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
Category Archives: Space
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.
Data-Center Opposition
…is a cultural proxy war against AI.
This is what will drive them into space.
Starship Flight 13
Just two days away.
[Thursday-morning update]
Here‘s what’s riding on the test.
SPCX hit a new low today. Everyone who bought since the IPO is currently underwater. Hard to know where the bottom might be, but it might be near it, and time to get in.
— Rand Simberg (@Simberg_Space) July 15, 2026
[Friday-morning update]
Well, if it hadn’t scrubbed, it would have flown on the 57th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11. Now it has been rescheduled for the same anniversary of the landing, on Monday.
[Bumped]
Every. Sixty.Minutes
Bamf pic.twitter.com/6I6IbvKCjm
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2026
Need to figure out how to integrate that onto an ocean platform.
The Race For Last Place
Thoughts on launch economics from Lux Ascent (that’s a pseudonym — I know who it is, but don’t know if that person wants to remain pseudonymous).
A New Space Substack
..at the Mercatus Center. With people like Tyler Cowen, it should be interesting.