Is Elon Musk Experiencing a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): 2015 explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. (ABC News)

SpaceX may have suffered a rocket loss yesterday, but everyone agrees that this is part of the process when trying something big.

What can we then say about Mr. Musk creating a second loss last week, but in this case it was a loss of confidence in his leadership at Twitter (yes, the site is also oddly called “x” even though the web address is still twitter.com)? Is that also part of the process when trying something big, or is he simply becoming a loss leader that is getting in his own way. And, more importantly to this site, is he squandering his other assets, including SpaceX?

The latest incident involves his support of an earlier post on Twitter that defamed the American Jewish community. It is unclear why Mr. Musk cannot act like an adult and focus on his businesses, but his actions have led to multiple firms pulling their advertising dollars from Twitter.

I agree his irresponsible behavior is nothing new, but it is starting to raise even more eyebrows as his businesses become more entangled with US Government missions. He is not just pushing a declining social app and electric cars, but rather he is also launching critical military satellites, bringing astronauts to the International Space Station, and planning to heavily support our return to the Moon.

Exhibit A – Kelsey D. Atherton, Chief Editor at the Center for International Policy, had this to say recently about Mr. Musk and SpaceX:

In the immediate term, Congress needs to investigate whether Musk’s public comments present a breach of contract on ethical or reliability grounds. Congress could require that any company that receives launch contracts must go public, ensuring at least some mechanism for shareholders to oust a CEO should they become a public or security liability.

I recommend reading the entire article. It is one voice at the moment, but the evidence is growing that Mr. Musk may be the wrong person to rely on in these times when he clearly cannot control himself. His “Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly” is painful to watch and something we need to guard against.

Starship Self-Destructs on Second Launch Attempt

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Starship hot-staging separation earlier today. (SpaceX)

Earlier today, SpaceX lost contact with its Starship rocket about 10 minutes into the launch. This happened after the second-stage separation, so while a successful landing of the rocket did not occur, the rocket had more success than the launch earlier this year.

After what appeared to be a self-detonation of the Starship rocket, the Federal Aviation Administration stated, “The anomaly resulted in a loss of the vehicle. No injuries or public property damage have been reported.” That includes the launchpad, which was basically destroyed during the last launch.

Baby steps.

It is not clear if this latest incident will lead to another long delay before another attempt is possible. And such tests are increasingly expensive when your reusable parts continue to blow up rather than land.

A lot is riding on these launches, as well as the reusable feature, given that NASA is estimating that as many as 20 Starship launches will be necessary under the Artemis III moon mission. Of course, if someone asked NASA to schedule 20 Space Launch System launches in this way, I doubt we would even be talking about an Artemis program.

Mr. Musk has promised a lot to the US space program. We need his full attention on this project.

Starship May Launch on Saturday

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: SpaceX

The Federal Aviation Administration has given SpaceX a green light to move forward with its next test of the Starship rocket. SpaceX may attempt the launch as soon as Saturday.

Let’s hope SpaceX can get back on track with its rocket. NASA is counting on the Starship as part of its Artemis III mission returning humans to the Moon, though recent delays have concerned all parties and may push off the Moon mission.

Video: Be Sure to Download the NASA+ App

Posted on by onespaceman2000

If you are trying to learn more about the space programs at NASA, you can download the recently updated NASA+ app, which has a variety of videos and astronomy series to please anyone’s curiosity. For instance, check out the videos under “Scientific Wonders” to learn more about the James Webb Space Telescope, the New Horizons mission to Pluto, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Kepler Space Telescope, the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return, and much more.

This free app can bring you up to speed on the earlier space programs as well as provide updates on the latest missions. For example, you can watch the video showing yesterday’s docking of the SpaceX CRS-29 Cargo Dragon Resupply Craft with the International Space Program.

You cannot go wrong with this free app. You can read more about the updated NASA+ app here.

Another Mission to Resupply the ISS Underway

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The launch of the CRS-19 resupply mission to the ISS on Thursday, November 9. (NASA)

Yesterday, NASA sent another resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. It will not rendezvous with the ISS until early Saturday morning (no sleeping in for the crew).

This mission, CRS-29, will be SpaceX’s 29th supply mission to the ISS. The next most frequent resupplier is Northrop Grumman, which has sent 19 resupply missions to the ISS.

If you are interested in the material being brought to the station, NASA discusses some of the contents here.

You can also follow the progress of the latest mission here.