hasn’t been much investment in Internet infrastructure.

On June 21, SpaceX filed an analysis of Dish Network’s claims about its ability to operate in the 12-Gigahertz band without interfering with other services. It alleges that Dish Network is intentionally misleading the FCC and called on the FCC to investigate discrepancies between Dish Network’s most recent report and a previous report in which Dish Network said that sharing this band was “not viable.”

In this case, SpaceX isn’t alone in opposing the FCC’s proposed rule change. Google, AT&T, Microsoft, Intelsat, OneWeb, and SES also filed comments opposing the rule change during the FCC’s open comment period.

In SpaceX senior director of satellite policy David Goldman’s comment he told the FCC that “leaving the proceeding open any longer simply cannot be justified for policy or technical reasons” and that satellite operators have to waste a lot of time responding to “frivolous arguments” from Dish Network.

The FCC hasn’t responded to requests for comment. Dish Network says that it is reviewing objections from SpaceX and the other big companies that filed objections during the FCC’s comment period.

Technology

FCC Approves Use of Starlink for Large Vehicles

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

The FCC approved use of Starlink’s satellite Internet service for large vehicles like planes, boats, and trucks. SpaceX already has a specially designed receiver dish that can be mounted to large vehicles – though it doesn’t have one that is suitable for personal cars yet.

“Authorizing a new class of [customer] terminals for SpaceX’s satellite system will expand the range of broadband capabilities to meet the growing user demands that now require connectivity while on the move, whether driving an RV across the country, moving a freighter from Europe to a U.S. port, or while on a domestic or international flight,” FCC international bureau chief Tom Sullivan said.

SpaceX already has a few deals with airlines, including Hawaiian Airlines and the charter plane service JSX, to provide in-flight Internet access. It called existing in-flight Wi-Fi “ripe for an overhaul.”

Most in-flight Wi-Fi relies on either powerful ground stations that can send signals to airplanes in flight, or satellites like Starlink’s constellation. Many satellite-based services suffer from poor response times, also known as latency, because they rely on geosychronous satellites that have been placed farther from Earth than the Moon’s orbit.

This means it can take several seconds for a device connected to a satellite-based Internet service to get a reply with the requested data. Starlink aims to improve latency by placing its satellites in low Earth orbit, which has often irked competitors like ViaSat and OneWeb. Both competitors have gotten into disputes with SpaceX over Starlink with regulators acting as referees in the past, which in turn annoyed SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Unlike the geosynchronous Internet satellites, Starlink’s Internet speeds and latency are already nearly comparable with “traditional” broadband Internet. This can make Starlink a viable alternative for any application that relies on fast response times and access to real-time data when other ways to access to the Internet may not work.

(Unlike the competitors, SpaceX has been aggressive about demonstrating the usefulness of Starlink in real world situations like an invasion. Its most recent move in this department involved sending Starlink terminals to Ukraine and beefing up its security to resist jamming.)

With the new clearance, the service for moving vehicles can be extended for applications like public transportation, trains, and RV trips. It already had approval to provide service for parked vehicles like an RV at a campground, though it charged a portability fee. Now it can provide services to large vehicles like RVs while they are in motion.

The FCC’s approval sets the conditions that Starlink accept that there may be interference with its satellites’ signals to terminals in motion. Starlink is currently in a dispute with the satellite TV service Dish Network over the 12-gigahertz band, which SpaceX has called on regulators to settle.

The FCC also requires that Starlink accept the potential for additional requirements and conditions for its new mobile service.

Space

Mars Society Installs Starlink at Mars Desert Research Station

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

The Mars Society has installed Starlink’s satellite Internet service at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). It will supplement Starlink with a WiFi-6 mesh network that will provide Internet access for the entire MDRS. For greater realism in its simulations, the Internet will operate at a 5- to 20-minute delay to simulate the time it would take for a radio signal to get from Earth to Mars.

Crews at the MDRS typically live and work at the site in highly immersive Mars-analog simulations during two-week rotations. They are often third-party crews who don’t have any association with the Mars Society otherwise. MDRS crews will be able to use Starlink to record and send high-definition videos of activities like EVA in which they have to wear simulated EVA suits like they would in the thin atmosphere of Mars. This is in addition to the mission logs that are often published on the official Mars Society website.

“With SpaceX playing such a major role in pursuing the goal of humans to Mars, we are excited to be able to incorporate the company’s cutting-edge Starlink high bandwidth Internet services into our Mars analog program to enhance crew training and research activities,” said James Burk, Mars Society Executive Director in a statement announcing the new Starlink installation.

The MDRS is a remote station in Utah’s desert that is commonly used for two-week Mars analog research missions. Its small yet well-equipped facilities include two observatories and a GreenHab that is used to grow crops that might be suitable to grow in a similar greenhouse on Mars.

The Mars Society is currently accepting applications for two on-site assistant directors for MDRS who must be willing to work in-person at the MDRS for several months out of the year.

Like SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the Mars Society promotes the goal of crewed missions to Mars. Besides the MDRS, it also operates the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station in Nunavet, Canada. Mars Society programs also include the annual International Mars Society Conference, at which Elon Musk has given presentations in the past. Most recently, he addressed the all-virtual conference in 2020.

This year, the Mars Society conference will be an in-person event at the Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ, on October 20-23, 2022.

The Mars Society puts on the robotic competitions University Rover Challenge and European Rover Challenge, in which teams design and build rovers and run them through an obstacle course. It also created MarsVR, a full scan of MDRS that has been converted into virtual reality with plans to add a virtual Martian environment — allowing users to see and explore what they would see if Mars was really right outside the MDRS.

For all about Mars and Martian exploration, check out the Mars Society’s Marspedia.

SpaceX’s Starlink is uniquely suited for use in remote locations like the MDRS because it pulls Internet signals from more than 2,000 satellites currently in orbit. SpaceX frequently launches new batches of satellites on its Falcon 9 rockets, occasionally leading to complaints of interference with ground-based astronomical observations.

Space

NASA Orders Five Additional Flights on SpaceX Crew Dragon

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

On June 1, NASA announced that it is adding five additional flights to the Commercial Crew contract with SpaceX. It says the additional flights will provide needed redundancy and continued reliable access to the International Space Station.

In December 2021, NASA announced that it plans to extend the International Space Station’s operations until 2030. It still has to obtain approval from partners in the International Space Station program. Current diplomatic tensions with Russia may make it difficult, considering that Roscosmos threatened to deorbit the space station.

SpaceX competitor Boeing had faced repeated technical-related delays with Starliner’s development. However, it conducted a successful uncrewed test flight of Starliner that included docking with the International Space Station. The Starliner returned to a landing site in New Mexico on May 25, 2022.

Due to the delays in the Starliner, NASA has relied solely on SpaceX since Commercial Crew flights to the International Space Station began. It previously reassigned two astronauts to the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

This most recent extension means that SpaceX could conduct crewed flights to the International Space Station through Crew-14 if Boeing doesn’t cut in with a finally ready Starliner. NASA had originally planned for the Crew Dragon and Starliner to take turns flying crews to the space station.

Astronauts flying on the Commercial Crew flights typically serve six-month increments on the International Space Station, performing scientific experiments and doing maintenance. Previously, five- to six-month increments were considered normal, with some astronauts spending up to a year on the space station for extended medical research.

Crew-4’s Crew Dragon is currently docked to the International Space Station and is expected to return home shortly after Crew-5’s arrival in September. Crew-6 is expected to launch in spring 2023.

Besides the now-expected fourteen flights that SpaceX will conduct for NASA, it has a private contract with Axiom Space to send four private flights to the space station as part of Axiom Space’s preparations to send inflatable modules. It already conducted the first flight, AX-1, which was commanded by retired NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria. AX-2 will be commanded by retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and is expected to launch in late 2022 or early 2023.

Plans to launch international astronauts include flying a United Arab Emirate astronaut to the International Space Station with Crew-6. The as-yet-unnamed astronaut will be the first from the UAE to serve a six-month increment on the space station.

SpaceX also plans to launch a Russian cosmonaut named Anna Kikina as early as Fall 2022. The matter may be complicated by Elon Musk’s willingness to take Ukraine’s side in its defense against the Russian invasion by providing access to the Starlink satellite Internet service and enhancing its ability to resist jamming.

So far, SpaceX is still the only American aerospace company that is capable of launching crews to the International Space Station, though Boeing got one step closer with its successful test flight for Starliner. NASA may have decided to hedge against potential further delays by adding five flights to SpaceX’s Commercial Crew contract.

Elon Musk Orders Full-Time Employees to Return to Office

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In emails to full-time employees of SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk ordered full-time employees to return to the office for at least 40 hours a week.

The first batch of emails went out to a Tesla-related email group labeled ExecStaff, presumably going to Tesla’s senior management. Then a mass email went out to all employees.

“The office must be where your actual colleagues are located, not some remote pseudo office. If you don’t show up, we will assume you have resigned,” the second email said.

The first email to the executive staff of both companies echoed that sentiment, stressing that it was important for them to return to a main office, not a satellite.

Elon Musk did show a willingness to cut the executive staff some slack if there was a good reason for it: “If there are particularly exceptional contributors for whom this is impossible, I will review and approve those exceptions directly.”

Previous emails to employees may have expressed his frustration with managers who ignored his orders:

“If an email is sent from me with explicit directions, there are only three actions allowed by managers:

1. Email me back to explain why what I said was incorrect. Sometimes I’m just plain wrong!

2. Request further clarification if what I said was ambiguous.

3. Execute the directions.

If none of the above are done, that manager will be asked to resign immediately.”

The emails were called both Musk issuing an ultimatum – “My way or the highway” – and an example of clear communications with managers who are expected to actually, you know, do their jobs.

Musk has a history of butting heads with disgruntled former employees, including accusations of racial discrimination and legal battles over leaked documents and industrial espionage. Tesla and Musk fought back against the National Labor Relations Board over past anti-union tweets from Musk.

Musk denied an allegation in Ashlee Vance’s biography of Elon Musk that he forced an employee to miss his child’s birth to attend a meeting.

Musk’s reputation as a tough boss may have contributed to increased stress-related issues and even several departures among Twitter employees after Musk made a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. Left-leaning activists and politicians expressed concern that Musk might restore Donald Trump before Musk even confirmed that he would. Advocacy groups launched a campaign against Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.

In an SEC filing related to the deal, Twitter expressed concern about attracting and retaining qualified employees under Musk. It also expressed concern about reduced productivity due to employees becoming distracted under Musk.

Others, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, gloated about it in anticipation of having their personal accounts restored.

Since the deal was reached, Musk expressed concern about the number of bots on Twitter. However, the deal has a chance to move forward now that it passed review by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s antitrust division.

The emails sent out by Musk could be interpreted as him being the classic “tough boss” – or just a control freak. It does follow his pattern of laying down clear expectations for Tesla and SpaceX employees.

Technology

SpaceX Set to Accept Dogecoin in Gift Shop

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

According to SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, SpaceX will soon begin accepting Dogecoin for SpaceX-themed swag in its online shop. Tesla already accepts Dogecoin for its merchandise after a brief foray into accepting Bitcoin for its electric vehicles that ended because Musk didn’t like Bitcoin’s environmental impact.

Musk is still a fan of cryptocurrency and says Tesla might start accepting Bitcoin again if it can address energy usage that is high enough to earn frequent criticism from politicians and environmental activists. His meeting with North American Bitcoin miners led to the creation of the Bitcoin Mining Council.

Regulatory filings indicate that both SpaceX and Tesla hold Bitcoin. SpaceX notably accepted payment in Dogecoin for the “DOGE-1” mission, which is scheduled to launch a small satellite into lunar orbit in June 2022.

Musk also hinted that customers could pay for their Starlink subscriptions in Dogecoin at some point in the future.

If Starlink accepts Dogecoin payments, it could provide a meaningful alternative for the 1.7 billion adults that the World Bank says lack access to mainstream financial services. These people are also less likely to have reliable access to the Internet “Unbanked” people often own mobile phones that can be used for mobile banking services and even to download a crypto wallet that they can use for everyday purchases like obtaining access to the Internet.

Selling points for crypto often includes relatively low fees for sending money across international borders and the ability for anyone to use it even if they don’t have a bank account. They would just need a mobile phone capable of storing a crypto wallet and an Internet connection.

400,000 people around the world already subscribe to Starlink’s satellite Internet service. A high percentage of Starlink’s target audience reside in remote communities that lack affordable options for access to high-speed Internet. According to SpaceX president Gwynn Shotwell, the potential demand for Starlink could be high enough to help fund research and development for future crewed missions to Mars.

Elon Musk plugged Dogecoin while hosting SNL last year to a mixed reception. Some SNL cast members refused to make an appearance with him purely because they didn’t want to be associated with the wealthiest man on Earth. Some viewers said that Musk was funnier than the regular cast of professional comedians.

Despite his promotion, Dogecoin’s price reportedly fell by 40% during his appearance. Dogecoin hit an all-time high of $0.74 per DOGE in May 2021, likely boosted by Elon Musk’s heavy promotion of it. It is currently trading around $0.08.

Elon Musk does not seem to be discouraged by high volatility in the crypto markets, however. Neither do Dogecoin investors, who bought enough Tesla Cyberwhistles for 645 DOGE apiece for the Tesla shop to sell out.

Financial Advisor Pleads Guilty in Fraud Case Involving Fake SpaceX Shares

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

A next-generation financial advisor named Michael Shillin pled guilty to criminal charges in a fraud case in which he sold fake SpaceX shares to his clients. He claimed to invest clients’ funds in IPO or pre-IPO shares in well-known, privately owned companies like SpaceX.

Prosecutors brought charges of wire fraud and bank fraud. His sentencing is set for July 21.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also opened an investigation into Michael Shillin’s activities. It alleged that Shillin misrepresented investments and fabricated documents over the course of a year.

One of his clients retired early in 2020 because he believed he made $450,000 on an investment in SpaceX. He later found out that Shillin faked both the money and the SpaceX shares.

Shillin also misled clients into rolling over life insurance policies into new policies that offered fewer benefits.

As part of the settlement with the SEC, Shillin will pay a fine that will be determined by a court at a later date. Shillin neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s allegations. The SEC barred him from working in the securities industry.

Shillin’s career included positions at Edward Jones, Raymond James Financial, and Alliance Global Partners. In 2020, he founded his own financial advisement firm named Shillin Wealth Management, which is now defunct.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk previously denied plans to conduct an IPO for SpaceX, though he did float the idea of spinning off Starlink as a publicly traded company at some point in the future. Starlink’s satellite Internet service currently has 400,000 active subscribers online.

SpaceX has several launch contracts with NASA and private clients, including ferrying astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew program and resupply missions. Axiom Space recently completed the first fully private mission to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Crew Dragon.

SpaceX occasionally conducts regulation fundraisers in which accredited investors can buy shares. During its most recent fundraise, SpaceX raised $1.5 billion at a valuation of $125 billion, a $25 billion increase over its previous $100 billion valuation. It says it will use the money to continue work on Starship / Super Heavy development, which has been repeatedly delayed due to regulatory red tape at the FAA.

Space

UAE Books Ride for Astronaut on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

An astronaut from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon as part of a deal between the UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, Axiom Space, and SpaceX. The mission is expected to take place in the spring of 2023.

The UAE hasn’t announced who the astronaut will be yet. The astronaut will become the first person from the UAE to serve on an extended mission and will serve a six-month increment on the International Space Station.

Axiom Space received the seat from NASA as compensation for giving up a seat on the Russian Soyuz for American astronaut Mark Vande Hei in 2021. The UAE astronaut will fly as part of the Crew-6 mission. The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre did not disclose how much it paid for the seat.

The UAE previously sent Major Hazzaa al-Mansoori to the International Space Station on a Russian Soyuz in 2019. Al-Mansoori stayed on the ISS for eight days.

The UAE’s space program has gotten into full gear with the successful “Hope” probe, which went into orbit around Mars in February 2022. It also has plans to put an uncrewed lander on the Moon in 2024.

The UAE also has an ambitious plan to put a colony on Mars by 2117. It currently operates a simulation called the Mars Science City, seen in the below video.

Axiom Space currently has a four-mission contract with SpaceX to fly crews to the International Space Station. The first mission, Axiom-1, spent more than two weeks in space and returned to Earth on April 25. Its mission was extended due to poor weather at the landing site. Michael Lopez-Alegria (seen in the below video) commanded the mission.

The next mission, Axiom-2, will be commanded by experienced astronaut Peggy Whitson. It is expected to launch between Fall 2022 and Spring 2023.

The Axiom crews are preparing for the addition of inflatable modules to the International Space Station as early as 2024. Axiom Space plans to spin the inflatable modules off into its own space station by the time the International Space Station is retired.

Axiom Space previously sold seats on the Crew Dragon to “space tourists” for $55 million apiece – about the same price that NASA pays SpaceX as part of its Commercial Crew contract. Reviews were somewhat mixed for Axiom-1, in which a few billionaires paid for seats and then said that they were kept quite busy on the ISS.

Technology

Elon Musk Says Tesla a Year Away From Fully Self-Driving Vehicles

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Elon Musk said that Tesla could have fully self-driving vehicles by May 2023. This is the latest in a line of ambitious timelines from Musk, who has sometimes been criticized for underestimated the amount of time it would take to accomplish a complex goal like creating autonomous vehicles.

If Musk gets the timeline wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time he had to scale back an ambitious goal. He previously aimed to have 1 million self-driving “Robotaxis” on the road by 2020. Then he said that he aims to have 1 million vehicles with the Full Self-Driving software in the hands of Tesla owners.

Tesla’s driver assist programs, Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Autopilot, have been the subject of scrutiny from regulators and authorities investigating wrecks involving a Tesla vehicle. Tesla maintains logs of FSD and Autopilot usage on its central storage that can be turned over to authorities if necessary.

The NHSTA opened a probe into the Autopilot’s apparent inability to recognize stopped emergency vehicles. Tesla had issued an update to make Tesla Vision capable of recognizing emergency lights but that didn’t come fast enough to prevent at least eleven reported accidents involving a Tesla vehicle and an emergency vehicle.

Autopilot logs have established that the driver assist software wasn’t at fault in accidents in the past despite initial police reports that indicated that Autopilot was a “suspect.” Users say that FSD has, on the whole, improved its ability to handle most driving tasks with each new update despite occasional setbacks like FSD Beta 9.2. Even Elon Musk admitted that Beta 9.2 was “actually not great” after taking it for a whirl.

The driver assist programs still include a disclaimer that drivers should remain alert and keep their hands on the wheel at all times. A driver can still be held legally liable for an accident that occurs while the driver assist program is active.

Tesla uses AI and more than a billion miles’ worth of driving data sent from its customers’ vehicles in real-time to “train” its driver assist programs. In June 2021, it spun up the world’s fifth most powerful supercomputer – which, despite some impressive specs, still isn’t as powerful as Tesla’s planned Dojo supercomputer.

“For us, computer vision is the bread and butter of what we do and what enables Autopilot. And for that to work really well, we need to master the data from the fleet, and train massive neural nets and experiment a lot,” Tesla AI chief Andrej Karpathy told an audience at the 2021 Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition.

Tesla owners have expressed confidence in the abilities of Autopilot and FSD, though they may have occasionally gone a bit overboard in their confidence. One Californian Tesla vehicle owner was busted riding in the back seat of his vehicle with Autopilot engaged as a stunt. The stunt likely prompted Tesla to activate a camera mounted to the rearview mirror to track driver alertness.

However, Musk may still be overly ambitious in his goal of having fully autonomous vehicles by 2023. The problem is still, of course, humans and their often unpredictable driving habits, which can fake out a computer.

Technology

Elon Musk Visits Brazil to Expand Starlink Service

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In November 2021, SpaceX was in talks with Brazil to provide Internet access to remote communities in the Amazon. Now Elon Musk aims to cement Starlink’s presence in Brazil with a personal visit.

Musk met with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. They discussed bringing Starlink’s Internet access to remote schools and using SpaceX’s advanced space-based capabilities to combat illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

President Bolsonaro has often been criticized for failing to prevent deforestation, which has reached a 15-year high during his term. He pushed for more mining and farming in the Amazon region.

Bolsonaro has encouraged Tesla to establish a presence in Brazil, though the EV manufacturing company hasn’t done so in a meaningful way yet. He also expressed support for Musk’s efforts to acquire Twitter, saying that major tech firms have gone overboard in their efforts to stamp out misinformation. This echoed Musk’s frequent insistence that Twitter heavily favors left-wing viewpoints when censoring content.

Bolsonaro has been a champion of conservatism in Brazil and praised the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1964 to 1985. Musk has also drifted to the right, recently saying that he would vote Republican during the 2022 midterm elections.

Bolsonaro has snubbed President Biden since Biden took office. Likewise, Biden has repeatedly snubbed Musk and Tesla when discussing electric vehicles despite Tesla being an early mover in the niche. This includes a failure to invite Tesla personnel to an electric car summit in August 2021. Some critics say that Biden snubbed Tesla because of Musk’s anti-union stances.

Despite his political tweeting and pushback against Democrats, who he accused of relying on Big Tech platforms to censor differing viewpoints, Musk seems more intent on pursuing Starlink’s goal of connecting remote or impoverished communities than anything while in Brazil.

Starlink currently has over 2,000 functional satellites in orbit and is capable of delivering Internet speeds that are nearly comparable to traditional land-line broadband. It has already demonstrated an ability to help with disaster relief and connect remote or impoverished communities through deals with national and local governments.

Starlink has helped Washington State and Tennessee respond to natural disasters. It reached into Latin America with a deal with Chile to connect remote communities. It also helped the Hoh Tribe and Cherokee Nation connect their members to the Internet.

Most recently, SpaceX sent Starlink terminals to Ukraine to help its defense forces up and running. SpaceX ramped up Starlink’s security to help it resist jamming. Elon Musk recently said that Russia has not stopped attempting to interfere with Starlink’s Internet service. Musk refuses to block Russian propaganda sites, though, saying that he is a “free speech absolutist.”

Roscosmos Chief Threatens Elon Musk

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Elon Musk called out Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin for threatening him in Russian media. Roscomos is Russia’s space agency.

Rogozin sent out a note to Russian media that accused Elon Musk’s SpaceX of providing Starlink terminals that were sent to Ukrainian marines and what Rogozin describes as “militants of the Nazi Azov battalion.”

The message continued, “Elon Musk, thus, is involved in supplying the fascist forces in Ukraine with military communication equipment. And for this, Elon, you will be held accountable like an adult — no matter how much you’ll play the fool.”

Elon Musk responded in Tweets referring to the threat:

Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, may have thought that he went a little too far with his humor:

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the Ukrainian government of having been infiltrated by what he described as “Nazi filth.” Russia recently celebrated the anniversary of the Allies’ defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Elon Musk promised to provide Starlink terminals and activate Starlink in Ukraine in response to a request from Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. SpaceX beefed up Starlink’s ability to resist jamming in a software update, earning praise from the U.S. Pentagon.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted Internet services in several Ukrainian regions. Fedorov also requested aid from people with digital talent to join an “IT army.”

Some third parties like the cyberactivist group Anonymous responded to the invasion by attacking Russian media outlets. The outlets went down due to massive DDoS attacks or were edited by hackers to warn Russian viewers that the Russian government was using the media outlets to lie to them. Elon Musk had rejected the idea of censoring the Russian media outlets through Starlink, citing free speech.

Rogozin does have a history of bluster. He recently threatened to pull Roscosmos out of the International Space Station early as a response to new sanctions imposed by the western world and called American spacecraft “broomsticks”. He also taunted the American space program in 2014, saying that perhaps they could use a trampoline to get its astronauts to the space station in a now-deleted tweet.

Musk had this to say as early as 2014:

In May 2020, SpaceX and NASA launched the first crewed flight of the Commercial Crew program, ending the Russian monopoly on crewed spaceflight that had begun when NASA retired the space shuttle in 2011. NASA had relied on Russia’s Soyuz to get astronauts to the International Space Station, paying as much as $95 million per seat. NASA currently pays $55 million per seat on the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

Starlink has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to maintain connectivity in a crisis. SpaceX provided terminals for tornado recovery efforts in Kentucky, Internet service interruptions on an island that suffered a volcanic eruption, and wildfire fighting efforts in Washington State.

However, this is the first time that Elon Musk has been threatened over efforts to use Starlink to help in a crisis. Many people may not take Rogozin’s hyperbole very seriously, but Musk had expressed concern over possible security risks like a teenager who posts the location of Musk’s private jet before.

Could Musk die under “mysterious circumstances?” It could really happen to anyone and, in Musk’s case, there may be no shortage of suspects. Elizabeth Warren spouted hate in Facebook ads in an attempt to raise campaign contributions. President Joe Biden repeatedly snubbed him. Bernie Sanders has also criticized him. And now Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin has gotten in on the act by outright threatening him.

Space

Sierra Club, Native Americans Sue Over Boca Chica Beach Closures

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In July 2021, SpaceX issued a statement responding to Cameron County’s allegations that it went overboard with public beach and lane closures. SpaceX is authorized to close local roads for up to 300 hours a year and Cameron County’s District County responded to complaints that SpaceX exceeded that.

Now the Sierra Club and a nonprofit organization representing the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas filed a lawsuit in Cameron County District Court, alleging that the beach closures violated the Texas state constitution. They allege that the constitution guarantees access to public beaches like Boca Chica Beach, which is close to SpaceX’s rocket test facility.

The Sierra Club says that Cameron County closed beaches for 196 hours from January to March 2022 and 600 hours in 2021.

The Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas alleges that the closures prevent its members from accessing Boca Chica Beach, a site that is sacred to them. They say they regularly visit the beach to leave offerings for their ancestors.

The lawsuits acknowledge that Texas amended the Texas Open Beaches Act to allow counties to close public beaches for spaceflight-related activity in 2013. However, the plaintiffs allege that Cameron County closed beaches and access roads to beaches for activities that are unrelated to spaceflight. SpaceX also conducts ground testing of rocket engines.

An environmental advocacy group called SaveRGV filed a lawsuit for similar reasons last October. SaveRGV board member Maria Galasso, who lives in the area, complained that residents “can’t plan to go to the beach anymore because even if you think the beach is going to be open, they close the highway.”

SpaceX calls the beach and road closures a matter of safety. In May 2021, it finally managed to preserve an intact prototype officially called SN15 after a high-altitude launch test after losing four prototypes in a row. SN8, SN9, SN10, and SN11 all exploded upon landing or shortly after landing. If they had exploded while still high in the air, they could have sent debris flying over a radius that included Boca Chica Beach.

The FAA also reviews both the safety and the environmental impact of each launch at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility. Its approval of a planned orbital test of the Starship/Super Heavy stack has been delayed for months due to an ongoing environmental review and the sheer number of public comments it received.

However, SpaceX President Gwynn Shotwell says that the test could happen as early as this summer if the FAA doesn’t hold things up and CEO Elon Musk floated the possibility of moving Starship testing to Florida. If such a move happens, it would likely be inspired by frustration about regulatory holdups in SpaceX’s ultimate goal of developing the capacity for “mass transit” to Mars.

Most recently, Gwynn Shotwell reiterated this goal, saying that it could happen by the end of the 2020s. This timeline, of course, assumes that there will be no major problems or delays.

From a more Earth-based perspective, Starship could enable trips from anywhere to anywhere on Earth in less than 30 minutes. This is something that the U.S. Air Force plans to look more closely at for transportation of payloads that need to be delivered to anywhere on Earth quickly.

As normal for a company headed by Elon Musk, SpaceX didn’t respond to requests for comment about the latest lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas.

Space

SpaceX President Reiterates Plans to Land People on Mars By End of 2020s

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX President and COO Gwynn Shotwell reiterated SpaceX’s goal of landing people on Mars. She says it is feasible to land humans on Mars by the end of the 2020s and landing people on the Moon could happen sooner.

NASA recently activated an option in one of its contracts with SpaceX to include SpaceX’s Human Landing System design in the Artemis III mission. The space agency says it might give other aerospace agencies a chance to submit lunar lander designs for ferrying astronauts between lunar orbit and specific sites on the Moon as part of its fledgling Sustaining Lunar Development program.

NASA plans to use the Artemis Program and Lunar Gateway to establish a more sustained lunar presence than was possible during the Apollo Program of the 1960s and early 1970s. NASA had planned to develop more robust Apollo-based hardware for the extended lunar exploration missions that were planned for the Apollo Applications Program, but that was shelved due to budget cuts.

SpaceX’s current contracts with NASA includes the launch of the initial components of the Lunar Gateway on a Falcon Heavy rocket as early as May 2024. It also has contracts with other aerospace companies like Intuitive Machines to launch robotic lunar landers that are being developed for NASA.

SpaceX is also working on its Starship/Super Heavy stack, which will be capable for everything from sending large cargos and people to Mars to sending cargo from point to point on Earth. Its planned orbital test for Starship is currently being held up by the FAA’s regulatory review process, which caused several months’ worth of delays.

If the FAA gets out of the way, SpaceX can begin serious work on its plans for Mars. Getting humans to Mars in a decade might be feasible if everything goes smoothly for the next few launch windows. A launch window for sending a payload (and, eventually, people) opens up once every 26 months. In the below video, Mars Society President Robert Zubrin presents an updated version of Mars Direct, which uses SpaceX’s rockets as part of a lower-cost plan for getting people to Mars in less time than other plans, at the International Space Development Conference.

SpaceX might borrow elements from Mars Direct to get people to Mars in less than a decade. Gwynn Shotwell mentioned that it might take a grand gesture for the average person to see that it’s feasible: “I think we need to get a large delivery to the surface of Mars, and then people will start thinking harder about it. … Within five or six years, people will see that that will be a real place to go.”

Besides lingering regulatory bureaucracy, SpaceX’s leadership regards the engineering as the hardest part of getting people to Mars. CEO Elon Musk sees it as a matter of optimizing the launch of tonnage into Earth orbit.

Living and working on Mars won’t be for the claustrophobic or for people who are happiest when they can spend a lot of their time outdoors. Elon Musk mentioned that it “will be dangerous, cramped, difficult, hard work.”

Will such cramped, outdoorsman-frustrating conditions be worth it? Well, as Elon Musk famously said, “I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact.”

He is certainly not the only person who makes the case for sending people to Mars. Robert Zubrin fights tooth and nail for support for Mars missions with the Mars Society – which, incidentally, is having its next annual conference on October 20-23, 2022, at the Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Musk has made appearances at previous Mars Society conferences.

Getting people to Mars by the end of the 2020s will certainly be a challenge. However, SpaceX President Gwynn Shotwell is confident that SpaceX can pull it off. She previously said that SpaceX’s Mars efforts could be at least partially funded by other verticals like SpaceX’s Starlink satellite Internet service, which currently has a waitlist with hundreds of thousands of people and demonstrated its ability to function in disaster zones and regions that don’t normally get good, affordable Internet service.

Starlink could bring in billions of revenue that SpaceX can use to fund its efforts to develop rockets capable of launching large payloads and people to Mars.

Crew-3 Returns Home from International Space Station

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

The Crew-3 mission returned home after a six-month mission on the International Space Station on May 6, 2022. This marked the end of an unusually busy period for the space station that included a visit from the Axiom-1 mission that was extended to a total of 15 days due to poor weather at the landing site. The Crew-4 mission launched on the brand-new Crew Dragon spacecraft now bearing the name of “Freedom” on April 27, 2022, marking an overlap between the Crew-3 and Crew-4 missions during a routine handover period on the International Space Station.

The Crew-3 crew included NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer. The Crew Dragon “Endurance” splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico shortly after midnight on Friday morning.

“Thanks for letting us take Endurance on a shakedown cruise,” said Raja Chari.

The end of the Crew-3 mission marks four successful crewed flights for SpaceX’s Commercial Crew contract with NASA and SpaceX’s sixth crewed mission overall. Axiom-1 was the first privately organized crewed flight to the International Space Station as part of Axiom Space’s preparations to add inflatable modules to the station as early as 2024.

Inspiration4 conducted a completely separate civilian flight on one of SpaceX’s Crew Dragons as part of a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Inspiration4 organizer Jared Isaacman plans to continue his foray into space by commanding the Polaris Dawn mission, which could be the first to test SpaceX’s spacesuit model.

SpaceX’s busy week also included launching more Starlink satellites into orbit on April 29 and again on May 6 – the same day that Crew-3 returned. Starlink’s satellite Internet service notably gained attention when SpaceX sent terminals to Ukraine and did such a good job of beefing up Starlink’s ability to resist jamming that the U.S. Pentagon noticed.

SpaceX became the first aerospace company to launch crews to the International Space Station under NASA’s Commercial Crew program. Competitor Boeing is still working out some technical issues with the Starliner. It faced a near-disastrous maiden flight that led to NASA conducting a safety review and determining that Boeing had cut several corners while preparing for the flight. Since then, the Starliner faced a long series of technical problems that kept pushing back its second test flight. The most recent issue apparently involved a protective window cover falling off the Starliner while it was in transit to the launchpad.

Despite the issues, Boeing expects to “take turns” with SpaceX with launching astronauts to the space station when it gets Starliner up and running. NASA compensated for the delays in the Starliner by extending its Commercial Crew contract with SpaceX and transferring some astronauts from the Starliner to the Crew Dragon.

SpaceX shattered the Russian monopoly on crewed spaceflight that existed since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 and saves NASA millions of dollars per seat on the Crew Dragon compared to the Russian Soyuz. Russia has expressed its frustration during times of diplomatic tension by referring to American space efforts as “trampolines” and “broomsticks” – earning the occasional characteristically sharp retort from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Space

SpaceX, NASA Launch Crew-4 Mission

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX and NASA launched the Crew-4 mission early Wednesday morning, Florida time. The Crew Dragon docked with the International Space Station several hours later. This is the fifth crewed mission of NASA’s Commercial Crew program and SpaceX’s seventh crewed mission overall.

The crew includes NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Jessica Watkins and Robert Hines and ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. Lindgren and Cristoforetti have visited the International Space Station before. This is the first flight for Watkins and Hines.

This is the first flight of their Crew Dragon, which they named “Freedom.” The name is a reference of the United States’ first crewed spaceflight, in which Alan Shepard spent 15 minute on a suborbital mission on the Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7.

Freedom 7 currently resides at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The Freedom Crew Dragon is reusable with a little refurbishment and may not end up in a museum anytime soon.

The Crew Dragon Freedom is much more spacious than the cramped Mercury spacecraft and can carry up to seven passengers. So far, the Crew Dragons have only carried up to four passengers.

NASA and SpaceX initially pushed back the launch of Crew-4 to accommodate the Axiom-1 (AX-1) mission. AX-1 journeyed to the International Space Station on another of SpaceX’s four Crew Dragons to make initial preparations for the arrival of Axiom Space’s inflatable modules. Its return to Earth had been delayed due to bad weather in its target landing zone. AX-1 finally returned to Earth on April 25, 2022, after 15 days in space.

This made room for Crew-4, which will spend the next six months on the International Space Station as part of Expedition 67. According to NASA, they will spend their time conducting valuable research, especially in the medical sciences.

Planned experiments include the manufacture of artificial retinas in microgravity, which could be valuable for astronauts on long-duration missions. Astronauts frequently suffer degradation to their vision during missions that could last six months or even longer. The research may also lead to practical applications that help people on Earth that suffer vision issues related to their retinas.

Expedition 67 will also test aging of the immune system in microgravity. The immune system seems to “age” faster in microgravity. This experiment will study the role that stem cells and a form of white blood cell known as T cells play in this process.

These are just two of the more than 200 experiments that Expedition 67 will conduct during their six months on the International Space Station.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is part of its efforts to develop partnerships with private aerospace companies like SpaceX. Its efforts help incubate development of technologies that will be owned by the companies that create them.

NASA can effectively “rent” these technologies on an as-needed basis and the companies can use them for private applications. SpaceX has used the same Crew Dragons for its Commercial Crew contract and private missions like Axiom-1 and Inspiration4, for instance.

SpaceX has said that it won’t manufacture any more of the current generation of Crew Dragons, though it will still make parts to enable maintaining its current fleet. This does not rule out the possibility that it could manufacture more Crew Dragons if it needs to. However, it believed that four operational and reusable Crew Dragons will be enough to meet current demand now that Crew-4 and the “Freedom” Crew Dragon have launched and docked with the International Space Station.

Space

Axiom-1 Splashes Down After Extended Mission

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Axiom-1 splashed down just off the Floridian coast after spending over two weeks in space. The Axiom-1 crew initially planned to spend ten days in space, making initial preparations for the arrival of Axiom Space’s planned inflatable modules.

Axiom-1 (AX-1) initially launched on April 8. The crew expected to spend eight days docked to the International Space Station. However, their return got repeatedly delayed due to poor weather at the splashdown zone. They ended up spending 15 days on the space station and 17 days in space.

Crew members included experienced astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who previously served on three space shuttle missions and as the commander of the International Space Station’s Expedition 14.

The remaining crew members all saw their first time in space during this flight. They included entrepreneur and activist-investor Larry Connor as pilot and Israeli Air Force pilot Eytan Stibbe and investor Mark Pathy as mission specialists.

Axiom Space has an agreement with NASA to add some inflatable modules to the International Space Station. The modules will eventually be spun off and connected with additional modules to become one of the first privately owned space stations.

Axiom Space recently expanded its agreement with SpaceX to launch a total of four crews to the International Space Station. The next one, Axiom-2 will be commanded by another experienced astronaut, Peggy Whitson, who will be making a return to the station. She already accumulated more than 665 days in space, including three increments on the International Space Station.

Most of the Axiom missions include scientific research along with preparations for the new modules. Axiom-1 included two dozen experiments, including work on air purification system, cancer research, and self-assembling robots. MIT organized the robotic experiment, which included seven tiles running on Raspberry Pi that could assemble themselves in different configurations.

Axiom-2’s experiments will include work on single-cell genomics for a company called 10X Genomics.

Axiom Space plans to complete the series of four flights by the end of 2023 and launch the first inflatable modules as early as 2024. NASA and its international partners plan to retire the International Space Station at the end of 2031, at which point Axiom Space will be ready to spin off its modules into its own space station.

NASA plans to rent space on Axiom Space’s future space station and similar privately owned space stations as part of its push to partner with private industry. This will enable it to ramp up work on its own future space station, the Lunar Gateway. It plans to launch the first modules for the Lunar Gateway on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy as early as May 2024.

Technology

Twitter, Elon Musk Hash Out Buyout of Social Media Platform

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Twitter’s Board of Directors and representatives of Elon Musk reportedly worked through the night to hash out the details of Musk’s proposed acquisition of Twitter at $54.20 per share. If the sale goes through, it could be worth $43 billion.

According to the latest from Bloomberg, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the deal worth nearly $44 billion.

Musk’s proposed acquisition of Twitter proved highly controversial among Twitter employees, the media, and the public. Some employees quit and others reported elevations in their stress levels, with many expressing reluctance to effectively work for Elon Musk.

Many people say to create your own social media platform if you don’t like mainstream platforms like Twitter and Facebook. However, Trump’s failure with the “Truth Social” platform may show how difficult that is. Musk may have simply decided that it would be easier, if expensive and controversial, to acquire Twitter.

Some people expressed concern that Elon Musk could order the restoration of Donald Trump’s Twitter account. Trump’s account had been suspended in the wake of the January 6, 2021, riot that took over the U.S. Capitol building for several hours.

Musk hasn’t directly said that he will restore Trump’s account even though he called himself a “free speech absolutist” in the wake of calls to block access to Russian websites through Starlink. (He didn’t block the sites.)

Politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene celebrated early, saying that some permanently suspended accounts could be restored. It’s still uncertain whether they might be celebrating too early though.

Bloomberg took a slightly different take by suggesting that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter could provide the final death blow to Trump’s “Truth Social” platform. However, a considerable percentage of media outlets weren’t fans.

“Elon Musk Should Have Been Stopped Long Before He Came to Twitter” screamed a Time headline — yes, the same Time Magazine that named Elon Musk its Person of the Year in December 2021.

Elon Musk kicked off the saga by acquiring a slightly more than 9% stake in Twitter. He followed that up with his $43 billion bid to acquire Twitter and showed that he was serious by pinning down as much as $46 billion in funding to secure the deal.

The board of directors offered him a seat at the table. Musk seemed amenable at first, but backtracked when he realized that it came with conditions that would have limited his influence.

Twitter’s board fought back with what was called a “poison pill” — rejecting the bid without consulting shareholders. The “poison pill” would have made it possible for other shareholders to acquire additional shares at a reduced price if Musk acquired more than a 15% stake.

However, the board of directors appears to have backtracked, likely due to feedback from shareholders who may realize that they aren’t likely to receive a better deal. Issues include declining revenue due to a reduced number of human eyeballs on the site despite the millions of active accounts. Many of those accounts may really be bots.

Musk’s stated goals for Twitter include improving “free speech” on the platform by reducing moderation of political viewpoints and eliminating spambots — many of which spread crypto scams.

Crypto scams have been especially irksome, especially in the wake of several prominent accounts belonging to the likes of Musk, Bill Gates, and Barack Obama getting hacked to spread a crypto scam that stole millions of dollars from people who fell for it. The alleged culprits, two Florida residents and a UK resident, were arrested on charges related to the scam.

Technology

SpaceX Signs Deal With Charter Plane Service to Provide In-Flight Internet

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX previously floated the idea of providing in-flight Internet service to airlines through Starlink. Now it signed a contract with charter plane service JSX to equip 100 of JSX’s planes with a specialized terminal designed for rapidly moving airplanes.

One perk of the deal is that it won’t require passengers to jump through hoops to access the Internet while in flight. JSX says it won’t require passengers to log into the network like many venues with free Wi-Fi do. This will make the system more convenient for business customers who would like to do some work while flying.

“The service will be offered to all JSX customers at no charge, and will not require logging in or other complexities associated with legacy systems,” JSX said in a statement announcing the deal.

JSX turned down a request for information on how much the deal was worth. SpaceX charges a $99 per month subscription fee for individual users and recently announced a $499 per month subscription plan for businesses. It advertises Starlink as a viable option for low-income or remote areas that don’t have many good options for Internet access (and did float the idea of a lower cost subscription plan for low-income users in an FCC filing).

SpaceX is also in talks with several other airlines to provide in-flight Internet access through a specialized Starlink terminal that can be mounted on an airplane and quickly transition from one satellite to another as the plane flies long-distance. This would be similar to how cell phone towers can relay your cell phone’s connection from one tower to the next as you go on a long-distance road trip.

Delta Airlines is currently conducting an “exploratory test” of in-flight Internet service that it hopes will attract more business customers.

Elon Musk mentioned that regulatory approval from the FAA would likely be a “schedule driver” for Starlink’s in-flight Internet service. Musk frequently clashes with regulatory agencies like the FAA, which repeatedly pushed back a decision on SpaceX’s application for a planned orbital test for Starship. He once referred to the FAA as being better suited to regulating airlines than dealing with space launch providers like SpaceX.

SpaceX is also working on a Starlink terminal for large vehicles like RVs, buses, trains, and ships. It says this version of the terminal will be suitable for applications in which mobility and reliable connectivity are essential, such as response to disasters in which other forms of communications were disrupted or traveling long-distance on a train. However, Starlink terminals are not suitable for mounting on the hood of your car.

JSX operates charter flights that frequently fly business customers from one major city to another in the western United States. Its jet planes can seat up to 30 passengers. Its selling points include quicker check-ins at the airport and a valet service.

U.S. Pentagon Praises Starlink’s Resistance to Jamming, Hacking Attempts

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In February 2022, SpaceX sent Starlink terminals to Ukraine and activated its satellite Internet service for the country. In March 2022, it beefed up Starlink’s ability to resist jamming attempts. Now the U.S. Pentagon has praised Starlink’s ability to resist Russia’s jamming and hacking attempts.

Russia had disrupted other forms of communication during its invasion of Ukraine. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded to Ukrainian President Mykhailo Fedorov’s request for help on Twitter.

Fedorov later put out a call for technological help to create a worldwide “IT Army” to help with the cyber component of its defense against Russia.

Office of the Secretary of Defense Director of Electronic Warfare Dave Tremper praised the speed at which Starlink’s tech team responded to Russia’s attacks.

Tremper called Starlink’s fast response to threats an “interesting case study” in responding to cybersecurity threats in real-time.

“Starlink had slung a line of code and had fixed it and suddenly that [line of attack] was not effective anymore,” he said at the C4ISRNet defense and military conference.

He said the Pentagon could use that kind of agility in cyber defense. A considerable amount of the modern U.S. military’s capacity depends on cyber technologies and space-based capabilities like GPS.

Cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the United States could impact not only the military’s digital and space-based assets, but also infrastructure in the United States. Massive ransomware attacks include the infamous Colonial Pipeline hack, which compromised the United States’ ability to distribute gasoline along the east coast. As part of the response to the attack, the Department of Homeland Security tightened cybersecurity requirements for pipeline operators.

Ransomware also targeted hospitals, major chemical and computer manufacturers, food processing plants, and IT infrastructure management firms.

SpaceX did refuse to block Russian propaganda sites like RT.com and Sputnik. The reason? Elon Musk referred to himself as a “free speech absolutist” – possibly foreshadowing his current efforts to take over Twitter even in the face of opposition from Twitter’s board of directors.

The shadowy hacktivist group Anonymous picked up the slack by briefly nuking Russian sites with DDoS attacks or hacking them and editing the websites to warn Russian audiences that the Russian government was using those sites to lie to them.

Long before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine even started, its ruling body, the Duma, proposed a fine of up to $30,000 for individuals using Western satellite Internet services like Starlink. More recently, the European response to the invasion forced the ESA to scrub plans to launch the ExoMars probe on a Soyuz rocket. The ESA said it was looking for an alternative.

The current international environment also forced OneWeb to switch from launching some of its own Internet satellites on a Soyuz to tapping SpaceX for the job. SpaceX essentially said it would be happy to despite previous scraps between the two competitors.

SpaceX didn’t miss a beat when demonstrating Starlink’s ability to help in a crisis like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It even impressed the Pentagon with its ability to respond to Russian attempts to jam its satellites’ signals or even hack the satellites.

Space

Amazon’s Project Kuiper, SpaceX’s Starlink Snag NASA Contracts

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

NASA awarded contracts to Amazon’s Project Kuiper and SpaceX’s Starlink to demonstrate communications in space. Project Kuiper received a $67 million contract and SpaceX received $70 million.

NASA also awarded contracts to Inmarsat, SES, Telesat, and ViaSat. Each satellite Internet service provider received a cut of $278.5 million in awards.

NASA currently communicates with spacecraft, including its robotic probes, through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite network or the Deep Space Network during its missions. It aims to upgrade its communications capacity and provide incentives for development of privately owned space-based communications networks with these contracts.

It expects Project Kuiper and Starlink to complete their demonstrations by 2025. Starlink has a head start with about 2,000 functional Starlink satellites in orbit out of a planned 30,000-satellite constellation. Project Kuiper plans to launch a constellation of 3,000 Internet satellites, though it hasn’t launched any satellites so far.

Like many of Starlink’s competitors, Project Kuiper has scrapped with Starlink in the past with regulators acting as referees. It filed a challenge to Starlink’s application to the FCC to launch upgraded Starlink satellites. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has occasionally expressed annoyance with competitors like Project Kuiper and ViaSat who file regulatory challenges related to the FCC’s approval of Starlink-related licenses.

In the wake of the awards, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticized both Elon Musk and rival Jeff Bezos for, as he put it, treating NASA like “an ATM machine to fuel a space race” between the two wealthiest people on the planet. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin famously filed complaints with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and a lawsuit in the wake of losing a lucrative contract to develop and build a lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis Program to SpaceX. Both the GAO and a federal judge dismissed the complaints. Although Bezos left his position as Amazon’s CEO, he likely still owns a large stake and controls Project Kuiper.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX, however, has been hyperfocused on launching rockets – again, with only the expected annoyed noises from Musk over Bezos trying to slow him down with complaints and lawsuits. (And, yes, Elon Musk does care about where his rockets come down. He prefers to land them on his automated barges so he can use them again!)

SpaceX is currently preparing for the launch of Crew-4, which was pushed back to April 27 due to a delay in the departure of the privately organized AX-1 mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX and NASA have already conducted four successful crewed missions on the Crew Dragon as part of SpaceX’s Commercial Crew contract.

The AX-1 mission launched on April 8, 2022, in what was originally planned as a 10-day mission. However, its return was delayed due to issues like poor weather in the planned landing zone.

Despite Musk’s occasional complaints about the shenanigans of competitors, he said that SpaceX would get the job done when OneWeb approached SpaceX about launching some of its Internet satellites. OneWeb had originally planned to launch the satellites on a Russian Soyuz but had to change its plans due to Europe’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Space

French Court Revokes Starlink Internet License

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

A French administrative court revoked Starlink’s Internet license, citing concerns that it could create a monopoly in one or more sectors of France’s economy.

French telecom regulator Arcep granted the license in February 2021. The court ruled that it had done so without the required public consultation.

Two French environmentalist groups backed the appeal to the highest administrative court, citing concerns about light pollution, space debris, and human health. Astronomers had previously complained that the thousands of Starlink satellites that SpaceX plans to launch could interfere with readings from ground-based telescopes by reflecting light from the sun.

The administrative court, however, ignored the environmentalists’ arguments when making its ruling, instead focusing on SpaceX’s business model. It launches satellites on its own rockets, manufactures both the satellites and the rockets in-house, and provides telecommunication services from the satellites it operates.

The administrative court’s ruling may hurt French residents who don’t have many good options for Internet access. This aspiring homesteader, who lives in the Pyrenees, says he previously got 2 Mbps download speed and 0.2 Mbps upload speed before he got Starlink. Starlink’s speeds keep improving with every successful launch of new satellites and is now comparable to “traditional” broadband.

Competing launch services in Europe include ArianeSpace, which manufactures rockets for launching payloads for customers based in Europe. It is best known for the Ariane 5 rocket, which can launch satellites into a geostationary orbit. It also coordinates the launch of Soyuz rockets from a spaceport in French Guinea, with the Russian Federal Space Agency listed as a prime supplier. ArianeSpace recently signed a contract with Amazon’s Project Kuiper to launch some of Project Kuiper’s Internet service satellites.

Competing satellite Internet service providers include OneWeb, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, and ViaSat, all of which have gotten into it with SpaceX before – usually in the form of filing regulatory challenges and court cases involving licenses that the FCC granted to SpaceX to launch Starlink satellites.

OneWeb previously claimed that a Starlink satellite nearly collided with a OneWeb satellite that was being launched (which SpaceX denied), but recently signed a contract with SpaceX to have some of its satellites launched on a Falcon 9 in the wake with recent diplomatic tensions with Russia. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said only that SpaceX would do right by OneWeb like it would for any other buyer of its launch services.

The administrative court’s ruling means that Arcep will have to revisit SpaceX’s licensing application. Arcep defended the decision it made in February 2021, saying, “[T]he day the authorization was awarded, other satellite superfast broadband plans were already available, whose users number in the tens of thousands, amongst the more than 17 million superfast broadband subscribers in France.”

An anonymous source who is familiar with the matter says that Arcep will probably re-approve SpaceX’s application to operate Starlink in France, likely with additional conditions. The conditions will likely include not monopolizing near-Earth orbits or interfering with radio transmissions sent and received by other satellites.

Starlink currently has nearly 2,000 operational satellites out of a planned constellation of about 30,000. SpaceX recently brought Starlink out of the “Better than Nothing Beta” and is currently working on getting licensing in several countries, including India and (now) France. SpaceX previously floated the idea of adding telephone service to Starlink and a lower-cost plan for low-income customers. Now the Dogecoin Foundation has floated the idea of using Starlink’s radio capacity for offline Dogecoin transactions.

Dogecoin to Use Starlink for Offline Transactions

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

The backers of Elon Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, announced that it will use Starlink for “offline” transactions. The Dogecoin Foundation published a blog post describing a protocol called RadioDoge, which will use radio frequencies and Starlink to enable Dogecoin transactions even when the user isn’t connected to the Internet.

The Dogecoin Foundation says RadioDoge can help remote communities that lack financial and Internet infrastructure and are often exploited by unscrupulous dealers. A report published by the World Bank indicates that the number of “unbanked” people dropped from 2.5 billion in 2014 to 1.7 billion in 2017. “Unbanked” individuals is even an issue in developed countries like the United States, which as the below video shows, even attracted some attention from U.S. politicians recently.

Unbanked people lack access to the mainstream financial system for a variety of reasons, including financial institutions’ reluctance to make loans to impoverished people or small- or mid-sized businesses in some areas. In some parts of the world, women are 9% less likely to have their own bank account than men are. KYC/AML regulations may also block some people from opening accounts if they lack appropriate identification.

The World Bank estimates that one billion people lack a way to establish their identities – likely adding to the problem of disadvantaged populations lacking access to financial services. People who lack proper identification cannot pass the KYC/AML checks required by financial regulations. Attempts to solve the problem include meeting with leaders in Africa, where it estimates that half of the people who lack proper identification reside.

However, most adults in the developed world – and even a significant percentage of adults in the developing world – have smart phones and could use a digital currency wallet if only they could connect to the Internet. Starlink’s Internet service is already capable of covering most of the world with its thousands of operational satellites.

The difficulty, however, is that many people who lack reliable access to high-speed Internet may not be able to afford the upfront fee for a Starlink kit and the $99 per month subscription fee. SpaceX has worked with some Native American communities, at least one school district, and the governments of Chile and Brazil to bring the Internet to remote or disadvantaged populations. However, it can only go so far, especially in countries where it may not even have a license to operate yet.

The Dogecoin Foundation aims to solve this problem by purely using Starlink’s raw capacity for radio communications. It’s already working on laying the software-related groundwork for projects like RadioDoge with Libdogecoin, which will provide a programming library for future Dogecoin-related projects.

Early tests of the groundwork for RadioDoge proved promising.  They say that, if things go smoothly, they can start working on partnerships to roll out RadioDoge to remote or impoverished communities that have lacked access to the mainstream economy.

Longtime cryptocurrency supporters say that crypto in its pure form could help impoverished communities by “working around” the mainstream financial industry’s reluctance to invest in them and cumbersome regulations that make it difficult for them to access traditional financial services.

Migrant workers sending money across international borders to their families also face the prospect of high fees and slow transaction times when they use traditional remittance services like Western Union. Attempts to solve this problem includes El Salvador’s attempts to create a system in which El Salvadorean migrants in the United States can send money home more cheaply as part of its (admittedly flawed) rollout of bitcoin as legal tender. Private attempts to use crypto for cheaper remittances include Coco Pago, which created an app that migrants from majority Spanish speaking countries can use to send money home.

The Dogecoin Foundation is pushing to solve the technical issues involved in including the unbanked in the global economy, including creating a way to use radio frequencies to bounce Dogecoin transactions off Starlink satellites.

Technology

Judge Reduces “Excessive” Award in Case Against Tesla

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

US District Judge William Orrick reduced a $137 million award to former Tesla elevator operator Owen Diaz to $15 million. Diaz alleged in his lawsuit that Tesla had ignored racial abuse and discrimination at the factory in Fremont, California.

Orrick called the $137 million award “excessive,” though he rejected Tesla’s bid to reduce the award even further to $300,000. He warned that the $137 million award could trigger a new trial through potential constitutional issues.

 Diaz described daily abuse that included racial epithets and abusive graffiti scrawled on bathroom walls. He says other workers at the Fremont factory also told him to “go back to Africa.” Diaz alleged that Tesla supervisors failed to address the issue and it caused psychological issues that led to weight loss and sleepless nights.

A member of Diaz’ legal team, Bernard Alexander, told Reuters that “the award of $15 million is substantial but does not come close to reflecting the harm caused to Mr. Diaz, or the reprehensibility of Tesla’s conduct.”

Tesla denies the allegations. It says it investigated complaints of racism and terminated at least three employees, though it didn’t say which employees were fired due to potential privacy issues. While making his ruling, Orrick called Tesla’s version of events “watered down revisionism.”

Tesla paid a $1 million ruling to another former employee, Melvin Berry, who alleged similar racial abuse from a supervisor. The company also faces a class-action lawsuit alleging racial abuse at its factories dating back to 2015.

Tesla employees in New York filed complaints with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the New York Division of Human Rights, alleging similar harassment of minorities. California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Tesla alleging discriminatory behavior, harassment, and maintaining a racially segregated facility.

Tesla is also fighting a lawsuit alleging that it retaliated against an employee who reported theft at the battery manufacturing plant at Reno, Nevada. The employee alleges that Tesla attempted to hide theft of pallets of copper from the media and investors.

Other legal flaps involving former employees include a Tesla victory in a lawsuit in which it alleged that Martin Tripp leaked sensitive information to the press. Tripp didn’t deny that he leaked the information but said it was justified due to alleged safety issues at Tesla factories. However, a jury ruled that Tripp violated Nevada’s computer crime laws by leaking the information.

Tesla also settled a lawsuit with a former employee who allegedly handed files related to the Autopilot driver assist program over to XMotors. XMotors said it won’t use Tesla’s intellectual property.

Technology

Elon Musk Makes Offer to Privatize Twitter

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Last week, Elon Musk’s regulatory filings with the SEC revealed that he bought a slightly over 9% stake in Twitter. According to a recent SEC filing, he has now made an offer to privatize Twitter at $54.20 per share.

Musk seemed okay with allowing some shareholders to keep their stake in Twitter if he can get enough shareholders to take him up on the offer. He also proposed that taking Twitter private should be entirely up to the shareholders, not the board of directors.

Some shareholders may not bite. Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talel, Chairman of the Board for Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), said that $54.20 per share was lower than Twitter’s intrinsic value. KHC holds a 5.2% stake in Twitter.

Out of Twitter’s current major shareholders, only Vanguard Group has a bigger stake than Elon Musk does with a 10.29% stake.

Investors, media outlets, and activists expressed concern about Musk’s takeover attempt. He has expressed support for “free speech” and his move might have been sparked by Twitter’s alleged censorship of some political opinions.

Some of the critics said that Musk might give Donald Trump his Twitter account back even though Musk hasn’t stated that he plans to. Donald Trump’s Twitter account was suspended soon after the January 6 riot in which Trump supporters attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Others cited Musk’s ongoing disputes with the SEC. Last year, the SEC warned Musk that his tweets allegedly violated an earlier settlement of charges that he manipulated Tesla’s price by saying that he could take Tesla private. At least one Tesla investor also filed a lawsuit claiming that Musk and Tesla ignored the settlement’s requirement to retain an attorney to vet Musk’s tweets. Tesla regards Musk’s tweets as official communications.

Additional problems include at least one hacking ring that uses a social engineering attack to gain access to the Twitter accounts belonging to Musk and several other prominent individuals like Barack Obama and Bill Gates. They used their access to spread cryptocurrency-themed scams. Investigation into the massive hack and fraud led to the arrests of three individuals living in Florida and the UK.

Some investors have already filed a lawsuit alleging that Musk delayed a required regulatory disclosure regarding the size of his stake in Twitter.

After his stake became public information, Twitter had made an offer to give Musk a seat on its board of directors. Musk seemed amenable to that idea at first, but later backtracked.

Musk has floated the idea of turning Twitter’s headquarters into a homeless shelter, complaining that “nobody shows up anyway.” Some employees have already quit, apparently reluctant to work for Elon Musk.

If Musk’s plan to privatize Twitter goes through, he will spend $43 billion in cash on the deal. It’s unclear whether he will fund it with a loan or sell Tesla stock to raise the cash. According to Forbes, he is currently the wealthiest person on the planet with a net worth of over $260 billion as of April 14 — even allowing for the amount of Tesla stock he has put up as collateral for loans. He could do it.

Technology

Tesla Opens Gigafactory Austin

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla opened Gigafactory Austin with a big party that Elon Musk named the “Cyber Rodeo.” The event had 15,000 attendees, live music, and food, and of course a dramatic show by Elon Musk.

Although invitations and tickets were issued, Musk said they wouldn’t keep close track at the door. It could have been possible for someone to crash the party.

During the event, Musk announced that Tesla planned to start manufacturing the Cybertruck in 2023. “I can’t wait to see this baby in production,” he said.

Musk also hinted that he hasn’t given up on the Roadster or his concept of Robotaxis. He said a Robotaxi would look “quite futuristic” but didn’t elaborate with any details.

Gigafactory Austin will also produce Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, along with the highly anticipated Tesla Semi. Corporations like Walmart Canada have already placed large pre-orders for the Semi as part of their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.

Tesla plans to hire 5,000 people at Gigafactory Austin to start with. It previously planned to hire as many as 10,000 people once its full manufacturing capacity is in place. Open positions can be found on Tesla’s careers page.

Tesla also has a Gigafactory in Fremont, California, a battery factory near Reno, Nevada, and a solar panel manufacturing facility near Buffalo, New York. It recently moved its company headquarters from California to Texas amid Elon Musk’s dispute with California over the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Tesla doesn’t seem to have completely given up on California and broke ground on a battery manufacturing facility near its Fremont factory last year – after the state government declared Tesla an essential business that can continue operations. It also has plans to develop a virtual power plant through which owners can contribute power from their Powerwall batteries to the power grid in California. It already reported success with a similar virtual power plant in Australia along with proposing an expansion of sustainable energy capacity to the Australian government.

Even without Musk’s sparring with Californian government officials, Tesla has needed to increase its manufacturing capacity amid setting a string of company quarterly records for deliveries. Previous temporary attempts to increase manufacturing capacity includes putting up a tent at its Fremont factory to meet manufacturing goals for the Model 3 in 2018. Tesla famously came close to bankruptcy due to a two-year stretch from mid-2017 to mid-2019 during which it faced challenges with manufacturing the Model 3.

However, Musk has developed a reputation for bringing a company back from the brink of bankruptcy. Tesla delivered 310,048 vehicles worldwide in Q1 2022 and projects that it could produce as many as 1.5 million vehicles by the end of 2022.

Tesla also recently opened Gigafactory Berlin despite frustrations with regulatory red tape and legal wrangling with environmentalists that delayed its opening by several months. Gigafactory Berlin will likely reduce Tesla’s dependence on Gigafactory Shanghai for production of electric vehicles for the European market. The company recently had to suspend operations at Gigafactory Shanghai due to the local government’s response to an upswing in COVID-19 cases.

Space

Axiom Space, SpaceX Launch Axiom-1 Mission

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Axiom Space and SpaceX successfully launched the Axiom-1 (AX-1) mission, which is now on its way to the International Space Station.

This is the first of Axiom Space’s four planned flights to the International Space Station. The AX-1 crew includes mission commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, whose previous spaceflight experience includes three Space Shuttle missions and serving as commander of the International Space Station’s Expedition 14 crew.

The Axiom-1 crew also includes entrepreneur and activist-investor Larry Connor as pilot, as well as Israeli Air Force pilot Eytan Stibbe and investor Mark Pathy as mission specialists.

The Axiom-1 mission will dock with the International Space Station on the morning of April 9 and spend eight days conducting onboard experiments and making initial preparations for Axiom Space’s planned launch of inflatable modules for the International Space Station. The Axiom-1 crew will spend a total of 10 days in orbit.

The inflatable modules will eventually spin off into an independent space station that can operate separately for the International Space Station. Axiom Space expects to have its Axiom Station completed and potentially capable of replacing the International Space Station by 2028.

Other aerospace companies with their own space stations in development include Nanoracks, Northrop Grumman, and Blue Origin. NASA says it will rent space on the privately owned space stations as needed once the International Space Station is retired. This continues its goals of developing technology for future spaceflights and partnerships with private aerospace companies through programs like the Commercial Crew Program, for which SpaceX is preparing to launch Crew-4 later this month.

NASA currently focuses on developing and building the Lunar Gateway station and has awarded a contract to launch the first components of the Gateway to SpaceX. Some current ISS partners will contribute components like Canada’s signature “Canadarm” line of robotic arms. Canada’s contribution to the Lunar Gateway will be called Canadarm3, a successor to the ISS’ Canadarm2. The Lunar Gateway will help enable sustained exploration of the lunar surface.

The International Space Station’s current Expedition 67 includes seven crew members from the U.S., Russia, and Europe. The addition of AX-1’s astronauts will temporarily bring the total number of people on the space station up to eleven.

Another experienced astronaut, Peggy Whitson, will command the Axiom-2 mission. She previously served three increments on the International Space Station, became the station’s first official science officer, and commanded Expedition 16. She also served as the chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office.

Technology

Elon Musk Buys 9.2% Stake in Twitter

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Elon Musk bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter after running a Twitter poll in which he asked his followers if they believed Twitter supported the concept that free speech is vital to a democracy. 70.4% of respondents voted “No.”

“The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully,” he said in a follow-up tweet.

After the poll closed, Musk floated the idea of creating his own social media platform. The downside of such a thing is that it can be notoriously difficult for an alternative social media platform to gain traction. Some platforms, such as Gab.com and Minds.com, can easily become seen as echo chambers from right-wingers who worry about being banned from Twitter.

Both Facebook and Twitter have often been accused of censoring content based on political views rather than simply offering a level playing field for discussion. Minds.com had this to say:

Elon Musk appears to have had more run-ins with regulators than with Twitter’s algorithms over his tweets. In 2018, he reached a settlement with the SEC over an old tweet in which he considered taking Tesla private. (He has since admitted that taking Tesla private would be impossible.) The SEC has since repeatedly investigated a couple of Musk’s tweets, which regulators said violated the settlement and may have manipulated Tesla’s price. Even at least one Tesla investor alleged that Tesla failed to hire a lawyer who could control Musk’s tweeting in a lawsuit.

Elon Musk’s clout on Twitter even before his purchase of the 9.2% Twitter stake could be a factor. He has 80 million followers. Although he has made several ill-considered tweets even outside of his tweeting about Tesla’s stock, Twitter may be following the same pattern with Musk as it followed with Donald Trump. Twitter had refused to suspend Trump until after the January 6, 2021, riot that briefly took over the U.S. Capitol despite numerous calls to do so.

On the flip side, Twitter has suspended several accounts with less clout for simply expressing an opinion.

Although some people replying to Musk’s tweet did accuse him of hypocrisy due to his firing of an employee who published video of Tesla’s internal Full Self-Driving software tests, others floated the possibility that the employee had violated an NDA by leaking sensitive information.

Elon Musk has often been critical of Silicon Valley and its Big Tech companies. He posted a meme comparing current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal to Joseph Stalin soon after Jack Dorsey stepped down, leaving Agrawal in charge.

“It looks like [Musk] has his eyes laser set on Twitter,” said Dan Ives, a Wedbush analyst, soon after news of Elon Musk’s acquisition of a 9.2% Twitter stake broke.

Musk reportedly spent $3 billion on his acquisition of the Twitter stake, which is reportedly the largest by a single Twitter shareholder. Twitter stock surged 27% in intraday trading when the news broke. Given his previous statements, it’s likely that he aims to gain more direct control over a major social media platform.

And even if his $3 billion bet on successfully reforming Twitter fails, it will likely be a drop in the bucket. He surged past aerospace rival Jeff Bezos for Forbes’ top slot as Earth’s richest man months ago.

Technology

Tesla Suspends Manufacturing at Chinese Gigafactory

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla suspended manufacturing at Gigafactory Shanghai for a week amid the region’s response to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Shanghai implemented a two-stage lockdown to handle the surge.

Tesla had planned to resume manufacturing on Friday but decided to wait an additional couple of days. Shanghai has not yet approved Tesla’s trucks to deliver vehicles to deliver vehicles to the western part of the city. Officials have locked down the parts of the city west of the river. Tesla employees in Shanghai may be impacted by lockdowns of housing complexes in that part of the city, which would make it difficult for them to report to work.

Tesla relies on Gigafactory Shanghai to manufacture Model 3 and Model Y vehicles for the Chinese and European markets. German regulators recently approved the opening of Gigafactory Berlin, which will likely reduce Tesla’s reliance on the Chinese Gigafactory for exports to the European market.

CEO Elon Musk was recently seen dancing during Gigafactory Berlin’s grand opening. His celebratory mood may be justified, considering that regulatory red tape and challenges from environmentalists (along with one case of arson) caused months of delays in the Gigafactory’s opening.

Elon Musk previously fought back against California’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it overly authoritarian. Tesla has factories in the Fremont area but moved its headquarters to Texas. The company is also building a Gigafactory in the Austin area, where it will eventually manufacture the Cybertruck and Tesla Semi. Several corporations like Walmart Canada have place large pre-orders for Tesla Semis as part of their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.

Musk also moved to Texas and sold his homes in California, though he expressed reluctance to part with a home formerly belonging to actor Gene Wilder.

Musk himself caught COVID-19 twice, though with his most recent infection, he says it’s a mild case. The first time, he questioned the reliability of the “fast” version of the test. Some SpaceX employees have also reportedly caught COVID-19.

California has since declared Tesla an essential business whose factories can remain open. Tesla is currently building a battery manufacturing factory in the Fremont area.

Tesla is taking a different approach in China, saying only that it will cooperate with its COVID-19 policies. It hasn’t said exactly when it will resume manufacturing at Gigafactory Shanghai.

The Chinese government previously banned Tesla vehicle owners from parking their vehicles at government facilities over espionage concerns despite Tesla’s denial that its cameras are active in the country. Tesla built a datacenter in China to address some of the government’s concerns.

Tesla has floated the possibility of expanding its presence in other Asian countries like India, where it considered building factories to get around taxes on the import of electric vehicles. Auto parts manufacturers in India have requested that Tesla consider sourcing its parts in the country if it does. This could further reduce Tesla’s reliance on China for manufacturing vehicles for the international market.

Space

NASA Exercises Option to Add SpaceX’s Human Landing System to Artemis III

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

In April 2021, NASA selected SpaceX to continue work on developing its proposed Human Landing System for the Artemis Program. NASA announced that it is exercising an option in the original award to add SpaceX’s Human Landing System to the first crewed lunar landing of the Artemis Program, Artemis III.

NASA also announced that it will invite other aerospace companies to submit proposals for lunar landers capable of carrying astronauts between lunar orbit and specific locations on the lunar surface. The lunar landers will have to be capable of docking with the upcoming station that will orbit the Moon. NASA expects to develop the second lunar lander design in tandem with the Human Landing System being developed for Artemis III. The future contract will be known as the Sustaining Lunar Development contract.

“Competition is critical to our success on the lunar surface and beyond, ensuring we have the capability to carry out a cadence of missions over the next decade,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a November 23 press release.

NASA tapped SpaceX to launch the first components of the station, whose name has been shortened to “Gateway,” as early as November 2024.

Two competitors for the original Human Landing System contract, Blue Origin and Dynetics, had previously filed challenges to NASA’s award to SpaceX with the Government Accountability Office, which dismissed the complaints. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims also dismissed Blue Origin’s lawsuit alleging that NASA unfairly favored SpaceX during the consideration process. Members of Congress weighed in with an amendment to a bill that would have added $10.03 billion to NASA’s budget so that it could move forward with a second proposal as originally planned.

SpaceX had the lowest bid at $2.9 billion for the Human Landing System. Its design is a derivative of its biggest rocket, the Starship/Super Heavy stack. A critical orbital test for Starship is still pending due to delays in the FAA’s regulatory approval process. (Yes, that does annoy Elon Musk, who has had to deal with regulatory red tape a LOT with both SpaceX and Tesla over the past year.)

NASA plans to hold a virtual industry day after the draft solicitation is published. It plans to have sustainable lunar landing capability as early as 2026, according to Human Landing System manager Lisa Watson-Morgan.

“We expect to have two companies safely carry astronauts in their landers to the surface of the Moon under NASA’s guidance before we ask for services, which could result in multiple experienced providers in the market,” she said.

NASA originally took the same approach with the Commercial Crew program, which uses privately owned spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. SpaceX is the only aerospace company capable of doing the job so far and plans to launch Crew-4 in April. Delays in development of Boeing’s Starliner led to NASA adding three more flights to SpaceX’s Commercial Crew contract. When Starliner finally gets up and running, NASA intends to alternate between using the Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon for Commercial Crew flights, which so far represent a per-seat cost savings for the space agency. NASA’s Office of the Inspector General estimated that the Crew Dragon costs $55 million per seat, an over $30 million per seat savings over flights on the Russian Soyuz.

Space

SpaceX Ends Business Relationship With Spaceflight Inc

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX ended its business relationship with Spaceflight Inc. in a manner similar to many people who ended things with a boyfriend or girlfriend but didn’t have the nerve to do it face-to-face: with a single text message.

The SpaceX Rideshare Team also sent an email to companies that plan to send satellites on a future launch to notify them that the company was no longer working with Spaceflight Inc.

Spaceflight Inc. arranged payloads for SpaceX’s rideshare program as part of a longstanding partnership. Its leadership said it was surprised to hear that SpaceX will end its relationship once all the already arranged rideshare payloads are launched.

Spaceflight Inc. will continue to arrange small satellite launches with other rideshare launch providers. It also works with launch providers Rocket Lab and Ad Astra. It will reassign the satellites affected by SpaceX’s decision to other launch providers.

SpaceX works with other companies like D-Orbit and Exolaunch to arrange launch of small satellites for a variety of customers.

Neither company has gone into many details about what was behind SpaceX’s decision to terminate the partnership, though Spaceflight, Inc., indicated willingness to further discuss the matter with SpaceX. Known issues included a propellant leak in a Sherpa tug provided by Spaceflight Inc. that forced SpaceX to remove the tug from the Transporter-3 mission in December. The Sherpa would have carried ten cubesats that enabled radio-frequency geolocation and satellite-based telephony services into orbit.

SpaceX removed another Sherpa tug from a rideshare launch in April due to concerns about the environmental impact on the launch. Spaceflight spokesperson Jodi Sorenson said that the company had resolved the root issue and planned to fly the tug on an upcoming launch of Starlink satellites.

Spaceflight, Inc., said that the tug had gone through rigorous testing to meet industry standards. SpaceX decided to wait for better analysis of the test processes and results.

The rideshare missions provide a cost-effective way for owners of small satellites to launch them into their destination orbits without having to wait to “hitch a ride” on a rocket launching a bigger payload. SpaceX can reduce costs by reusing the first stage boosters from previous flights for rideshare launches like the upcoming Transporter-4.

SpaceX’s Transporter missions already sent a total of 336 small satellites on its first three Transporter missions. The next one, Transporter-4, is scheduled for April 1 at 4:24 pm UTC.

Space

OneWeb Signs Deal With SpaceX to Launch Internet Satellites

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Russia nixed a deal with OneWeb to launch its Internet satellites because the UK government is a stakeholder in the company. Now OneWeb signed a deal with SpaceX to launch the next batch of Internet satellites.

The UK government was part of a group of investors that bought OneWeb out of bankruptcy in a $500 million deal. Russia’s Roscomos demanded that the UK sell its stake before it would launch any more satellites due to the international fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

OneWeb had originally planned to launch on a Virgin Galactic-owned spacecraft called LauncherOne. However, that deal fell through when it went bankrupt. Virgin Galactic was originally a stakeholder in OneWeb before the deal that bought it out of bankruptcy.

As a provider of satellite Internet service, OneWeb became a rival of SpaceX’s Starlink. In April 2021, OneWeb claimed that a Starlink satellite nearly collided with a OneWeb satellite that was being launched, which SpaceX disputed.

SpaceX, at least, doesn’t seem to have any hard feelings, though – at least, not enough to turn down a deal with OneWeb as a possible part of another “in your face” to Russia. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin very publicly traded barbs when Musk sent Starlink terminals to Ukraine and had SpaceX engineers prioritize work on improved cybersecurity for them.

Rogozin also said that Russia wouldn’t sell the United States any more rocket engines and suggested that they could go to space on broomsticks – a barb reminiscent of suggestions that the United States could send astronauts to the International Space Station on trampolines during past diplomatic tension between Russia and the United States. SpaceX fortunately manufactures its own rocket engines.

Neither did OneWeb mention any past spats with SpaceX during their announcement of the deal.

“We thank SpaceX for their support, which reflects our shared vision for the boundless potential of space,” OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson said in a statement.

The deal with OneWeb will bring its constellation up to 428 satellites. When completed, the constellation will have up to 648 satellites. OneWeb didn’t say how many launches it bought from SpaceX.

 By contrast, SpaceX already has about 2,000 satellites in orbit and frequently launches more on reusable Falcon 9 rockets. This has led to complaints about “space junk” causing hazards for assets owned by other organizations. Rivals like ViaSat and Amazon’s Project Kuiper have filed regulatory challenges over SpaceX’s license to launch the Starlink satellites to CEO Elon Musk’s occasional frustration.

SpaceX already has a long waiting list of more than 500,000 possible customers who put down a deposit for a Starlink terminal. It’s been working on getting the cost of manufacturing terminals down and already sells them at a loss.

OneWeb specializes in Carrier and Enterprise plans for businesses interested in reselling its satellite Internet services or connecting their businesses.

Both companies market their services as low-latency, high-speed satellite Internet services that work well in remote areas and places that have been hit by disasters that could disrupt other forms of communication.

Technology

NHSTA Drops Manual Control Requirements in Self-Driving Vehicles

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

The United States’ NHSTA dropped a manual control requirement in vehicles capable of full autonomy. It noted that the rules requiring manual controls were written decades ago, when self-driving vehicles were purely a matter of science fiction.

Automated vehicles that meet Level 5 standards the SAE’s chart titled “Levels of Driving Automation” would need little to no human input in nearly all driving conditions. They would be able to drive in low visibility conditions and make most decisions on their own.

General Motors’ Cruise department is developing its own self-driving software in a likely bid to compete with Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving software. It petitioned the NHTSA for permission to build autonomous vehicles without brakes or steering wheels.

Tesla had also floated the possibility of building at least one vehicle model without a steering wheel. It also has a “steering wheel” design that closely resembles the steering yokes used by professional racecar drivers.

According to Elon Musk, Tesla made development of its driver assist programs a priority after one fatal accident in which the vehicle owner fell asleep at the wheel. The owner reportedly blamed the Tesla vehicle’s “new car smell” for lulling him to sleep in a lawsuit that was quickly dismissed.

Since then, Autopilot has shown its ability to respond to “real world” driving conditions in situations such as a drunk driver passing out at the wheel.

That hasn’t stopped regulators from probing Autopilot and politicians from calling for an investigation after at least one fatal wreck in which Autopilot was initially blamed. However, Tesla maintains usage logs for vehicles equipped with Autopilot and FSD and was able to establish that Autopilot was not active at the time of the wreck.

Even some engineers admitted that Tesla and Musk “overstated” FSD’s capacity. The company does issue routine software updates to add or refine features or eliminate software bugs in previous versions, but it’s not exactly at Level 5 yet.

Tesla aims to incentivize its vehicle owners to practice good driving habits and judicious use of its driver assist programs by requiring a driving test before owners can use FSD and introducing an insurance program with dynamic premium rates based on real-time driving habits in Texas.

Will automakers be able to produce fully automated vehicles capable of meeting the SAE’s Level 5 standards on the “Levels of Driving Automation” charts? In an ideal situation, fully automated vehicles that don’t need input from a driver would be considered normal.

Until full automation does become the norm, a Level 5 vehicle would have to “know” how to cope with an environment that includes unpredictable human drivers. Human error is a factor in most fatal accidents. Even when Autopilot is active, there’s a high chance that any serious accident would have been the fault of the driver of another vehicle who did something that the Autopilot wasn’t ready for.

Like electric vehicles, Tesla got other automakers to take “full self-driving” seriously instead of just thinking of it as a science fiction thing. For once, the NHTSA got ahead of the game by saying that manual control would not be necessary in a Level 5, fully autonomous vehicle.

Technology

Tesla to Pay Ukrainian Employees Conscripted by Ukrainian Military

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

Tesla will pay the salaries of Ukrainian employees who are conscripted for up to three months.

“For any Tesla employees who is a Ukrainian national and has been asked to return to Ukraine for active duty as a reservist, we will maintain their employment and salary for 3 months, with a view to assessing after this period as needed,” it told its employees in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East in an email.

SpaceX recently sent shipments of Starlink terminals to Ukraine at Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s request and made improvements to its ability to resist signal jamming. It reportedly reassigned some engineers working on rocket development to help improve Starlink’s cybersecurity and released software updates designed to improve Starlink terminals’ security.

Fedorov had also issued a call for “cyber specialists” to help with the cyber component of the war. Russia had disrupted Ukrainian communications infrastructure, including Internet-based communications.

In its email, Tesla praised employees who helped deliver the terminals and some Tesla Powerwall batteries to Ukraine.

Tesla has a strong business in Europe and is working on Gigafactory Berlin to improve its ability to serve the European EV market. Regulators recently gave Gigafactory Berlin tentative approval to begin manufacturing after months of delays that were primarily caused by bureaucratic red tape and challenges from German environmentalist groups.

Tesla hasn’t seen strong sales in Ukraine, with only 5,000 EV owners in the country. However, Tesla says EV owners who need to leave Ukraine can use its Superchargers to charge their vehicles for free in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. Owners of EVs that weren’t manufactured by Tesla may still need a special adapter to charge their vehicles at a Supercharger.

Businesses have generally faced pressure to stop doing business in Russia. General Motors and Ford stopped doing business in Russia as a response to its invasion of Ukraine. Volvo also stopped deliveries of vehicles.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pushed back against the pressure slightly, saying that he wouldn’t have Starlink block Russian propaganda sites like RT.com. The search engine DuckDuckGo did not respond directly to this but said it would reduce Russian sites’ rankings in its search algorithms. The cyberactivist group Anonymous briefly conducted successful Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks or hacked several high-profile Russian sites.

Ukraine has also raised $100 million in cryptocurrency donations, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and (Elon Musk’s favorite) Dogecoin. Alex Bornyakov says it spent the donations on military supplies, medicine, and food.

Meanwhile, the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis launched new tools to monitor possible sanctions evasions using crypto. It previously detected that Russian firms have been involved in crypto-related money laundering.

Ukraine continues to fight back against Russia’s invasion even in the face of deliberate bombings of residential areas and alleged slaughtering of civilians attempting to evacuate by Russian troops. Ukraine may call up reservists living in other countries, including Tesla employees, if the war continues. Tesla says it will pay up to three months of the affected Tesla employees’ salaries if that happens.

Space

SpaceX Partners With University of Arizona for Aerospace Surgery Fellowship

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

What happens when astronauts get sick in space? While there hasn’t been a severe medical emergency on the International Space Station yet, the normal procedure would simply involve bringing the sick or injured astronaut home if possible. In deep space, however, it would be nearly impossible to bring them back to Earth in a timely fashion.

On Earth, it’s easy to airlift someone from a remote location to a hospital. They did that for astronaut Buzz Aldrin when he spent time at an Antarctic research station and had a medical emergency. On the Moon or Mars, that would be far more difficult, if not impossible.

SpaceX is partnering with the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix to offer a one-year fellowship to study space surgery. The fellowship offers training on austere surgical care, which involves surgery in extreme and resource-restrained environments like space.

It will also include six months of spaceflight-related research and activities with SpaceX. The person who receives the fellowship will work with flight surgeons to learn about participating in commercial spaceflight activities.

Has Anyone Ever Had a Medical Emergency in Space?

One documented medical incident involves the Apollo 15 mission in 1971. Lunar module pilot James Irwin suffered a cardiac incident while conducting an EVA on the lunar surface. Because it would have taken three days to return Irwin to Earth for treatment, physicians on the mission control team agreed that the low gravity environment and 100% oxygen atmosphere was the best possible environment for Irwin.

Weak points in this plan included Irwin having to deal with a bulky spacesuit. Physicians also opted not to inform the Apollo 15 crew, which led to the crew vetoing the idea of taking a vitamin supplement that would have helped ease Irwin’s cardiac issue.

Irwin survived the trip back to Earth and lived another 20 years, though he had cardiac issues for the rest of his life.

There wasn’t a lot that NASA could do at the time because there weren’t exactly any medical facilities on the Moon. Even now, medical facilities in space are tightly limited.

SpaceX Interested in Solving Medical Issues “On-Site” if Possible

SpaceX aims to address at least some of the issues by training surgeons to conduct surgery in a limited environment. Future space surgeons may also train to participate in commercial spaceflights. It’s likely that “space surgeons” will be included in SpaceX’s efforts to fill Elon Musk’s plans for Mars.

These plans include launching as many as thirty Starship spacecraft to Mars a day to transport cargo and people for a permanent Martian base. An ideal launch window for sending payloads to Mars opens up once about every 26 months.

The pioneers going to Mars will likely include professionals like surgeons who have been trained to help resolve medical issues “on-site” in an environment in which a fully equipped hospital isn’t available.

Medical doctors who have flown in space include astronaut Scott Parazynski, who flew on five space shuttle missions. Notable missions included STS-95, during which he oversaw several life science experiments that included legendary astronaut John Glenn, and STS-120, during which he participated in an emergency EVA to fix some of the International Space Station’s solar panels.

SpaceX Addresses Starlink Jamming Issues, Won’t Block Russian News Sites

Written By: Heidi
Heidi

SpaceX is currently focusing on improving Starlink’s cybersecurity amid reports of jammed signals near combat zones in Ukraine. Elon Musk said that it wouldn’t block Russian websites “unless at gunpoint,” though.

SpaceX kept Elon Musk’s earlier promise to provide Internet service through Starlink by delivering at least one truckload of terminals. At last report, some terminals had been deployed in areas that were hit hard by combat.

Musk said that SpaceX is shifting resources to focus on cybersecurity for Starlink even though it might mean delays for Starship and the more capable Starlink V2 satellites. Although he didn’t specify that the signal jamming was occurring in Ukraine, he said that a software update could fix the problem.

According to Musk, SpaceX also issued a software update to improve the Starlink terminals’ power consumption so each one could theoretically be powered by a car cigarette lighter. Some observers worried that it would come with a tradeoff in the terminals’ performance, though others said that mobility and ability to function even during power outages was equally important to Ukraine’s military.

One user who is presumably in Kyiv posted a speed test that seemed to indicate that Starlink can get average speeds of between 190 and 200 Mbps.

Musk warned that Starlink may be the only non-Russian communications option that is available in parts of Ukraine and users should use their terminals with caution.

Meanwhile, Musk refused to block Russian websites like RT.com and Sputnik at the request of some governments. Although he did not specify which governments requested it, he says Ukraine hadn’t and referred to himself as a “free speech absolutist.” Musk implied that no government has issued an outright mandate to block Russian websites yet.

Russia was accused of using these sites to spread propaganda and false information. The sites became targets of Denial-of-Service attacks and hacks organized by the hacker group Anonymous. Some of the hacked sites briefly displayed prominent notices that the Russian government was using them to spread misinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Despite his refusal to block Russian news sites, Musk has expressed support for Ukraine, including calling on the United States to increase oil and gas production to reduce reliance on Russian exports. In some parts of the United States, the price at the pump topped $5 per gallon.

He also mocked the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, for saying that Russia would stop selling rocket engines to the United States and suggesting that space agencies could rely on “broomsticks” again. SpaceX manufactures its own “Raptor” rocket engines for use on its reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and is working on a version that will be used on Starship when it becomes operational. It expects to conduct an orbital test of Starship as soon as it is approved by the FAA, which is taking longer than expected.

The Starship spacecraft could eventually be used to speed up launches of the upgraded Starlink V2 launches once it becomes fully operational. The U.S. Air Force has already issued contracts to study its potential for use in the delivery of cargo, including humanitarian aid, around the world.