Senior Space Editor at Ars Technica. Likes rockets. Author of the forthcoming book on the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, REENTRY. rb.gy/vj2kgs
Houston, TX
Joined August 2008
Pinned Tweet
I’m thrilled to announce the sequel to Liftoff, titled REENTRY, will be published on September 24. This book picks up the story where Liftoff left off, taking readers on a wild ride aboard the Falcon 9, Dragon, Heavy, and so much more. Publisher page: penguinrandomhouse.com/books…
Just want to make sure @WeHaveMECO sees this.
I did. No other launch providers who enable media access have any restrictions like those now imposed by ULA.
Boeing is clearly lobbying for NASA to accept flight rationale in lieu of not fully understanding the root cause of the Starliner thruster failure. It’s an interesting choice to fight this battle in public.
We remain confident in #Starliner and its ability to safely return to Earth with crew based on an abundance of testing conducted by our teams and @NASA in space and on the ground. Find an extensive list of testing at: starlinerupdates.com/boeings…
I want to be clear that I generally trust NASA, and trust NASA to do the right thing. But the ongoing contention that the July 14 "emergency" study was for something other than a Starliner contingency has been contradicted by multiple well-informed sources at NASA and SpaceX.
8/ Spetch says they're sending some items up for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, like clothes from their suitcases that were removed for the urine processing pump that flew up with Starliner. He also says that an emergency response study awarded to SpaceX was unrelated to CFT. He said it was connected Tracy Dyson flying back on Dragon.
Eric Berger retweeted
NASA is weighing whether to return its astronauts on Boeing’s Starliner – or instead send the capsule back empty and use SpaceX’s Dragon. There is no consensus so far, per a CNBC source, with the outcome unpredictable as NASA assesses Starliner’s risk level. Confirming @SciGuySpace's reporting: cnbc.com/2024/08/02/nasa-may… $BA
It's awesome to see review copies of Reentry finally making their way into the world. If you would like a copy to review for your publication, video channel, or podcast, DMs are open.
Eric Berger retweeted
NASA and Boeing's careful parsing of their work on Starliner has walked the line of transparency, but if the agency did just lie to reporters about the July 14 study, as @SciGuySpace reports here, it will be a major blow to its credibility. arstechnica.com/space/2024/0…
A final decision has not been made, but I now believe it is more likely than not that Starliner's crew returns on Dragon. I asked NASA about this and their reply was not a denial, but rather, "we're evaluating all options." Story: arstechnica.com/space/2024/0…
For weeks and weeks I was 100 percent confident astronauts were coming back on Starliner. About 10 days ago I was 80-20 they were. Now, I am less than that. NASA needs to be more transparent.
Not sure what changed. As of yesterday, NASA's plan was to hold a Flight Readiness Review for Starliner's return today. Now it appears to be moving to next week. blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcre…
Not much newsy from the ASAP Panel meeting today. They were briefed on NASA's work with Starliner about two weeks ago, when tests and analyses were ongoing. They're pleased with progress of the new Moon to Mars office.
Some ppl focused on the visiting vehicles issue. But this is bonkers: "For example, these defects could lead the flight computers to unexpectedly restart," the report states. "If the network is not functioning properly, it could result in loss of control of the Gateway."
The report suggests Gateway is behind schedule and of limited use to lunar and Mars landings. It suggests Gateway will be complex to undertake at the same time NASA attempts to establish a lunar surface program. Other than that, everything is going great. arstechnica.com/space/2024/0…
Losing Krikalev would definitely not be a positive sign for the US-Russia relationship in space. He's one of the ties that bind.
Eric Berger retweeted
CNES has revealed that it does not expect an inaugural flight of its Callisto reusable rocket demonstrator until late 2025 or early 2026. europeanspaceflight.com/has-…
For a lot of reasons, LOL.
Large launch vehicles result in large environmental impacts. Environmental regulations will ultimately limit the launch rates of giant rockets. The much smaller impact of small launchers will allow them to launch frequently & approach daily launched rates ow.ly/uxla50SNOmw
I guess we know why Boeing doesn’t want to play at fixed price contracts any more. arstechnica.com/space/2024/0…
I visited Axiom Space today to get a read on how they're doing with spacesuits, which is critical for Artemis since they're the sole provider left for lunar suits. I'll have a full story in due course, but I came away feeling positive about their progress.
I am once again calling on this mission to convert to using Arabic numerals for all data collection and transmission.
A @NASAOIG audit of the @NASARoman finds that its is on cost and on schedule for launch in May 2027, but caution that "Significant risks remain in NASA’s plan for transmitting Roman data to Earth." Report: oig.nasa.gov/office-of-inspe…
