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SpaceX and NASA are go for the 12th Cargo Dragon launch on Monday
Just under 24 hours ahead of the launch of CRS-12, NASA and SpaceX provided information about the mission earlier this morning during a pre-launch press conference.
NASA confirmed once more that tomorrow’s launch attempt will be the only slot available until August 19th or 20th, due to a planned EVA (extra vehicular activity) that will involve the launch of cubesats around the ISS. As a result of safety restrictions, cargo and crew spacecraft are not allowed to approach the International Space Station while crew are outside, nor while satellites launched from the station have yet to have their orbits characterized. The United Launch Alliance has a launch planned for August 18th or 19th, with SpaceX able to make a second attempt after ULA’s launch, if necessary.
CRS-12’s Dragon and Falcon 9 1039 horizontal at LC-39A ahead of a launch attempt on Monday.
(NASASpaceflight /u/Craig_VG)
Revealed by NASASpaceflight.com in an article posted yesterday, “some but not all of the Block 5 upgrades, including some incremental upgrades like increased engine thrust, will debut…on the CRS-12 launch”. Hans Koenigsmann, the Vice President of Mission Assurance at SpaceX, was not aware of specific differences between past launches, but did not deny that there would be some level of incremental improvements present for the launch of CRS-12. Interestingly, Gebhardt also reported that Falcon 9 Block 5, intended to be a highly reusable “final” version of the vehicle, is expected to take flight for the first time during SpaceX’s first Commercial Crew Demo-1 launch as soon as February 2018.
Koenigsmann further confirmed that the launch of CRS-12 would make use of reused landing legs, although their origin is unknown. As far as he was aware, the legs are the only reused hardware that will be present during the launch.
The lack of backup attempts for CRS-12’s launch means that more focus is being placed on weather conditions at the launch site. As of several days ago, weather forecasts were looking negative for the launch and suggesting a 70% or greater chance of conditions that would prevent a launch attempt. However, this has flipped around over the last 24 hours, and the probably of weather violations is now only 30%. The Air Force’s 45th Space Wing did release a report today indicating that conditions after the launch may make safing the landed first stage more difficult for SpaceX, with an increased potential for rain and lightning.
If all goes well, core 1039 will attempt a landing tomorrow afternoon at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1). (SpaceX)
Also discussed briefly during the press conference, necessary modifications to the LC-39A pad are still set to occur this fall ahead of Falcon Heavy’s inaugural launch before the end of the year. LC-40 is also progressing nicely and while Koenigsmann stated that SpaceX had not as of yet decided on the first mission to fly from the reactivated pad, it is currently expected to be SES-11 sometime early in the fourth quarter of 2017. SES-11 has also been hinted to be launching aboard a reused Falcon 9 first stage, and would make for a fitting return to operational status for the pad.
In other news, CRS-13, which will fly with a refurbished Dragon spacecraft, is now set to launch no earlier than December 2017. Previously aiming for a November launch, it has almost certainly been pushed back as a result of Orbital-ATK choosing to slightly delay their next launch of their Cygnus spacecraft until November. This extra time will allow OATK to accommodate more cubesat payloads during that launch, and the delays of Cygnus’ OA-7 mission or Dragon’s CRS-13 launch are anticipated to be the result of technical issues.
Catch the first launch attempt of CRS-12 live tomorrow at the link below! The expected moment of liftoff is approximately 12:31 p.m. EST, 9:31 a.m. PST.
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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
