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SpaceX, NASA call off Cargo Dragon launch after discovering fuel leak
SpaceX and NASA have decided to call off an imminent Cargo Dragon 2 space station resupply mission after discovering a possible fuel leak while loading the spacecraft with propellant.
As a result, in an event that has become extremely rare for SpaceX, the launch has been indefinitely delayed after a recent series of slips from June 7th to the 9th, 10th, and 12th. Now, NASA says that it has fully stood down from any possible launch attempt this week, pushing CRS-25’s trip to the International Space Station (ISS) to June 13th at the absolute earliest.
“NASA and SpaceX are standing down from this week’s Falcon 9 launch of the CRS-25 cargo mission to the International Space Station. Officials from NASA and SpaceX met today to discuss an issue identified over the weekend and the best path forward.
During propellant loading of the Dragon spacecraft, elevated vapor readings of mono-methyl hydrazine (MMH) were measured in an isolated region of the Draco thruster propulsion system. The propellant and oxidizer have been offloaded from that region to support further inspections and testing. Once the exact source of the elevated readings is identified and cause is determined, the joint NASA and SpaceX teams will determine and announce a new target launch date.”
NASA – June 6th, 2022
The issue appears to have been discovered within the last few days, possibly explaining some of CRS-25’s small delays since May 19th. According to NASA, while loading Dragon with propellant, SpaceX detected “elevated vapor readings” of monomethylhydrazine (MMH) fuel in one “isolated region” related to the spacecraft’s propulsion system. After detecting the anomaly, SpaceX drained that particular section of fuel and oxidizer to allow for further inspections and testing to determine the “exact source” and its cause. Only once the source and cause have been determined will NASA and SpaceX announce a new launch date.
As is often the case with all kinds of rockets and spacecraft, there’s a good chance that the culprit of the unexpected detection of fuel vapors is a misbehaving valve. SpaceX will now need to figure out and fix exactly what went wrong before Cargo Dragon 2 C208 will be allowed to attempt its third orbital resupply mission since December 2020.
Perhaps even more importantly, given just how similar Cargo Dragon 2 is to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, the results of that investigation will have ramifications that reach far beyond a lower-risk uncrewed cargo delivery. As has been the case almost every day since November 2020, a Crew Dragon spacecraft is already docked with the ISS as part of an operational NASA astronaut transport mission. Crew-4’s Dragon is scheduled to return the four astronauts it recently carried to the station back to Earth as early as September 2022. A different Crew Dragon is scheduled to launch Crew-5 around the same time.
Given the similarity of all the reusable capsules in SpaceX’s Dragon fleet, there’s an omnipresent risk – however small – that any issue with one spacecraft could be present on all others. But on the opposite side of that sword, even the discovery of a more minor or isolated issue on any of SpaceX’s eight operational Dragon spacecraft – including uncrewed capsules like C208 – can help make the entire fleet safer and more reliable.
For now, CRS-25 has been effectively grounded. SpaceX’s next launch, carrying the Egyptian communications satellite Nilesat-301, is scheduled no earlier than (NET) June 8th.
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Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
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Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
Tesla plans to supply over 100 Megapack units to support a large stationary storage project in Japan, making it one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities.
Tesla’s Megapack grid-scale batteries have been selected to back an energy storage project in Japan, coming as the latest of the company’s continued deployment of the hardware.
As detailed in a report from Nikkei this week, Tesla plans to supply 142 Megapack units to support a 548 MWh storage project in Japan, set to become one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities. The project is being overseen by financial firm Orix, and it will be located at a facility Maibara in central Japan’s Shiga prefecture, and it aims to come online in early 2027.
The deal is just the latest of several Megapack deployments over the past few years, as the company continues to ramp production of the units. Tesla currently produces the Megapack at a facility in Lathrop, California, though the company also recently completed construction on its second so-called “Megafactory” in Shanghai China and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.
READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapacks help power battery supplier Panasonic’s Kyoto test site
Tesla’s production of the Megapack has been ramping up at the Lathrop facility since initially opening in 2022, and both this site and the Shanghai Megafactory are aiming to eventually reach a volume production of 10,000 Megapack units per year. The company surpassed its 10,000th Megapack unit produced at Lathrop in November.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Elon Musk also said that the company is looking to construct a third Megafactory, though he did not disclose where.
Last year, Tesla Energy also had record deployments of its Megapack and Powerwall home batteries with a total of 31.4 GWh of energy products deployed for a 114-percent increase from 2023.
Other recently deployed or announced Megapack projects include a massive 600 MW/1,600 MWh facility in Melbourne, a 75 MW/300 MWh energy storage site in Belgium, and a 228 MW/912 MWh storage project in Chile, along with many others still.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla highlights the Megapack site replacing Hawaii’s last coal plant
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Elon Musk responds to Ontario canceling $100M Starlink deal amid tariff drama
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, opens new tab on February 3 that he was “ripping up” his province’s CA$100 million agreement with Starlink in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.
Elon Musk company SpaceX is set to lose a $100 million deal with the Canadian province of Ontario following a response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply 25 percent tariffs to the country.
Starlink, a satellite-based internet service launched by the Musk entity SpaceX, will lose a $100 million deal it had with Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced today.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
Ford said on X today that Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts:
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
It is a blow to the citizens of the province more than anything, as the Starlink internet constellation has provided people in rural areas across the globe stable and reliable access for several years.
Musk responded in simple terms, stating, “Oh well.”
Oh well https://t.co/1jpMu55T6s
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
It seems Musk is less than enthused about the fact that Starlink is being eliminated from the province, but it does not seem like all that big of a blow either.
As previously mentioned, this impacts citizens more than Starlink itself, which has established itself as a main player in reliable internet access. Starlink has signed several contracts with various airlines and maritime companies.
It is also expanding to new territories across the globe on an almost daily basis.
With Mexico already working to avoid the tariff situation with the United States, it will be interesting to see if Canada does the same.
The two have shared a pleasant relationship, but President Trump is putting his foot down in terms of what comes across the border, which could impact Americans in the short term.
Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
