Artemis II Launch Delayed, No New Countdown Set.
NASA has not set a new T-0 but the Artemis II mission will not launch at 6:24 pm ET today. “A little more work” to do.
Artemis II Crew’s Perfect Blend Wins Hearts
The crew of Artemis II is just a perfect mix of personalities. It is so easy to like and root for Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy on their grand journey around the Moon. Godspeed, all.
Artemis II Fueling Progresses Smoothly, Sparking Cautious Optimism
Excited to see that the Artemis II fueling is going so well, but can't but feel ... https://t.co/gJGnTj2Cc7
Finally Thrilled: Orion's Third Flight Exceeds Expectations
I had mixed feelings about the first two flights of Orion. But not this one. https://t.co/9YROBrhJ7M
NASA Confirms Artemis II Launch Ready for Wednesday
Monday briefing: NASA remains “go” for launch of Artemis II at 6:24 pm ET on Wednesday. 🚀
NASA Halts Second Mobile Launch Tower Over Mismanagement
During a news conference today NASA's Shawn Quinn confirmed that a stop work order has been issued for the second Mobile Launch tower at Kennedy Space Center. This was a massively mismanaged program completely unnecessary for landing on the Moon,...
Critics Slam NASA's Controversial Commercial Space Station Plan
No one, it seems, is happy with NASA's new idea for commercial space stations. https://t.co/SVhXpYQAnK
European Space Power Backs Ignition Lunar Base Plan
One of the three major space powers in Europe signals its strong support for the Ignition plan to develop a sprawling lunar base over the next decade.
NASA Admits Limited Future for Humans in LEO
Pour one out for NASA's Joel Montalbano. Months ago he is confirmed to appear before the US House to speak about the future of humans in low-Earth orbit. On the day before his appearance NASA basically says there isn't much...
Carlos Garcia‑Galan Outlines Detailed Moon Base Roadmap
I’ve been waiting literally decades for NASA to articulate a plan for a Moon base. Now Carlos Garcia-Galan is doing a masterful job of precisely this. Dozens of landings. Drones. RTGs. Rovers. Habitats. Excavators. This is incredible stuff.
NASA Shifts to Commercial Launches, Moon Flights Every Six Months
NASA’s Lori Glaze said, beginning with Artemis VI, the agency will transition from government driven missions to commercial launches (ie Starship or New Glenn or others). Agency wants to launch humans to the Moon at least every six months.
Isaacman's Speech Praises NASA Transparency Over Cover‑ups
This is the speech Isaacman is presently giving. What is refreshing about this is that it acknowledges NASA’s shortcomings rather than minimizing or covering them up.
NASA Announces Major Program Updates at 9 Am ET
Expecting major news today across a broad range of programs at NASA. Event here at NASA HQ starts at 9 am ET. https://t.co/MGTEqhfgfV
NASA to Reveal Artemis Plans, Spotlight Former Gateway Manager
NASA will share a ton of Artemis planning information tomorrow at HQ. I’ve highlighted Garcia-Galan because he was deputy program manager for Gateway prior to this. https://t.co/HlCvRYr1N6
Bezos Invests in Terminator SSO Sunlit Space Gold Rush
Jeff Bezos joins the gold rush to Terminator SSO (and permanent sunlight in space near Earth). https://t.co/QyGifj6ehT
Rocket Lab Scores Timely Capability Win
Impressive win here for Rocket Lab: delivering the right capability at the right time. https://t.co/8vUinNNlgG
Ariane 6 Poised as Amazon Leo’s Workhorse
Who had Ariane 6 as the booster that would emerge from the Vulcan/New Glenn/Ariane 6 triumvirate of new rockets to become a workhorse for Amazon Leo?
NASA, SpaceX Clash over Starship’s Manual‑control Landing Requirement
NASA and SpaceX fought over this issue with Dragon a decade ago. Now, Starship. “There is disagreement between NASA and SpaceX on whether the provider’s current proposed approach for landing meets the intent of the Agency’s manual control requirement." https://t.co/5QEjeehemw
Tight Timeline Limits Science Payloads for Upcoming Test
A great question. Isaacman has talked about maximizing science and other exploration goals wherever possible. This will be an interesting test case. Unfortunately ~18 months between now and a potential launch date does not leave much time for scientific payloads.
Phantom Space: Countering China's Expanding Space Ambitions
Thank goodness for Phantom Space. Here to save us from the rising tide of China’s space program. 🤔
Blue Origin CEO Unveils New Stock Options After Criticism
A week ago I sent some questions to Blue Origin about its "monopoly money" stock options program. An hour ago, CEO Dave Limp tells the company they're launching a new stock options program. https://t.co/nNipz4qTtQ
Starbase Evolves Into World's Leading Rocket Factory
The growth of Starbase over the last decade, from nothing to arguably the world's premiere rocket factory, is remarkable. This image of V3 rolling out is gorgeous. https://t.co/vVNpNoROaJ
Isaacman Chooses Moon Transport Over Contractor Profits
Isaacman decided that vehicles to get us on the Moon are better than vehicles to enrich contractors. https://t.co/MB7VRZhxMB
NASA Justifies Sole-Source ULA Contract for Artemis Upper Stages
It's happening. "This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a sole-source contract to United Launch Alliance (ULA) to procure replacement upper stages for use in the Space Launch System (SLS) for the...
Lunar Landers Freed: Ditch NRHO, Embrace E
Without a requirement to dock in Gateway’s orbit things get more interesting for lunar landers. Say goodbye to NRHO and hello to EPO/CoLA? https://t.co/C8SSQ6A8bA
Congress Urges NASA to Pick Private Station Developers by 2032
The ISS is now likely to fly through 2032, and Congress wants NASA to get moving on selecting two developers for private space stations. https://t.co/tsD0ZCfxnB
Matt Anderson Poised for Smooth NASA Deputy Confirmation
NASA may soon get a deputy administrator. Matt Anderson is before a Senate committee today. Barring surprises his confirmation in the coming weeks should be non-controversial.
Simple Plan to Save Artemis Revealed
A year and a half ago I published a story with my simple plan for saving Artemis. https://t.co/q8yk0zTW3O Here it was in a nutshell: https://t.co/jSbtdKb3zE
Senate Bill Gives Strong Backing to NASA's Artemis Revamp
The US Senate's new 'reauthorization' bill offers a major endorsement for NASA's revamped Artemis plans. Seriously, this is a really great legislation overall. No idea how Isaacman got this done so quickly, but he delivered. https://t.co/g7MeTnqlSm
NASA Launch Procurement Cap Removed From Reauthorization Bill
The proposed language to cap NASA's launch procurement at 50 percent from any one company has been dropped from the final NASA reauthorization bill. I wrote about this issue on Monday: https://t.co/x4jDOwadVr
Winter Breakthrough with Limited Resources Boosts NASA and ISS
This is legitimately impressive, in the dead of winter, with limited resources. It's also good for NASA and the ISS in general.
Isaacman's Revamp Targets 2028 Lunar Landing, Not Delay
The non-space press missed the key elements of Isaacman’s revamp of Artemis. They perceived it as some sort of delay, which is wrong. Technically it was Sean Duffy who moved the lunar landing to 2028 last year. But in reality,...
Cruz Bill Sneaks Anti‑SpaceX Clause Into NASA Funding
I guess we know who successfully placed the anti-SpaceX provision in the Cruz reauthorization legislation for NASA. https://t.co/O05CGCT5vM
Artemis Announcement Signals Needed Shift After Years of Neglect
Today's Artemis announcement by Jared Isaacman is bold and necessary. Astute observers have recognized serious flaws in Artemis for years, but NASA officials have largely whistled beyond the graveyard. Now, possibly, that could change.
Jared Isaacman Unveils Major Overhaul of Artemis Program
NASA's Jared Isaacman just announced sweeping changes to the Artemis Program. Here's what is happening: https://t.co/Hq3zpK2fv2
NASA Mars Spacecraft Contract Competition Heats Up
The contest for the contract to build NASA’s next Mars spacecraft is getting spicy. 🌶️ https://t.co/RhlVdkCXDG
NASA Veteran Ken Bowersox Retires After Starliner Report
Ken Bowersox just announced he is retiring from NASA. This comes a week after the release of the Starliner report.
NASA Rolls Back SLS Booster, Removing Rocket From Artemis
SLS booster now rolling back from launch pad in Florida as Isaacman-led NASA puts "best part is no part" into practice by removing rocket from Artemis. https://t.co/32nwXLbUKG
Humans Returning to Deep Space Within Two Weeks
We might be just two weeks from sending humans back into deep space. For 75 percent of the world's population, it will be the first time this has happened in their lifetimes. Can't wait to see it.
NASA Chooses Transparency Over Sweeping Starliner Issues
The easy thing to do—the expected thing, really—would have been for NASA to sweep this report under the rug, declare Starliner-CFT a great learning experience, and say everything is going well. NASA did not do the easy thing. https://t.co/yNN1rRnLYi
Starliner Crew Flight Test Findings Detailed in 312‑page Report
Here's the full, 312-page report of findings from the Program Investigation Team regarding the Starliner crew flight test. https://t.co/rd3RyEQ4YZ
Rocket Lab, Blue Origin PR Clash Over Mars Telecom
Watching the PR comms from Rocket Lab and Blue Origin on Mars Telecommunications Orbiter has been fascinating.
Blue Moon Launch Marks Start of Commercial Lunar Race
First of all, this is an epic photo. Second, I believe the successful launch (and hopefully) landing of Blue Moon will be a pivotal moment in the space community's recognition that there's a real commercial race to the surface. Third,...
NASA's $650M SLS Ground System Overdue After Artemis I
NASA had literally three years after Artemis I to work on, and improve the SLS rocket ground systems. The annual budget for SLS "Ground Support Equipment" is around $650 million. It's completely unacceptable.
NASA's SLS Test Fails, Delayed Update on Ground‑system Issue
Yikes. NASA couldn’t even complete a test of the SLS rocket’s ground system seal for liquid hydrogen because something else broke with the ground systems. And they wait until 8 pm ET Friday to send an update on something they...
Blue Origin Unveils Ambitious New Lunar Mission Roadmap
I got a peek at Blue Origin’s new lunar plans. Here’s what I found: https://t.co/cOEKOK9aKd
