• De-orbit is a Polite Word for the End of Bluebird 7

    Sunday’s failed satellite launch by Blue Origin will have a number of repercussions. So, three negative outcomes and one position outcome. A turnaround on all of these issues will take time, including the design of the satellite itself. While it appears each generation of the Bluebird satellite is getting larger, this could be a fixable…

  • Space Stories: Blue Origin Brings Satellite to Wrong Orbit, Space Force Preparing for Moon Base, and Japan Refocuses After Deletion of Lunar Gateway

    Here are some recent space-related stories. —Associated Press: “Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket is Grounded After Launching Satellite into the Wrong Orbit“ Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, blamed a bad engine Monday for a failed weekend launch that left a satellite in the wrong orbit, dooming it. Launches of the huge New Glenn rocket are…

  • Space Quote: Voyager 1 Still Going, but with One Less Instrument

    “While shutting down a science instrument is not anybody’s preference, it is the best option available…Voyager 1 still has two remaining operating science instruments — one that listens to plasma waves and one that measures magnetic fields. They are still working great, sending back data from a region of space no other human-made craft has…

  • House Report: Budget Issues at NASA

    A new released minority staff report from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, titled MISSION ABORTED: How NASA Illegally Implemented the President’s Budget Request Without Congressional Approval, has a few issues with the budget process at NASA. Here is the main point from the report’s executive summary: In 2025, NASA implemented the President’s…

  • Pic of the Week: 3D Map of the Universe

    This week’s image is from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), which had a 5-year goal to map millions of galaxies and quasars, and thereby create the largest high-resolution 3D map of the Universe ever made.The image above shows the results of this work (completed in less than 5 years) containing more than 47 million…

  • Dune: Odd Advertising

    I can understand that actors and actresses want to make some extra money on the side with advertising gigs, but sometimes the result is more comical than convincing. For example, actress Zendaya is now featured in Rolex watch advertisements with images of her as Dune’s Chani. It even has the slogan “Reach for the crown.”…

  • A Day in Astronomy: Apollo 13 Sets a Distance Record

    On this day in 1970, the Apollo capsule traveled to the farthest point from Earth of any Apollo mission. It was an unbroken record until last week, with the Artemis II mission exceeded this distance by 4,105 miles. Of course, that was a great achievement in an otherwise troubled Apollo mission. The Apollo 13 crew,…

  • Space Quote: Key Senator Pushes Against White House NASA Cuts

    “I’m going to try to lead the subcommittee and the whole committee to put us in a position where we are funding NASA, NOAA and our other agencies in a way that is pretty similar to what we did last year.” –Statement last Sunday by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), who serves at the chair of the…

  • Space Stories: Cygnus XL Cargo Craft Arrives at ISS, China Further Along Than US with Moon Lander, and a Martian Hopper Mission

    Here are some recent space-related stories. —NASA: “Canadarm2 Reaches Out and Captures Cygnus XL Cargo Craft“ At 1:20 p.m. EDT, NASA astronaut Chris Williams, with assistance from NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway, captured Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft using the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm…NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 mission launched at 7:41 a.m.…

  • Time to Advocate for NASA on the Hill

    There is no rest for the weary when it comes to reminding Congress about the importance of NASA. Even with last week’s successful Artemis II mission, it will be another uphill battle for supporters of NASA pushing against proposed White House cuts to NASA’s programs in Fiscal Year 2027. Fortunately, the Planetary Society is making…