Sunday, October 31, 2021

Hypersonic missile defense is a job for the Space Force

The recent revelation that China has tested two hypersonic glide missiles has rocked the American national security establishment. According to Bloomberg, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley suggested that the tests approached a “Sputnik moment,” harkening back to the Soviet launch of the first Earth satellite, which also proved the capability of delivering a nuclear warhead anywhere on Earth with a ballistic missile.

MUSK AND BEZOS: BEHIND A SURPRISING SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
SpaceX's 7th hire describes what it's like to work with Elon Musk: 'He expects a lot, and that's a challenge'
NASA to fly National Geographic cameras on crewed return to moon
The Moon, Mars, and Beyond #CommissionsEarned
Merrick Garland has proved himself unfit for Supreme Court — but he shouldn’t be AG either
Terry McAuliffe’s free fall in Virginia a mess of his own making
It’s weak by week for old Joe Biden

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Poland is the latest member of the Artemis Alliance
The UAE is becoming a major space power
Prince William’s snark about billionaire space travelers is unwelcome

Prince William, who in the fullness of time will be king of England, recently chose to get snarky at billionaires who are building rockets and are sending them to the heavens. Why, he opined in a recent interview, do these rich guys not spend their money solving climate change rather than launching toward the heavens? The sentiment was replete with both ignorance and a lack of self-awareness.

SpaceX spacecraft gain enough experience to deliver Russian cosmonauts — Roscosmos
NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission Helps Solve a Mystery: Why Are Some Asteroid Surfaces Rocky?
Why is it So Hard to Go Back to the Moon? #CommissionsEarned
Blue Origin Wants In on Luxury Space Real Estate
The search for alien tech
Tesla Is Worth $1 Trillion

Sunday, October 24, 2021

I've finished Don't Blow Yourself Up: The Further True Adventures and Travails of the Rocket Boy of October Sky and I can enthusiastically recommend it. #CommissionEarned
We watched Dune this afternoon and loved it. It, fortunately, lacked the druggy dialogue of the 1984 version.
The UAE is becoming a major space power

An old saying among foreign policy circles stated that while the kingdom of heaven runs on righteousness the kingdoms of the Earth run on oil. However, because of concerns about climate change, the fracking boom in the United States and the discovery of oil and gas deposits offshore of the State of Israel — the old reality no longer applies.

The new reality is that the kingdoms of the Earth run on high technology. Few countries have moved so quickly to adapt as the United Arab Emirates. The UAE, as part of a shift toward high tech, has started its own space program. In a few short years, the Arab gulf state has become a major space power.

Elon Musk says SpaceX could launch Starship orbital flight test next month
How SpaceX ignited a new Raptor engine on Starship without an explosion

#CommissionsEarned

NASA targets February launch for Artemis 1 moon mission
Under watchful eye of NASA, teams prep for final Ariane 5 flight before Webb
NASA thinks US needs nuclear-powered spacecraft to stay ahead of China

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Combined Russian and Chinese military power will approach, but not exceed US: report
Trump announces 'TRUTH Social' network will be rolled out first quarter of 2022
Replace Kamala Harris with William Shatner to get kids excited about space exploration
NASA defends decision to retain JWST name
THIS NEW DEEP SPACE PROPULSION SYSTEM RIDES LIKE A LEAF ON THE SOLAR WIND
ROLLING THE DICE WITH CHEAPER MISSIONS TO MARS
Inject Into My Veins: Condi Rice Stuns 'View' Hosts With Knockout Argument Against Critical Race Theory
Newt’s Prophecy

#CommissionsEarned

Americans Still Believe in Powell’s Principles
Climate Change Calls for Adaptation, Not Panic
It’ll Take More than American Military Might to Shore Up Taiwan

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Sunday, October 17, 2021

Replace Kamala Harris with William Shatner to get kids excited about space exploration

By now everyone has seen the cringy video of Vice President Kamala Harris extoling the excitement of space exploration to a group of kids who were gathered at her residence in Washington. While one supposes she gets points for making the effort, Harris claiming the kids could expect to see the craters of the moon with their own eyes (presumably from the lunar surface and not through a telescope) was unintentionally funny.

How did Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin fail to dominate the billionaire space race?
Moon dust: Greenland's recipe for saving Planet Earth

The Man from Mars: The Asteroid Mining Caper

#CommissionsEarned

A Chinese-Russian Moon Base? Not So Fast.
Elon Musk says SpaceX in talks to provide Starlink internet for airlines
ELON MUSK MEETS WITH CREATOR OF IRON MAN-STYLE SUIT AT SPACEX LAUNCH SITE

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Blue Origin is taking William Shatner to space — but can it distract from internal criticism?
The Soviet space engineer, Sergey Korolev, who inspires Elon Musk
Branson is trailing Bezos in space tourism, while Musk’s SpaceX competes in a league of its own

NASA's Lucy mission has launched to explore never-before-seen asteroids

Will NASA's Lucy probe find signs of alien life at the Trojan asteroids?

Study: Recycled Lithium Batteries as Good as Newly Mined
Was Our Universe Created in a Laboratory?

#CommissionsEarned

Captain Kirk vs. Prince William
Biden Suddenly Loves Frackers
Experts Slam Biden’s Plan To Build Government-Funded Wind Farms

Friday, October 01, 2021

Paul Spudis has a crater at the South Pole of the moon.
The Next Supply Side Agenda
FAA reviewing Blue Origin safety allegations
Russia is launching the first film crew to the space station on Tuesday - beating NASA and Tom Cruise
Liquid metal encased in hydrogel makes a promising energy-harvesting device
Why DARPA’s new hypersonic weapon could pack such a devastating punch
Whatever Happened to the Population Bomb?
The Joe Manchin Moment
The Quad Enters the Ring With China
House Democrats Delay Infrastructure Vote After Talks Stall, Left-Wing Dems Reaffirm Vow To Sink It
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria could make farming possible even in Martian soils
Orbit Fab to launch propellant tanker to fuel satellites in geostationary orbit