A private space mission

A December crew dragon mission will take a private space crew to the ISS.  The times we live in. (post in memory of Mike Nofsinger who would be on the list for sure.)

Big, if true.

Elon Musk claims that SpaceX is cranking out a Raptor rocket engine every 48hrs.  If that is true it is an amazing production feat.  It is also what is required to get to the level of spaceflight that the US needs. (post in memory of Mike Nofsinger)

Catching up

While I was away from the blog, a lot happened in the space arena.    One of the important things that happened is that SpaceX flew Starship SN15 and stuck the landing.   This is important, because once SpaceX succeeds once in doing something like this, they usually show pretty quickly that they can do it every time.  This leads pretty quickly to the idea that SpaceX will take the Starship into space in the very near future.  Stay Tuned.

Congrats again SpaceX

They did it again.  This time with a used booster and a used capsule.  SpaceX is making space a bunch cheaper. (Post in memory of Mike Nofsinger, who is up there somewhere, smiling.)

SpaceX and fairing recovery

It appears that SpaceX has determined that catching the fairings prior to their hitting the water isn’t worth the extra effort. (Post in memory of Mike Nofsinger)

I hope

I hope this is what happens. (h/t Jeff “Inch High” Groves)(Post in memory of Mike Nofsinger)

NASA goes to SpaceX

4 NASA astronauts recently went to SpaceX’s Texas facility to see the latest Starship prototype. Clearly NASA understands that their future is tied to SpaceX. (Post in memory of Mike Nofsinger)

SpaceX does it again…again.

I know I have said it before, but thank God for SpaceX and Elon Musk.  Single-handedly they are driving us back into space. (Post in memory of Mike Nofsinger)

Starlink

SpaceX has launched another 60 Starlink satellites.  The plan is to provide worldwide satellite broadband access.  Apparently, you can already sign up to beta test the service.  It is reportedly pretty good.   In a rare miss, the booster failed to land on the recovery ship.  That booster had already flown 6 previous times.  Amazing.

Space 2021

A really nice article analyzing China’s space ambitions as well as the competition from other regional powers. If you read between the lines there are some real opportunities for the US to engage in cooperation in this arena with other non-Chinese space agencies. (Post in memory of Mike Nofsinger)