Happy Birthday, Blue Origin!

23 years of mediocrity.

Step by step, timidly.

Why does Bob Smith still have a job? I *want* BO to succeed, but how is that going to happen with Smith at the helm? High turnover, low morale, and little to show for it. There's a reaason why, under his leadership, BO employees refer to the company as "Blue Honeywell."

#Space #BlueOrigin #SpaceX #NewSpace

"Weather Delays #NASA’s #SpaceX Crew-6 Undocking from Station on Saturday" by @NASA / @Commercial_Crew - #Crew6 undocking & return delayed a day due to unfavorable #weather at Florida splashdown sites on Sunday. Splashdown planned early Mon. https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2023/09/01/weather-delays-nasas-spacex-crew-6-undocking-from-station-on-saturday/ #NewSpace

"Why did #SpaceX give up on 'catching' falling fairings? Its VP of launch explains" by @arstechnica / @sciguyspace - Failure-prone process of catching fairings in flight was replaced by ruggedizing them to float and pulling them from the ocean. https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/spacexs-vp-of-launch-shares-the-companys-special-algorithm-for-innovation/ #NewSpace

In case anyone interested missed it at the weekend: #space #humans #newspace #spaceelevators
https://mstdn.social/@Tiylaya/110960077568926644

"To understand why there was such a long downtime after Sir Richard Branson's flight on Virgin Galactic in 2021 and to learn how the company has reached a monthly flight cadence, I recently had a long interview with Mike Moses, the company's chief of operations and president. Moses came to Virgin Galactic in 2011 from NASA, where he worked as a flight director and then as a senior leader of the Space Shuttle program."

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/virgin-galactics-president-explains-how-vss-unity-is-now-flying-frequently/

#VirginGalactic #NewSpace #SPCE

"The string of chronic issues bred frustration, ultimately leading to all but two of Apollo Fusion engineers and staff leaving the company, LinkedIn data and interviews with multiple sources show."

Oof. Glad I didn't sink any money into Astra after announcing their shift to satellite engines. Dead company walking!

https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/28/astras-apollo-fusion-acquisition-followed-by-delays-and-desertion/

#ASTR #Astra #ApolloFusion #NewSpace

"In terms of orbital rockets, only NASA's space shuttle and SpaceX's Falcon 9 vehicles have demonstrated the capability of re-flying an engine. With Rutherford, Rocket Lab has now also flown a rocket engine that landed in the ocean for the first time."

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/rocket-lab-joins-spacex-in-re-flying-a-rocket-engine-to-space/

#RocketLab #RKLB #NewSpace #RutherfordEngine

A deep dive into Elon Musk and all the ways he's intertwined his efforts with with a whole host of public initiatives and policies.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/28/elon-musks-shadow-rule

#ElonMusk #SpaceX #NewSpace #Starlink #Ukraine #Tesla #xAI #OpenAI

Solid interview with Chris Kemp of Astra. After reading Vance's "When the Heavens Went on Sale", I read this as Kemp doing what he does best - not building rockets, but peddling Hopium. (Disclosure, I'm [still] an ASTR shareholder/bagholder who lost a LOT of money on the company to date.)

While I'm VERY skeptical that the satellite engine business will keep the enterprise afloat, this was an interesting look into the man's psychology.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/chris-kemp-unplugged-astras-ceo-dishes-on-the-space-companys-struggles/

#ASTR #NewSpace #Astra #ChrisKemp

A year ago today: I stopped for some quick pictures at Mojave Air & Space Port #KMHV on the way home from Las Vegas. #NewSpace #aviation #avgeek

"Virgin Galactic just flew again, but is the company going anywhere?" by @arstechnica / @sciguyspace - Spaceship & carrier plane upgraded to streamline maintenance/turnaround time between spaceflights. New spaceship coming. https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/virgin-galactic-just-flew-again-but-is-the-company-going-anywhere/ #NewSpace #VirginGalactic #VG02

@doctorwhom

The problem for Musk and Branson is that Peter Beck is proving that you don't have to be a crazy personality to get stuff into orbit (terrestrial or otherwise).

https://observer.com/2022/11/rocket-lab-founder-peter-beck/

#PeterBeck #RocketLab #NewSpace #ElonMusk #RichardBranson

A solid look at the future of Virgin Galactic (SPCE). As a native New Mexican, I want to see the company succeed and NM turn into a hub of space tourism, but I'm skeptical that their current approach will ever get to where folks will want to go: Orbit.

Hopefully they can use the tourism business to bootstrap themselves to more powerful approaches in the years ahead.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/virgin-galactic-just-flew-again-but-is-the-company-going-anywhere/

#NewSpace #VirginGalactic #SPCE

Watched their flight earlier today. Glad to have FINALLY witnessed Virgin Galactic deliver on their space tourism mission.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/aug/10/vigin-galactic-space-flight-vss-unity-landing

#NewSpace #VirginGalactic

"Virgin Galactic launches first tourist flight to space" by @CNBC / @michaelsheetz - One customer finally gets suborbital space flight he bought in 2005. And first mother/daughter duo in space, from winning a contest. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/10/watch-livestream-virgin-galactic-launches-galactic-02-spaceflight.html #NewSpace #VirginGalactic #VG02

"Mother and daughter first to go to space together" by @BBC (@BBC_News_Labs expected to post news links soon) - Contest winners to be on #VirginGalactic #VG02 flight from New Mexico, currently scheduled Thu Aug 10 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-66405219 #NewSpace

#SpaceX #Falcon9 launch from Vandenberg SFB tonight at 20:57 Pacific Time will be 70min after sunset viewed from LA, 50min after sunset viewed from Bay Area. The rocket should climb into sunlight around 2nd stage ignition, enhancing view. https://spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl6-20 #NewSpace

"#SpaceX conducts a mostly successful test of its #SuperHeavy booster" by @arstechnica / @sciguyspace - Incomplete test, undamaged equipment. A step forward. More work and tests needed on the path to flight readiness. https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/spacex-conducts-a-mostly-successful-test-of-its-super-heavy-booster/ #Starship #rocketry #NewSpace

"#SpaceX performs static fire test of Booster 9" by @Teslarati / @RDAnglePhoto - #Starship booster static fire test lasted 2.74 seconds of planned 5. All 33 engines started. 4 shut down early. No damage to rocket or excavation of pad. https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-performs-static-fire-test-of-booster-9/ #rocketry #NewSpace

"Jeanette Epps will finally go to space six years after being pulled from flight" by @arstechnica / @StephenClark1 - Removed from 6-month ISS mission without public explanation. Then trained to fly Boeing Starliner. Assigned #SpaceX #Crew8. https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/jeanette-epps-will-finally-go-to-space-six-years-after-being-pulled-from-flight/ #NASA #NewSpace