Curtis "Ovid" Poe · @ovid
947 followers · 2409 posts · Server fosstodon.org

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

Last updated 1 year ago

"Weather Delays ’s Crew-6 Undocking from Station on Saturday" by @NASA / @Commercial_Crew - undocking & return delayed a day due to unfavorable at Florida splashdown sites on Sunday. Splashdown planned early Mon. blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/

#nasa #spacex #Crew6 #weather #newspace

Last updated 1 year ago

"Why did 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. arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/

#spacex #newspace

Last updated 1 year ago

Elizabeth Stanway · @Tiylaya
24 followers · 33 posts · Server mstdn.social
Chris J. Karr · @chris
148 followers · 1564 posts · Server omgwars.com

"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."

arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/

#virgingalactic #newspace #spce

Last updated 1 year ago

Chris J. Karr · @chris
148 followers · 1564 posts · Server omgwars.com

"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!

techcrunch.com/2023/08/28/astr

#astr #astra #apollofusion #newspace

Last updated 1 year ago

Chris J. Karr · @chris
148 followers · 1553 posts · Server omgwars.com

"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."

arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/

#rocketlab #rklb #newspace #rutherfordengine

Last updated 1 year ago

Chris J. Karr · @chris
147 followers · 1547 posts · Server omgwars.com

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.

newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08

#elonmusk #spacex #newspace #starlink #ukraine #tesla #xai #openai

Last updated 1 year ago

Chris J. Karr · @chris
147 followers · 1547 posts · Server omgwars.com

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.

arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/

#astr #newspace #astra #chriskemp

Last updated 1 year ago

Ian Kluft ✈️🎈🌋 · @ikluft
202 followers · 1297 posts · Server avgeek.social

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

#kmhv #newspace #aviation #avgeek

Last updated 1 year ago

"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. arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/

#newspace #virgingalactic #vg02

Last updated 1 year ago

Chris J. Karr · @chris
144 followers · 1516 posts · Server omgwars.com

@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).

observer.com/2022/11/rocket-la

#peterbeck #rocketlab #newspace #elonmusk #richardbranson

Last updated 1 year ago

Chris J. Karr · @chris
144 followers · 1516 posts · Server omgwars.com

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.

arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/

#newspace #virgingalactic #spce

Last updated 1 year ago

Chris J. Karr · @chris
144 followers · 1509 posts · Server omgwars.com

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

theguardian.com/science/2023/a

#newspace #virgingalactic

Last updated 1 year ago

"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. cnbc.com/2023/08/10/watch-live

#newspace #virgingalactic #vg02

Last updated 1 year ago

"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 flight from New Mexico, currently scheduled Thu Aug 10 bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north

#virgingalactic #vg02 #newspace

Last updated 1 year ago

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. spacex.com/launches/mission/?m

#spacex #Falcon9 #newspace

Last updated 1 year ago

" conducts a mostly successful test of its booster" by @arstechnica / @sciguyspace - Incomplete test, undamaged equipment. A step forward. More work and tests needed on the path to flight readiness. arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/

#spacex #superheavy #starship #rocketry #newspace

Last updated 1 year ago

" performs static fire test of Booster 9" by @Teslarati / @RDAnglePhoto - 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. teslarati.com/spacex-performs-

#spacex #starship #rocketry #newspace

Last updated 1 year ago

"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 . arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/

#spacex #crew8 #nasa #newspace

Last updated 1 year ago