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: Technology and Society
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.
The Louisville Crash
I remember the Chicago event. It’s interesting that some aircraft get their lives extended forever (e.g., the B-52 and the 737) and others age out.
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?
Reality Has Caught Up To “Climate Change”
Good news, from VDH.
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.
Dear Google
Your AI is garbage.
Not surprising.
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.