Musk’s SpaceX Ownership Dips, Voting Power Rises
This story is odd, because Musk's economic stake in SpaceX actually fell from 41.7% to 41.5% during 2025 (his voting stake went up from 79.5% to 80.0% but that's to be expected when others sell supervoting shares) https://t.co/K5sOcpCVK8
New Vessel Dedicated Exclusively to Starship Operations
The vessel will be "fully dedicated to support Starship operations going forward." Any details @TurkeyBeaver?
Decouple Life Support: Robot Companion for Agile EVA Suits
The current SpaceX EVA suit needs Dragon for life support. On the Moon that won’t be possible. Why not keep all those systems separate from the suit? Imagine a small robot carrying all the support systems, following the suit. Benefit: Far more...
Govt Has Spent $6.27 B on OCX Program
As of January, the government had spent approximately $6.27 billion on the OCX program. https://t.co/h7T9EfpB94
Progress MS-32 Undocks, Set for South Pacific Reentry
The Progress MS-32 cargo ship undocked from the aft port on Zvezda at 2208 UTC Apr 20. The deorbit burn was due to occur at 0114 UTC Apr 21 with reentry expected over the S Pacific at 0205 UTC.
Air Force Scraps RTX GPS Control Network Amid Delays
Just in: Air Force cancels RTX’s ground-control network for the US’s next generation of GPS satellites after years of delays and cost overruns https://t.co/fCp7EVCZtz
Progress MS-32 Departs ISS, Begins Destructive Re‑entry
Progress MS-32 departed the ISS for a destructive plunge into the Earth's atmosphere. FULL HISTORY OF THE MISSION: https://t.co/enMBZ6EjHi
Space Becomes Core Component of Enterprise IT
The space race and what it means for enterprises https://t.co/wirfFrzmGa @Amazon's move to acquire Globalstar is just the latest data point that enterprises are likely to have space as part of the IT stack with real-world use cases. https://t.co/VmPMCHSFcG
Missing Upper‑Stage Deorbit Details Highlight Risk Transparency Gap
Hmm. No mention of the upper stage deorbit. No risk assessment. I get it. It’s corporate text, because damage mitigation, but still. Would have been nice.
Low‑Thrust BE‑3U May Extend
Question for those more expert on rocket engines than me: if the BE-3U fires at low thrust, does the stage try to fire longer to compensate? How plausible that it fired the normal amount and had prop left over for...
Reusability, Not Fuel, Drives Falcon 9 Cost Savings
The fuel for a Falcon 9 launch costs only a few hundred thousand dollars, a tiny fraction of a roughly $70 million mission. The expensive part used to be throwing away the rocket. Reusability is what changed the economics and drove...
Progress MS-34 Cleared, Prepped for Soyuz Launch April 22
Progress MS-34 cargo ship went through final inspection and was rolled inside payload fairing, ahead of its integration with the Soyuz rocket on April 22, according to Roskosmos. Context: https://t.co/7CRrXKhOEn https://t.co/L5U5JOljRS
Space Force Confirms BlueBird 7 Reentry on April 20
DEORBIT - Space Force just issued a decay notice for BlueBird 7, saying it reentered on Apr 20 (with no further details)
NASA Suit Report Highlights Commercial LEO Destination Debate
This line in the new OIG report on NASA's next-generation spacesuits is interesting in light of the recent debate about commercial LEO destinations. https://t.co/xWmu75FG2y https://t.co/Z6Zzd7s7em
Panasonic Avionics Targets 202
Panasonic Avionics in 2027 plans to offer a “truly global” multi-network LEO satellite-powered IFC solution — including across G7 and BRICS countries — by pairing two LEO-only ESAs atop aircraft fuselages to support service from OneWeb and China’s Spacesail. https://t.co/lKUdtEPHvt
Space Force Releases Likely Bogus BB7 Search Orbit Data
Well this is REALLY WEIRD. Space Force just issued another BB7 orbit with an epoch of 1235 UTC yesterday and a nominal orbit of 455 x 462 km x 49.5 deg. I suspect this orbit is BOGUS and is a...
From Wagons to Starships: Private Wealth Drives Space
The difference today vs. 1972: we built the Conestoga wagon with Starship, and there is now enough wealth in the hands of single individuals to keep space exploration going, independent of any government.
Ultra‑thin 3D‑printed Astronaut Suit Dazzles at Festival
3D Printed Astronaut suit buy it is so thin 😂🫣 work by hueforge spotted at @rockymountainreprapfestival #3dprinting #artemis #astronauts
Moon‑view Video Streams Instantly to Your Pocket Device
Riding in a self driving car. Watching a video recorded by a handheld supercomputer with a telephoto video camera included. Recorded from a spacecraft orbiting the moon. Transmitted instantly over a global information network. Displayed on your own pocket super computer....
Artemis II Unites Global Audience Through YouTube Live
When @NASA's Artemis II crew splashed down in the Pacific, they not only completed a 10-day historic mission, but also captured the world’s imagination and united a global community on @YouTube. Over the course of their journey, NASA's official YouTube broadcast...
Hubble Already Turns Its Lens Toward Earth
What if NASA aimed Hubble at the Earth? Well they kind of already do… #space #nasa #hubble #astronomy #astrokobi
MDA Space Secures Major Airbus Antenna Order for OneWeb Refresh
.@MDA_space, which supplied 2,000 antenas for @EutelsatGroup 650 Gen 1 OneWeb satellites, has won repeat order from @AirbusSpace for more than 880 Ka-band steerable antennas and 440 Ku-band user replacement antennas as part of 440-sat OneWeb Gen 1 refresh. https://t.co/Qm92DFyItN
ASTS Payload Misplacement: Wrong Orbit Demands De‑orbit Plan
Success? They put their $ASTS payload into the wrong orbit. How will that be de-orbited?
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
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
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
Second Stage Boosts Exhaust Velocity, Relighting Is Hard
As everyone knows, the second stage of a rocket launching a payload into space maximizes its exhaust velocity to ensure it has enough "push" to complete both steps of the transfer with limited fuel. Relighting engines in orbit isn't easy....
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:
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."
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
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.
Donut‑Shaped Phoenix Capsule Uses Inflatable Heat Shield
Phoenix space capsule: Donut-Shaped Capsule with Inflatable Heat Shield Returns Payloads to Earth by @spaceandtech_ #SpaceTech #AI #Engineering #Innovation #Technology https://t.co/WvjwMbAJaM
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