Senior Space Editor, Ars Technica. I’m here to talk space.
Not sure if this is public, but the current plan for Crew-9, if they launch with two astronauts as a rescue mission for Starliner, is to fly with Zena Cardman as commander and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov as pilot. NASA needs to continue to make crew rotations with Roscosmos.
After the invasion of Ukraine, the downfall of Russia's space program has accelerated. At this pace, it appears that the country's space program is on pace for the fewest number of Russian or Soviet space launches in a year since 1961. That was when Yuri Gagarin went to space at the dawn of the human spaceflight era.arstechnica.com/space… NASA’s tentative date for Starliner’s undocking from the International Space Station is September 6, whether the spacecraft is crewed or not. Final decision on Butch and Suni likely to be made about 10 days from now. Both options being worked still. SpaceThreads Interesting Bloomberg story on United Launch Alliance's struggles to retain launch site staff even as it is scrambling to dramatically increase its cadence of missions. It will be a challenge to launch more frequently and maintain the company's pristine safety record, IMO. bnnbloomberg.ca/busin… Comment on Reddit provides some additional insight.
At the top of today's Starliner press call NASA's Ken Bowersox said the agency doesn't have any big announcements today. No surprise, as they're still working the issue. They may not make a decision until the last week of August. However, the vibe on this call feels very much like they're preparing the way for a Crew Dragon return.
A difficult morning in the Berger household. Our youngest child is a senior in high school. Where has the time gone?!?
I'm not sure what NASA officials will say at today's Starliner news conference. I know that no final decisions will be made until this weekend, at the earliest. However, based on my latest reporting I now believe it is significantly more likely Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams return to Earth on Crew Dragon than Starliner.
I recently spoke with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson about budget cuts at the agency, Artemis deadlines, and more. On science cuts, he said: "My response to the scientists is, I feel your pain. But, when I am faced with $2 billion of cuts over two years just in Science, I can't go and print the dollars. And so, we have to make hard choices."arstechnica.com/space… Have to agree. I re-engaged with Threads after more than a year due to Musk's latest misinformation campaign in the UK and in the US elections. It's brutal. I'm just looking for a place to talk space and space policy. But 90 percent of what I'm seeing here is an echo chamber of anti-Musk vitriol. It's repetitive and boring. Can we, like, talk about all the other stuff happening in the world (and in my case, off-world)?
SpaceX will fly the first-ever human spaceflight over the Earth’s poles, possibly before the end of this year, the company announced. The private Crew Dragon mission will be led by a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur named Chun Wang, as well as a scientist, polar explorer, and filmmaker.spacex.com/updat… I wrote about the flaws in NASA's safety culture that enabled the space shuttle Challenger and Columbia tragedies. Then, I asked the question of whether this safety culture still exists as the space agency nears a decision on Starliner.arstechnica.com/space… Would love some suggested spaceflight and space policy follows on Threads.
205th landing of a Falcon rocket. Overall this was SpaceX’s 46th launch of 2023. (Which is insane btw).
Zuck’s first satellite blew up on a Falcon 9.
Today we lost the Ariane 5 rocket and gained Threads. Life seems to be on a suborbital trajectory.
Another social media account? I guess. Looking for fellow rocket enjoyers. 🚀
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