Live to launch — Rocket Report: SpaceX reaches ludicrous cadence; ABL explains RS1 failure “This evidence suggests that an unwanted fire spread to our avionics system.”
Eric Berger – Jan 20, 2023 12:00 pm UTC Enlarge / A Falcon 9 rocket launches on Wednesday morning carrying a GPS III satellite into orbit.Trevor Mahlmann reader comments 25 with 0 posters participating Share this story Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit
Welcome to Edition 5.24 of the Rocket Report! I have a blurb about this below, but for me the news of the week is that SpaceX not only launched a Falcon Heavy rocket, but two other Falcon 9 missions on separate coasts as well in just five days. The operational challenges of this are immense and, I think, underappreciated outside of people directly involved in this kind of work.
As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.
ABL updates on RS1 failure. On Wednesday ABL Space Systems provided an update on the January 10 failure of its RS1 launch vehicle. Long story short, the first stage of the vehicle suffered a “complete loss of power” at 10.87 seconds into flight, leading to a simultaneous shutdown of all nine of the vehicle’s main engines. The rocket impacted the ground about 20 meters from the launch site. “Approximately 95 percent of the vehicle total propellant mass was still onboard, creating an energetic explosion and over-pressure wave that caused damage to nearby equipment and facilities,” the company said.
A fire on board the rocket … The company has begun an anomaly investigation. “There is some visual evidence of fire or smoke near the vehicle QD and the engine bay after liftoff,” ABL wrote. “Shortly before the power loss, a handful of sensors began dropping out sequentially. This evidence suggests that an unwanted fire spread to our avionics system, causing a system-wide failure.” The second RS1 rocket is fully assembled and ready for stage testing, but the results of the anomaly investigation will be needed to inform a timeline for that launch. Kudos to ABL for a transparent and detailed update. (submitted by Ken the Bin) Advertisement
European reusable rocket CEO criticizes reuse. In an interview with a French television station, the chief executive of Maia Space described the challenges of reusing small rockets. Yohann Leroy explained that while the company was looking at a two-thirds drop in performance when the launcher was recovered, the model would not reduce the cost of the launcher by a similar amount, European Spaceflight reports. “Paradoxically, implementing reuse on a small launcher has rather the consequence of increasing the costs per kilogram launched,” Leroy said.
Zut alors! … The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of ArianeGroup, which manufactures the Ariane fleet of rockets. Leroy made his comments as Maia Space is opening itself up to third-party investors. The company has about 30 employees now and seeks to develop a small reusable rocket before moving on to larger reusable launch vehicles. Leroy may not be wrong about the economics of small launch reuse, but I’m not sure that’s the best pitchessentially, “Our business is completely unsustainable!”one might make to potential investors. (submitted by EllPeaTea) The Rocket Report: An Ars newsletter The easiest way to keep up with Eric Berger’s space reporting is to sign up for his newsletter, we’ll collect his stories in your inbox. Sign Me Up!
Stratolaunch completes second captive-carry flight. This week Stratolaunch announced that its super-sized Roc aircraft had completed a second test flight carrying a Talon-A test vehicle. During the six-hour flight, the aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 22,500 feet, and the team collected information about aerodynamic loads prior to the release point of the Talon-A reusable hypersonic vehicle.
Big plane, little vehicle … This was a test version of the small shuttle-like vehicle. A flight data review will determine the next steps on the test timeline. Stratolaunch said that it continues to progress toward a separation test and its first hypersonic flight of Talon-A 1 within the first half of 2023. That will be something to see. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Chinese firms to build African spaceport. Groups based in Hong Kong and Shanghai have reached a memorandum of understanding with the government of Djibouti to build a $1 billion commercial spaceport on the Horn of Africa, Parabolic Arc reports. The Djiboutian Spaceport, which will be constructed in the northern Obock region near the entrance to the Red Sea, would be the first orbital spaceport in Africa. It is thought to comprise an area of 10 square kilometers.
Not without geopolitical implications … According to the report, construction of the spaceport is expected to begin after the parties sign a formal agreement in March. The project is expected to take five years. This will be a development worth following, as it is easy to understand the interest of Chinese companies in launching from a latitude about 10 degrees north of the equator. China’s rivals, however, also have interests in Djibouti. The US Navy operates Camp Lemonnier nearby, which is the only permanent US military base in Africa. France has a large military base in the country as well. Page: 1 2 3 Next → reader comments 25 with 0 posters participating Share this story Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Eric Berger Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA, and author of the book Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. Email eric.berger@arstechnica.com // Twitter @SciGuySpace Advertisement Channel Ars Technica ← Previous story Related Stories Today on Ars
For months, as the standoff between Rafael Devers and the Boston Red Sox played out publicly, Boston fans never really booed their designated hitter. This probably would’ve come as a surprise to others who’ve lived through that charming experience, including Hall of Famer Ted Williams, who once spat at a hostile Fenway Park crowd, and Roger Clemens (even before he pitched for their rival).
Rather, Red Sox fans almost uniformly cheered Devers, all the way to the ignominious end of his time in Boston on Sunday. Hours after hitting another home run against the New York Yankees, he was summoned from the club’s traveling party and told he’d been dealt to the opposite coast. That fans never fully aimed animus at Devers despite his refusal to do what generations of stars have done — embrace change for the larger good of the team; in this case, changing positions from third base to first — says much more about their distrust of Red Sox leadership than about Devers or Red Sox Nation going soft.
That skepticism spilled out in talk radio, tweets and texts in the hours following the Devers trade, the reaction angry and cynical. “They’re not even a real organization anymore,” one longtime New Englander and Red Sox fan wrote to me. “Here we go again,” another texted. “First Mookie. Then Xander. Now Raffy.”
These kinds of responses will grow exponentially if Boston flounders over the next few weeks. The Red Sox had won eight of their past 10 games when the deal went down — including five of six against the first-place Yankees — and just when the dysfunctional team actually began functioning on the field, they traded their best hitter.
But this is an uproar five-plus years in the making. The 2020 trade of Mookie Betts, a homegrown star, has become the prism through which every Red Sox decision is seen. John Henry has been the most successful owner in baseball over the past quarter century, winning four championships, and yet he is viewed by much of the team’s fan base as a cheap and uninterested proprietor who uses the Red Sox cash machine to fund his other sports hobbies.
Craig Breslow, the head of baseball operations for the Red Sox, defended the trade when he spoke with reporters Monday, saying, “This is in no way signifying a waving of the white flag on 2025. We are as committed as we were six months ago to putting a winning team on the field, to competing for the division and making a deep postseason run.”
Breslow spoke as if the effort to win would continue. But a lot of Boston fans believe the leadership stopped prioritizing on-field success after the 2018 championship, with the failed effort to retain Betts a turning point. When Red Sox ownership interviewed candidates to replace former head of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski in 2019, it was made clear to Chaim Bloom (who eventually got the job) and others that he would be expected to trade Betts. After Betts was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Alex Verdugo, Connor Wong and Jeter Downs, the Red Sox have largely abdicated their place as a baseball power. And Betts’ new team has more World Series titles (two) than the Red Sox have winning seasons (one) since the trade.
The fans’ protest of the Devers deal largely diverged from the industry view. A lot of rival officials thought that the Red Sox did well in ridding themselves of a one-dimensional star with an expensive contract who refused layers of requests to change, receiving four players from the San Francisco Giants in return, including talented lefty Kyle Harrison. “WTF were the Giants doing taking on that whole contract?” one executive asked rhetorically, via text. “Oh my god. That deal will not end well.”
Another executive said that he thought that on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being terrible, management’s handling of the Devers situation was a six. “They made mistakes,” he said. “Devers’ handling of this was a 10 out of 10 in how bad it was.”
Regardless of Devers’ handling of the situation, it’s clear that the Red Sox have some work to do in filling the role he leaves.
“[The Red Sox] did well in this trade, for the long term,” one exec said. “But they are going to miss him. You’re not going to replace a hitter like Devers.”
What matters now for the Red Sox is what they do next. After trading Betts, they largely shifted into a mode of rebuilding uncommon for a big-market team, a choice which drove the fan base into its current cynicism. At trade deadlines in recent years, the Red Sox have either retreated or failed to add. The onus is on Breslow and Henry to add, even if that means taking on payroll and expending resources. The fans don’t believe leadership actually cares about winning, and the only way the Red Sox can change that is to win.
In order to do that, the Red Sox organization needs to take the lessons that can be learned from how this situation played out and apply them moving forward. And Devers himself should do the same.
His frustration and unwillingness to work with the team had been clear since the Red Sox signed All-Star Alex Bregman in February, with Devers saying he was promised third base when he agreed to his $313.5 million deal in January of 2023, a claim rival evaluators view dubiously.
“Who could ever promise something like that?” one executive said. “Things change so fast — injuries, players coming and going. You don’t get deeded a position for life.”
Even when it became clear that a move to first would help the Red Sox incorporate young players such as Roman Anthony, Devers declined. As he gets settled with the Giants, he has an opportunity to be more open-minded, to work with his new team, rather than at the expense of others.
As for Breslow, he needs to hear the feedback that is coming from all corners of the franchise: His interpersonal skills are poor. In his 1½ years with the Red Sox, Breslow has failed to build a relationship with the team’s most important player. He has to talk more with others, connect more — because when he doesn’t build those relationships, what festers in the vacuum of conversation is the sort of communication decline that developed with Devers.
And it’s not only Devers: What others in the organization say is that Breslow’s presence is wooden and ineffective, a problem highlighted by an incident on a Zoom call with staffers last month. According to sources, a longtime scout, Carl Moesche, assumed that his voice could not be heard on the call and said out loud, “Thanks, Bres, you f—ing stiff.” Moesche was subsequently fired, but Breslow needs to recognize that Moesche’s view reflects that of other Red Sox employees, and that’s an enormous problem.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora needs to recognize that in the Devers drama, he was ineffective. He has a longstanding relationship of care and respect with Devers, but as rival executives note, what good was that relationship to the organization, really, when Cora couldn’t get Devers to do what he, Breslow and Henry needed him to do? Only Cora and Devers know what was said between them, but whether Cora chose to play good cop to Breslow’s bad cop or he felt it best to support Devers rather than take him on, it didn’t work.
And as much as anything, Henry must do some self-reflection: He must recognize that it was his original sin that put Boston in this situation. He chose not to pay his best and most dynamic player what he was worth, subjecting the franchise to the Betts tax that it continues to pay over and over. Because they didn’t sign Betts, the Red Sox gave into the pressure from frustrated fans in their negotiations with Devers, agreeing to a deal that concerned some in the franchise given doubts about Devers’ ability to lead and whether he was destined to become an overpaid designated hitter.
Henry needs to do what he did not do with Betts and Jon Lester and Xander Bogaerts and Chris Sale and others: keep the best stars. Pay to keep the next Yaz, the next Ortiz. Maybe that’s Roman Anthony, maybe it’s Marcelo Mayer, maybe it’s Jarren Duran. As Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton said last year, fans don’t care about an owner’s bottom line. They care about winning. Henry needs to demonstrate, once and for all, that’s his priority, as well.
Segway’s ZT3 Pro eKickScooter with smart features and a 43.5-mile range at best post-launch price of $915
Amazon is now offering the best post-launch pricing we’ve seen on the Segway ZT3 Pro eKickScooter at $914.99 shipped, which beats out the brand’s direct website pricing by $85. This model normally carries a $1,100 price tag at Amazon and a higher $1,300 MSRP direct from the brand. The discounts we’ve seen often keep things near or above $1,000, while there have been occasional falls lower, usually to $950, though there was a single short-lived drop to $920 back in March. Today’s deal is bringing a total 30% markdown off the MSRP, giving you $385 in savings off buying it directly from Segway for the best price we have tracked since its $900 preorder low back in September 2024.
Segway’s ZT3 Pro eKickScooter is an all-terrain cruiser that brings many smart features into your riding experience. To start, there’s a 1,600W brushless motor that dishes out enough torque to scoff at inclines up to 25% steep. With its 597Wh battery, which comes supported by the brand’s RideyLong tech that features an advanced controller algorithm to extend its travel capabilities “by up to 20%,” this model gives you up to 43.5 miles of travel on a single four-hour charge, with it able to max out at top speeds of 24.9 MPH. Speaking of the fast charging times, it’s even been designed with last-minute travels in mind, as just plugging it in for 30 minutes can get you back enough battery to travel 6.2 miles.
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Your safety and comfort have been taken into serious consideration with Segway’s ZT3 Pro eKickScooter, as it comes loaded with features to smooth out and give you more control than other models, including a full suspension frame – even having it sit six full inches off the ground for more clearance – as well as 11-inch tubeless tires for all-terrain adventure, and a Segride stability enhancement system paired alongside a traction control system. There’s even the smart features that include Apple Find My, proximity locking/unlocking, and more. You can get an even deeper rundown in our launch coverage here.
Carry Anker’s SOLIX C300 DC power station with pop-up camping light for mobile device charging at $170
Anker’s official SOLIX Amazon storefront is undercutting its ongoing Father’s Day Sale pricing on the C300 DC Power Station at $169.99 shipped. Normally priced at $250, it’s mostly been dropping between $180 and $190 in the past three months, with the brand’s current sale only dropping costs to $190 through June 19. While we’ve seen it go as low as $140 in the past (last seen during 2024 Black Friday/Christmas sales), you’re looking at a 32% markdown here while the savings last, cutting $80 off the tag and dropping things to the fourth-lowest overall price we have tracked. Head below for more on this model and its counterparts that are also seeing discounts.
A totable companion for camping trips, road trips, and even at-home backup power for devices during outages, Anker’s SOLIX C300 DC power station is a compact and totable 90,000mAh/288Wh unit that delivers up to 300W charging speeds. Among its output options, you’ll have four USB-C ports (a 15W port, a 100W port, and the two 140W ports), two 12W USB-A ports, and a 120W auxiliary port to top off devices. You’ll have a few different means to recharge its battery including a wall outlet, with its 100W max solar input, or by utilizing the two bidirectional 140W USB-C ports at the same time for up to 280W speeds.
One notable carry-over feature from its 60,000mAh PowerCore Reserve predecessor is the integrated pop-up LED light that has three brightness levels to be used as a camping lantern or emergency light source. There’s also the usual array of smart controls available through its companion app, allowing you to monitor and adjust its settings via a Bluetooth connection, with readouts also shown on its display.
Anker’s other compact power station deals:
Be sure to also check out the ongoing Anker SOLIX Father’s Day Sale that is continuing through June 19, with up to 55% in initial discounts, along with three tiers of extra savings (3%, 5%, 7%) and free gear along with select purchases.
Cut through the storm cleanup this season with Greenworks’ 24V 12-inch cordless compact chainsaw at $130
Over at Amazon, you can pick up the Greenworks 24V 12-inch Cordless Compact Chainsaw for $129.99 shipped, with the price also matching directly from the brand’s website. Normally carrying a $190 price tag, it’s been more often returning to a $183 high at Amazon, while discounts have mostly kept costs above $140 until this month, when the savings have taken the price lower to $130. The deal here is the best we have tracked over the last 12 months, cutting $70 off the MSRP and giving you a more compact means to clean up after any upcoming storms.
We’re stepping into hurricane season, which means there will likely be plenty of cleanup ahead for folks in the southern portions of the country, and this Greenworks electric chainsaw will be ready to tackle any tree pruning, disposals, and the like. The 12-inch bar and chain comes supported by an automatic oiler, keeping it all lubricated and running smoothly, while the tensioning system allows you to keep it set at ideal levels without any extra tools being needed. You won’t have to wrestle with pull strings thanks to the push-button start, and the included 4.0Ah battery provides you with 85+ cuts on a single charge.
Cover 1/2 an acre with this Greenworks 40V 25-inch cordless self-propelled mower and two 4.0Ah batteries at $525
Amazon is offering the Greenworks 40V 25-inch Cordless Self-Propelled Lawn Mower with two 4.0Ah batteries and dual-port rapid charger for $524.99 shipped. Normally fetching $700 at full price, we’ve only seen it returning to this same rate twice during 2025 so far. While we have seen it go as low as $450, which was last seen during Black Friday 2023, you’re otherwise looking at the second-best pricing at Amazon over the last 12 months and the lowest price we have tracked in 2025, saving you $175 off the going rate in the process, which is matching the price we’re seeing direct from the brand’s website.
With the two included 4.0Ah batteries, this 40V 25-inch Greenworks mower provides a 70-minute continuous runtime to tackle mowing for up to 1/2 an acre on a single charge, with the dual port rapid charger that’s accompanying the package getting them back to full at the same time. It’s been given a 25-inch steel deck for added durability, with its smart pace self-propelled system making maneuverability all the easier. There are seven cutting height levels to choose from here, as well as the 3-in-1 functionality for mulching, side discharging, and rear bagging. It operates at far lower noise levels than a gas model, so you won’t disturb neighbors at particular hours, and also sports the usual push button start.
Keep up to four DEWALT batteries going with this 20V Max 4-port rapid charger at 168
Woot is offering the DEWALT 20V MAX 4-Port Rapid Charger for $167.99 shipped. Normally carrying a $309 price tag here, with it sitting at a higher $329 pricing at other retailers like Lowes and ACE, discounts can usually be seen dropping the costs between $185 and $238 on average. While we have seen it go as low as $153 in the past, you’re otherwise looking at one of the lowest prices we have recently tracked, giving you a sizeable $141 markdown off the going rate. It’s even beating out Amazon’s current pricing by $42.
A perfect addition for garages, shops, and jobsite kits that tend to rely on DEWALT equipment, you’ll be able to top off four of the brand’s 12V Max, 20V Max, and FLEXVOLT 20V/60V Max batteries simultaneously with this DEWALT 4-port charger. It delivers 8A charging speeds to each individual port, with it getting a 4.0Ah battery back to full in 40 minutes, while a 6.0Ah battery can be refilled in 60 minutes. It even comes with cord wraps for added organization, as well as through-holes should you wish to mount it to your wall or workbench.
The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.
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Amazon Web Services is set to announce an update to its Graviton4 chip that includes 600 gigabytes per second of network bandwidth, what the company calls the highest offering in the public cloud.
Ali Saidi, a distinguished engineer at AWS, likened the speed to a machine reading 100 music CDs a second.
Graviton4, a central processing unit, or CPU, is one of many chip products that come from Amazon’s Annapurna Labs in Austin, Texas. The chip is a win for the company’s custom strategy and putting it up against traditional semiconductor players like Intel and AMD.
At AWS’s re:Invent 2024 conference last December, the company announced Project Rainier – an AI supercomputer built for startup Anthropic. AWS has put $8 billion into backing Anthropic.
AWS Senior Director for Customer and Project Engineering Gadi Hutt said Amazon is looking to reduce AI training costs and provide an alternative to Nvidia’s expensive graphics processing units, or GPUs.
Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 AI model is trained on Trainium2 GPUs, according to AWS, and Project Rainier is powered by over half a million of the chips – an order that would have traditionally gone to Nvidia.
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Hutt said that while Nvidia’s Blackwell is a higher-performing chip than Trainium2, the AWS chip offers better cost performance.
“Trainium3 is coming up this year, and it’s doubling the performance of Trainium2, and it’s going to save energy by an additional 50%,” he said.
The demand for these chips is already outpacing supply, according to Rami Sinno, director of engineering at AWS’ Annapurna Labs.
“Our supply is very, very large, but every single service that we build has a customer attached to it,” he said.
With Graviton4’s upgrade on the horizon and Project Rainier’s Trainium chips, Amazon is demonstrating its broader ambition to control the entire AI infrastructure stack, from networking to training to inference.
And as more major AI models like Claude 4 prove they can train successfully on non-Nvidia hardware, the question isn’t whether AWS can compete with the chip giant — it’s how much market share it can take.
The release schedule for the Graviton4 update will be provided by the end of June, according to an AWS spokesperson.