Yes. It’s time (long past time, IMO) to move them from the Air Force to the Army. They’re really just very long-range artillery. Get the USAF out of both the missile and space business and get it to focus on aviation.
Dave Cheuvront
This was unexpected. I saw him at the beginning of the month in Orlando at the NSS Space Settlement Summit. I quoted and referenced him in my Reason Foundation study, for his work in showing that multiple launches were actually lower mission risk than a single one. Lori Guisewhite (who I also saw there) remembers him as well.
RIP and Ad Astra.
The Anti-Promethean Backlash(es)
Thoughts on its source(s), from Virginia Postrel.
One of the irritating things about the immigration debate is the conflation of opposition to immigration per se, and opposition to the unrestricted flooding of the country with people who have been completely unvetted, and many of whom are coming not for American opportunity but rather government handouts, and many of whom hate America (e.g., Somalians in Minnesota).
Oopsie
The new version of the Starship booster had an issue on the pad.
Hopefully, they’ll figure it out quickly, and it won’t be too big a setback.
Another Space Bureaucracy
I don’t understand why this wouldn’t be in NASA’s charter. You can say they haven’t been doing a very good job of it, but the response to that should be to fix that, not create another agency.
The Louisville Crash
I remember the Chicago event. It’s interesting that some aircraft get their lives extended forever (e.g., the B-52 and the 737) and others age out.
Military Necessity
…and the right to repair.
It’s a complicated issue. I wonder how much this issue is going to bleed over into space hardware?
Reality Has Caught Up To “Climate Change”
Good news, from VDH.
Here We Go Again
Trump has renominated Jared Isaacman.
This is good news if he doesn’t change his mind again.
[Wednesday-morning update]
Thoughts from Eric Berger.
[11-10 update]
A post on X that Jared posted just before the announcement:
It is unfortunate that NASA’s team and the broader space community have to endured distractions like this. There are extraordinary opportunities and some risks ahead and so the focus should be on the mission. With many reporters and other interested parties reaching out, I want… https://t.co/IyPVmHUAzo
— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) November 4, 2025
He’s going to push as hard for reform as is politically possible.
[November 17th update]
Jim Meigs has a good description of the state of play, including quotes from Yours Truly.
[Bumped]
The Fascist Kennedy Family
It’s just more evidence of the failing of the American media that too many Americans still worship these people as royalty.