Curmudgeons Corner
Random thoughts on politics, current events, popular culture, and whatever else interests me.
Monday, February 26, 2024
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Shortly after 1 a.m. EST on Feb. 15, the second attempt of a commercial lunar landing mission lifted off on board a SpaceX Falcon 9. The Nova-C lander, also dubbed the Odysseus, successfully landed near the lunar south pole on Thursday.
(This article was turned in before the news that the Nova-C had actually landed on its side. So far, the Hill has not updated the piece to reflect this fact. I hope that this will happen in due course. In the meantime, my apologies. )
(The update has been made thanks to my esteemed editor.)
Saturday, February 24, 2024
For the first time in over 50 years, an American spacecraft landed on the Moon – made possible by American ingenuity, innovation, and curiosity. Congratulations to the teams at NASA and Intuitive Machines on this thrilling step forward. We're leading the world back to the Moon.
More from the White House.
Friday, February 23, 2024
I just turned in my piece to @thehill that will cover the @Int_Machines moon landing. But a couple of observations in advance The last minute scramble to upload a software patch to bring the NASA lidar hardware on line was a moment of high drama. It also proves that CLPS is a partnership between the space agency and the new space commercial companies. The biggest loser of the @Int_Machines moon landing has to be Russia's Vladimir Putin. Russia's failed moon landing contrasts with the American success. Putin needs to learn that national greatness resides in space and not ill-advised military adventures.
Thursday, February 22, 2024
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Monday, February 19, 2024
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Recently, a crew of commercial astronauts on the Ax-3 mission returned to Earth after a period of performing experiments on the International Space Station with a possible new cancer treatment.