Thoughts from Jeffrey Carter.
This resistance to building them down here is probably going to help industrialize space.
Category Archives: Space
Russia’s Destruction Continues
Ukraine strikes at the very heart of the Russian space program. https://t.co/YzcYwx5whw
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) August 15, 2026
Throttling The Bureaucrats
— Michelle L.D. Hanlon (@hanlonesq) August 12, 2026
This may be the most visionary and sensible NASA administrator ever.
[Update a while later]
Jared’s post was presumably in response to this:
Reading this is incredibly radicalizing. I want to do the exact opposite after reading this. It also oozes with AI-written prose. Fitting, as it’s anti-human and is intended to stop settlement of Mars. https://t.co/tHunJ5UX6s
— Robotbeat🗽 ➐ (@Robotbeat) August 12, 2026
Long March 7A Failure
“fts” sure pic.twitter.com/I66MM1niB0
— Michael France (@michaelsrockets) August 10, 2026
I didn’t know that Chinese rockets even had FTS. Looks more like a Max-Q failure to me.
[Update a few minutes later]
A Chinese CZ-7A was launched today from Wenchang, but the flight ended about ~80 seconds into the flight with an explosion. Reportedly it carried the military geostationary communications satellite ZX 4B.https://t.co/9J6Eo4VR9l pic.twitter.com/prMzeN2ofY
— Gunter Krebs 🚀 🛰 🇺🇦 🇬🇱🏳️🌈 (@Skyrocket71) August 10, 2026
[Update a while later]
It's hard to tell how much the video screen footage is slowed down, but here's a rough attempt at syncing two views: pic.twitter.com/oXiHZNYglK
— Scott Manley (@DJSnM) August 10, 2026
“I Just Saw The Future In A Phone Call”
Stephen Green reports on Elon’s earnings call.
Increasing Cadence Ahead
SPACEX: According to local reports, the final stages of a deal are in place for SpaceX to build the new spaceport on Pecan Island in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, and Governor Jeff Landry is expected to make an announcement this month.
— S.E. Robinson, Jr. (@SERobinsonJr) August 2, 2026
SpaceX would gain control of the land… pic.twitter.com/kaKKJHhDZ3
[Tuesday-morning update]
We now have a rough timetable on the schedule.
[Bumped]
Starship’s Heat Shield
…remains a problem, even with the recent successful flight.
This is the kind of technology that (as it did as the NACA, before it became NASA) that NASA should have been prioritizing for decades. But it was more important to build a giant expendable rocket without a design reference mission.
Starship Flight 13
I’d probably characterize it as “progress.” It was the goal, after all.
It was disappointing to lose the booster, but at the rate they’re building them, they can accomplish their mission goals without recovering them; it will just cost more. And I’m sure they’ll work out the final bugs.
[Late-morning update]
Time-lapse of today’s Starship flight, from liftoff to splashdown, in just 150 seconds. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/1jGFPK4CYV
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) July 25, 2026
Commercial Space
It isn’t a tulip mania; it’s the next Internet.
I will note that SpaceX stock continues to decline, with a daily (and historic, for its short history) low today of $110.85, so everyone who bought at the IPO is currently underwater. But probably a buying opportunity now.
A Golden Oldie
From twenty-one years ago on this date. A lot of comments there from commenters who may no longer be with us.
First Starship V.3 attempt was on the anniversary of the launch; today’s will be on the anniversary of the landing. I’ll be discussing that and Evoloterra on The Space Show at 7 PM PDT.