A brief history of their misbegotten use in spaceflight, by frequent-commenter Mike Puckett.
[Update late afternoon Mountain time]
I want to share my own condolences to Mike on the loss of his beloved cat. But it sounds like she had a good run.
Off The Air
We’re driving up to Salt Lake City for the Smallsat Conference. Staying in Mesquite, NV tonight, then Park City for the first half of the week. I’ll have laptop, but not sure how much posting I’ll be doing. Comments are open.
Therapy
Is it making us and our culture sick?
Space Transportation Policy
The president has issued a memorandum. I’m skimming it right now, but new policy was definitely needed with the upcoming planned cadence of launch, landing, and entry.
Dearbornistan
The Michigan city has become one of the front lines for the war of Islam against the West. We’ll see how this plays out in the Senate race.
Forty Years Of Foresight
I’ve known Eric for almost half a century, and Chris for forty years. My colleague Jim Bennett, another founder, is also briefly shown.
American Shipbuilding
…is back, despite the Jones Act.
The Need For Officer-Promotion Reform
TLDR maybe but I’m so glad you brought this up! Here’s why we can’t have iconoclast generals in the U.S. anymore:
— InfantryDort (@infantrydort) August 19, 2026
1947: Officer Personnel Act. We standardized “up-or-out.” Officers increasingly advanced through centralized boards and prescribed career timing instead of being… https://t.co/Og5M2Zk2jG
Data Centers
Thoughts from Jeffrey Carter.
This resistance to building them down here is probably going to help industrialize space.
The Piscine Massacre
Welp, coons defeated my fencing and got into the fish pond last night. Lost three koi and four goldfish.
— Not-So-OK Boomer (@Rand_Simberg) August 18, 2026