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.
Category Archives: Space
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.
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?
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]
A “Simplified” Lunar Architecture
What could it look like?
Congrats To Blue Origin
We now have two American launch companies that are recovering boosters (well, three, if we count Rocketlab).
[Update a while later]
Thoughts from Bob Zimmerman.
Nothing New Under The Sun
I was digging through the archives looking for my first Veteran’s Day post in 2001, and I ran across this fisking of an op-ed on space policy from The Economist. It holds up pretty well, I think. I wish that they had followed my advice then. We’d be a lot further ahead.
Orion
I’m not sure — he’s sometimes subtle — but one gets the impression that he doesn’t like it.
Elon Strikes Back
It will be quite amusing if Duffy has goaded him into beating SLS/Orion to the Moon.
I’m glad that he’s realized it was politically stupid to say that the Moon “is a distraction.”
[Update a while later]
HLS interior. A true spaceship. But here's my mindblowing take. This is by far the worst Starship interior we will ever see. I think this is a very bare bones cladding that will be blown out of the water by their LETS lander, and standard crew variant.
— Ken Kirtland IV (@KenKirtland17) October 30, 2025
🧵 pic.twitter.com/JEf9xGw03m
Bloggus Interruptus
For those wondering, we’re on an actual vacation, and not just on a pleasure trip combined with business, for the first time in a long time. We flew to Cancun yesterday, and are ensconced in a resort between there and Playa del Carmen. Keeping an eye on the hurricane, but the current projected tracks show it heading north, not west, after it beats the hell out of Jamaica and Cuba. We’re here all week, and I may find some time to keep up with events and blog, but we plan to see some Mayan temples and do some diving. Next Friday we head to Orlando, and then I’ll be at space conferences next week at the University of Central Florida.
Anyway disport yourself gently in comments on topics general.