Faulty Leak Test Grounds the Plane
Not how to test for leaks in gear or nose steering. This plane ended up grounded. https://t.co/0yr9NKzjvY
Layered Defence Uses Cheap Assets to Soak Attacks
“Layered defence is essential,” said Eugene Lesin, a deputy company commander in the “Darknode” UAV interceptor unit. “Lower-cost systems — machine guns, anti-aircraft artillery, interceptor drones and electronic warfare — absorb the bulk of the attack. High-end systems such as...
TSA Pushes Bill to Privatize Small Airports
Last week, @TSA told Congress it is working on a legislative proposal to require privatization of smaller airports https://t.co/3oJL1Jur2V
Latvia Joins 62 Nations Signing Artemis Accords
Latvia becomes the 62nd country to sign the Artemis Accords this morning at NASA HQ. https://t.co/x41ryP5GGg
Iran Conflict Threatens Airline Jet Fuel Supply
Re-up! #Airlines & the Iran conflict - a perfect storm as carriers face jet fuel squeeze? #avgeek #airlines #StraitofHormuz #Iran #oil https://t.co/VocDTjCLlD https://t.co/wd3hlohdlT
BlueBird-7’s Orbit Shows only Half Required Δv
A second orbit dataset from SpaceForce for the BlueBird-7 sat shows it in a 265 x 485 km x 43.0 deg orbit, indicating that the upper stage delivered about 1000 m/s, mostly changing orbital inclination. This is about half the...
Moon Ferris Wheel Should Accept USD for Rides
If you’re going through all the effort to build a Ferris wheel on the Moon, the least you could do it allow people to pay for rides in USD. https://t.co/ojPQDDQaYn
Blue Origin's First Booster Reuse Ends in Mission Failure
Blue Origin reused a rocket booster for the first time on a mission, but then failed to complete its objective. https://t.co/j2QVgk8MIC
Blue Origin Targets 8‑12 New Glenn Flights, Ready Hardware
Blue Origin sees a path to 8-12 New Glenn Flights and has the hardware to hit that. Interview with CEO @davill conducted prior to NG-3/ $ASTS https://t.co/4Et09kx235
France to Use OneWeb and SatcomBw-4 Until Iris2 Ready
French @Armees_Gouv: @defis_eu #Iris2 constellation won't be ready by 2030, we'll use @EutelsatGroup #OneWeb until it is; we're looking at @bundeswehrInfo SatcomBw-4 as well for redundancy. @esa https://t.co/X0LJDmrh0y https://t.co/s5zObHgnqk
EU to Streamline Jet Fuel Distribution and Seek Alternatives
The EU will propose measures to “optimize” jet fuel distribution among member states and help source alternative supplies https://t.co/C1WA5BwZUZ
UAS Hits Russian Landing Ships, Radar in Sevastopol
Video from GUR’s Prymary unit of UAS strikes on Russian Project 775 and 1171 large landing ships and a Podlot-K1 radar in Sevastopol. https://t.co/YTLoFK5F1s https://t.co/Fd6fCBIjjJ
Special Artemis II Episode Released for Patrons
This past week, @inaneenglish, kerbal01, & I poured our hearts into a special episode on the Artemis II mission. It just went out to our patrons on Patreon.com/CosmoQuestX, & I could not be prouder.
Artemis II Sparks Global Wave of Wonder and Pride
Artemis II ignited something in humanity. My favorite thing about this moment in space exploration isn’t just the mission itself—it’s the ripple effect it’s having here on Earth. For 10 solid days, (and really, in the days since) the news and...
Awaiting Resolution for Second Stage Issue
Well damn... 😬 Was hoping I would wake up to better news. Hope they soon find the issue with the second stage.
Blue Shows Resilience, Will Return Stronger After Setback
Space is tough, and Blue is showing they can do tough things despite today’s setback. Cheering for the team that will learn from this and come back stronger.
House SS&T Reviews NASA FY2027 Budget Request
The House SS&T hearing on NASA's FY2027 budget request on Wednesday is our pick of the week, but much more on tap, too. What’s Happening in Space Policy April 19-25, 2026 https://t.co/2zuKQYznd3
US Firms Achieve Ocean Drone Ship Rocket Landings
2 US companies can land massive rockets on drone ships in the middle of the ocean. Blue Origin's New Glenn booster second landing:
China’s Massive Cargo Drones Outpace U.S. and EU
While the U.S. and Europe debate regulations and run subscale demos, China is already flying serious tonnage: CY-8 (3,500 kg / 3,000+ km), HH-200 (1,500 kg / 2,360 km on 500 m runways), W5000 (5 t target). These aren’t toys......
Blue Origin's Reuse Win Dwarfed by Satellite Launch Failure
Mission failure overshadows Blue Origin's rocket reuse milestone, with AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 cellular broadband satellite declared a total loss after launching into the wrong orbit. https://t.co/gNckytollw
New Glenn Upper‑Stage Issue Highlights Need for Reliable Launches
Bummed about the issue with New Glenn’s upper stage today. NASA and its lunar partners really need this rocket to fly reliably and often. I expect @davill and team to address this aggressively and decisively.
Satellite Fails to Reach Orbit, Will De‑orbit
"While the satellite separated from the launch vehicle and powered on, the altitude is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology and will de-orbited."
Spitfire Soars with Modern RAF Jets for 90th Anniversary
Spitfire Completes Unique Formation Flights With Royal Air Force To mark the 90th anniversary of the first flight of the legendary fighter, a Spitfire took to the skies with various frontline British aircraft. https://t.co/Up9JUSh1QO
Wichita Firms Fuel Blue Origin, Boosting Kansas Economy
A lot of Wichita companies are suppliers to Blue Origin, and I'm glad that our state is helping with and benefiting from this project. https://t.co/xSmrQrsrD9.
China's Daqi‑2 and Qianfan‑07 Meet Planned Orbits
China's Daqi-2 satellite cataloged in a 682 x 689 km x 98.3 deg orbit in 1025 LTDN orbit plane. The Qianfan 07 orbits are now out, showing 800 x 820 km x 89.0 deg deployment orbits as expected.
Space Force Tracks Blue Origin Launch’s Precarious Orbit
The @BlueOrigin @AST_SpaceMobile launch has been tracked by Space Force as catalog 68765, 2026-85A, in a 154 x 494 km x 36.1 deg orbit. Epoch is 1138 UTC which is the time of SECO-1, so this may not be the...
New Glenn Misses Orbit, Yet First Stage Lands Perfectly
Today's launch of the New Glenn launcher delivered a communications satellite into a wrong (not clear if recoverable) orbit, but the rocket's 1st stage completed spectacular landing on a vessel in the Atlantic: https://t.co/fEDhJHdU3S
SECO-1 Orbit Estimated Between 116×420 Km And
Best estimate for the SECO-1 orbit given the slow observed decrease in altitude in the webcast is somewhere in the range of 164 x 380 km to 116 x 420km, depending on flight path angle at cutoff which was somewhere...
Insufficient Data, but Webcast Velocity
Unfortunately there's not enough data on Blue's webcast to derive a SECO-1 orbit, but it may have been fine - the velocity on the screen is in the rotating Earth frame and seems reasonable, for those worried it was too...
New Glenn Launch Undershoots Orbit, Data Pending
LAUNCH at 1125 UTC Apr 19 of New Glenn flight 3 with AST SpaceMobile-007 from Canaveral. Second stage underperformance and lower than planned final orbit, but still waiting for Space Force tracking data for details
North Korea Fires Missiles at Japan, Confirming Hanke’s Theory
North Korea has launched multiple ballistic missiles off its East coast in the direction of Japan. Just more confirmation of Hanke's Schoolboy Theory of History: It's just one damn thing after another. https://t.co/eoHl6bkCJU
New Glenn’s Third Launch Expands Mobile Satellite Access
The third New Glenn launch has been a success, and it's going to mean wider access to mobile satellite communications. https://t.co/ktqDiJAn6B
BlueBird 7 Separation Unconfirmed, No Update From Blue
BlueBird 7 separation from the New Glenn second stage was scheduled for T+75 minutes, according to the timeline published before launch. But no updates from Blue on payload deployment or the earlier second burn of the upper stage.
Blue Origin Reuses New Glenn Booster, Boosting Launch Cadence
Well done to Blue Origin on successfully reusing a New Glenn booster for the first time, key to ramping up launch rate. https://t.co/n1kEUv1MlE
Helicopter Engine Failure, Emergency Landing, All Survive
On April 18, 2026, a Robinson R44 Raven II registered PR-DCM lost engine power shortly after takeoff in Campina Grande’s Mirante neighborhood. The flight had stopped near the Garden Hotel for refueling. Four occupants... three adults and a 9-year-old child... were...
Ukrainian Naval Drone Launches Interceptor, Downing Geran
Ukraine’s Nemesis Brigade intercepted a Geran drone with a UAS interceptor launched from a naval drone. https://t.co/j4y9MA1iuc https://t.co/7PcSq74zaC
Delta Faces $2.5B Jet Fuel Bill Amid Price Surge
Due to fuel prices DOUBLING in the past month, Delta Airlines will spend an extra $2.5 BILLION on jet fuel this quarter. AIRLINES SHOULD SEND A BILL FOR DAMAGES TO TRUMP AND NETANYAHU. https://t.co/KgseZIFAPm
NASA Shuts Voyager 1 Instrument to Extend 49‑year Mission
NASA turned off one of the instruments on Voyager 1. The decision is considered the best option to keep the 49 yo spacecraft operating while they finalize a plan -- the "Big Bang" -- to keep it going even longer. https://t.co/hyqr7StQI0
Air‑launched Drones Protect Army Surveillance Jets, Deepen Intel
Air-Launched Drones Key To Keeping New Army Surveillance Jets Out Of Harms Way The Army also sees drones launched from ME-11Bs offering a major boost in its ability to peer deep into hostile territory. https://t.co/0klt8FcdFn
United Flight Diverts Over Possible Bomb, Passengers Urged to Run
Passengers Told To “Run” After United Flight Diverts Due To Possible Bomb On Board - View from the Wing https://t.co/BitA0aNCuh
Starship Booster Packs Power of 177 GE90 Jet Engines
Booster 19’s 33 Raptor 3 engines produce as much thrust as approximately 177 GE90-115B jet engines. That’s one Starship booster equaling the power of 177 of the world’s biggest turbofans.
AA Drops United Merger Talks as Wells Hints New Deal
JUST IN: American Airlines ends merger discussions with United while Wells Fargo hints at a new potential deal.
From Imagination to Speed: Scarcity's Endgame Arrives
The constraint on human civilization is about to shift from "What can we imagine?" to "How fast can we build it?" AI removes the intelligence bottleneck, Terafab slays the chip constraints, Starship removes the mass-to-orbit bottleneck, and Orbital data centers removes...
Babin Outlines Vision for America’s Next Space Era
House SS&T chair Brian Babin (R-TX) has an op-ed in Issues in Science and Technology on "A Vision for America’s Next Era in Space": https://t.co/4zrQtGd9iF
Russia's 2025 UAS Adaptations Detailed by @RALee85
When @RALee85 writes, I read. Fascinating and detailed information on Russia’s UAS adaptations across the line in 2025. Link to the substack article in his thread.
Autonomous 2‑ton Drone Delivers Fresh Tea Across Mountains
Massive 2-ton autonomous cargo drone flies 75 miles across mountains carrying fresh tea without an onboard pilot. https://t.co/NTQJ8aUMpX
Air Canada Halts JFK Service for Five Months
Gosh, I wonder who we can blame for this Air Canada will suspend flights to JFK for nearly 5 months as jet fuel costs soar https://apnews.com/article/air-canada-jfk-fuel-iran-b44f4994f2af268cf6929c5f0f52080f?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share
AA's New Staffing System Sparks Senior Pilot Union Threat
American Airlines Launched A New System To Keep Flights Staffed — Angry Senior Pilots Could Overthrow Their Union - View from the Wing https://t.co/pik4DNs7FK
Safran Stockpiles Rare Earths, Invests in Casting for Engine Growth
Safran is building rare earth stocks and investing in casting to protect engine production growth. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/04/safran-rare-earth-stockpiling-adds.html
Trump Pushes Lunar Nuclear Reactor Despite Past Mishaps
Trump wants a nuclear fisson reactor orbiting the moon by 2028. This is not a joke either. The U.S. launched a nuclear reactor into orbit in 1965, but space-based nuclear programs were abandoned after radioactive releases. 🤦♂️ Given the supreme dedication...