The Orbital Mechanics Podcast

Spaceflight News— Cargo Dragon leak (cnet.com) (space.com)— Ingenuity’s woes (cnet.com) (mars.nasa.gov) (PDF: arc.nasa.gov) — Martian winter is dustier due to heat gradients (HT Csaba: space.com)Breaking Madness— Astra TROPICS-1 failure (space.com) (spaceflightnow.com)Short & Sweet— Korean startup targets launch from Brazil later this year (smallsatnews.com)— NASA to launch from Australia (phys.org)— JWST struck by micrometeoroids (space.com) (HT Colin: (theverge.com) (HT DeltaV: blogs.nasa.gov)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: Spinlaunch’s sabot (twitter.com/djsnm)This Week in Spaceflight History— 16 Jun, 1961: The Final Fleming Committee Report submitted (hq.nasa.gov) (hq.nasa.gov) (PDF HT Mike Stewart: ntrs.nasa.gov) — Saturn C-3 and Nova were the main options at this point (wikipedia.org) (en.wikipedia.org)— Next week (6/21 - 6/27) in 1982: Enjoy the extra leg room while it lasts!

Spaceflight News— xEVAS selection (nasa.gov) (youtube.com) (theverge.com) (youtube.com)Short & Sweet— Helicopter Hunkering (spacenews.com) (jpl.nasa.gov)— Shenzhou-14 has arrived (spacenews.com)— Release date for JWST’s first full-color images announced (cnet.com)— OMG SLS WDR ASAP (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: Almaz clusterbomb (russianspaceweb.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— June 13, 2012: Launch of NuSTAR X-ray observatory (caltech.edu) (caltech.edu) (youtube.com) (PDF: sci-hub.se) (PDF: authors.library.caltech.edu) (PDF: axion-wimp2012.desy.de) (patents.google.com)— Next week (6/14 - 6/20) in 1961: C3PO is not a no-go.

Spaceflight News— Psyche launch (sike!) (space.com) (spacenews.com) (spaceflightnow.com)Short & Sweet— Airbus wins contract to build LISA (airbus.com)— China prepares for next crewed launch (spacenews.com) (cnet.com)— Starliner, Present and Future (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com)Interview – Kineo Wallace, Lead Propulsion Design Engineer and Mickael “Buzzy” Buswell, Primary Structures Engineer of Vaya Space— Further reading: ABS 3D printed fuel grain studies at the University of Tennessee (sci-hubtw.hkvisa.net) (sci-hubtw.hkvisa.net)— Kineo and Buzzy — linkedin.com/in/kineowallace — twitter.com/kineo_wallace  — instagram.com/buzzedwell— Vaya Space — Vayaspace.com — twitter.com/vayaspace — instagram.com/vayaspace — facebook.com/VayaSpace — linkedin.comThis Week in Spaceflight History— June 4, 1996: The maiden launch of Ariane 5, flight V88 (en.wikipedia.org) (bugsnag.com) (mit.edu) (HT Csaba: hownot2code.com)— Next week (6/7 - 6/13) in 2012: Making it harder for ourselves.

Spaceflight News— OFT-2 (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (americaspace.com) — Debris shedding after booster sep T+3:00 (twitter.com/elizabethtinkg) (youtu.be) — Two RCS thrusters and two OMAC thrusters shut down during the flight (twitter.com/lorengrush)— Test Fest — ABL Space fires upper stage engine (spacenews.com) — Gilmour Space fires Phoenix engine (youtube.com) — Relativity Space fires upper stage engines (youtube.com) — ISRO fires human-rated solids for Gaganyaan (isro.gov.in)Short & Sweet— Voyager 1 returning bad telemetry (cnet.com)— NASA investigates spacesuit water leaks (space.com) (spacenews.com)— End to InSight mission… is in sight (spacenews.com) (spaceflightnow.com)— Ingenuity back in action (mars.nasa.gov)Questions, Comments, Corrections— twitter.com/LauraForczyk: X-Bow is pronounced Crossbow. That threw me off at first, too.— From the intro: Tim Dodd tours Starbase (youtube.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 24 May, 2000. First launch of Atlas III (en.wikipedia.org) (spaceflightnow.com) — Engine contracts announced in 1996 (ARCHIVE: ilslaunch.com) — A list of Atlas family specs (braeunig.us) — A lovely history of Atlas by Scott Manley (youtube.com)— Next week (5/31 - 6/6) in 1996: Domestically repurposed

Thanks to Deathkin for naming this week’s episode!Spaceflight News— Rocket 4.0 unveiling (spacenews.com) — Chris Kemp asks “why can’t a couple of people launch a rocket?” (youtu.be) — Astra announced a new UK launch site (spacenews.com) (en.wikipedia.org) — Astra is in the running for the TacRS-3 contract (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— Axiom-1 putting strain on ISS (spacenews.com)— Tianzhou-4 successfully reaches Chinese Space Station (spacenews.com)— Non-GPS satellite slated for launch (spacenews.com)— JWST final steps before science career (spacenews.com) (blogs.nasa.gov) (blogs.nasa.gov)Questions, Comments, Correction Burns— Joel R. via email: Rover steering wheel, Shuttle drag chute — Further reading: Mobility Performance of the Lunar Roving Vehicle: Terrestrial Studies - Apollo 15 Results (PDF: lpi.usra.edu)— From the intro: Canoo taking on water? (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 19 May, 1961. First flyby of Venus, by Venera 1 (nasa.gov) (drewexmachina.com) — Launched on a Molniya 8K78 (astronautix.com) — Next week (5/24 - 5/30) in 2000: Freshly imported

Spaceflight News— Rocket Lab Helicopter Catch (spacenews.com) (youtube.com) — CAPSTONE’s up next (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— Astroscale performs close approach (spacenews.com)— Phantom Space makes big engine purchase (techcrunch.com)— Russian rocket motor breaks apart on-orbit (space.com)— Astra preparing for Canaveral launches (spacenews.com) (astra.com)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: Lockheed Martin’s MAP docking port model (cad.onshape.com)Interview – Awais Ahmed, CEO and Co-Founder, PIXXEL— Shakuntala/TD-2 was one of the three demos, and it flew on Transporter-4 (pixxel.space)— The AVIRIS program also collects hyperspectral data, but from a much lower altitude (aviris.jpl.nasa.gov) (avirisng.jpl.nasa.gov)— Read more and get in contact: — pixxel.space — twitter.com/awaisahmedna — twitter.com/PixxelSpace — in.linkedin.com/in/awaisahmedna — linkedin.com/company/pixxelspace — [email protected] Week in Spaceflight History— 13 May, 1992: Intelsat VI captured by the STS-49 crew (nasa.gov) (youtube.com) — The plan for capture and kickstage attachment (orbiter-forum.net) (capcomspace.net)— Next week (5/17 - 5/23) in 1961: If a spacecraft falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it…

Spaceflight News— Ligado stepping on GPS’ toes (spacenews.com) (en.wikipedia.org) (fiercewireless.com)Short & Sweet— OSIRIS-REx mission extension announced (arizona.edu) (spacenews.com)— SOFIA operations to end later this year (spacenews.com)— AX-1, Crew-4 swap places (spacenews.com) (americaspace.com) (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (nasaspaceflight.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 5 May, 1997. Maiden launch of Iridium satellites (en.wikipedia.org) (en.wikipedia.org) — A view of Iridium from the business side (PDF: jitm.ubalt.edu) (cnn.com)— Next week in (5/10 - 5/16) 1992: Two’s company, three’s a record.

Spaceflight News— Peregrine preparing for flight (spacenews.com) (astrobotic.com) (en.wikipedia.org)Short & Sweet— TDRS to be replaced (spacenews.com)— Starlink books a flight (spacenews.com)— Bad weather holds up Crew-4 (spacenews.com)Interview – Daniel Bock, CEO and Co-Founder of Morpheus Space— FEEP technology is a subset of ion propulsion (en.wikipedia.org) (VIA archive.org: morpheus-space.com)— Some of Bock’s prior research (researchgate.net) (researchgate.net)— Flown on UWE4 (PDF: digitalcommons.usu.edu)— LISA Pathfinder also used FEEP propulsion (PDF: sci-hubtw.hkvisa.net)— linkedin.com— twitter.com/DanMorpheus— twitter.com/morpheusspace — morpheus-space.com— facebook.com/MorpheusSpaceThis Week in Spaceflight History— Apr 29, 2002. Cancellation of the X-38 (nasa.gov) (astronautix.com) (nasa.gov) (youtube.com)— Next week (3/5 - 9/5) in 1997: MORE TINFOIL!

Spaceflight News— Artemis-1 Wet Dress Rehearsal(spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) — WDR is deferring to Ax-1 landing (spacenews.com)— Artemis rover (spacenews.com) — RFI issued in August (nasa.gov) (sam.gov) — Lockheed Martin, General Motors and MDA (spacenews.com) — Northrop Grumman, Intuitive Machines, Michelin Tires, AVL, Lunar Outpost (spacenews.com) — Venturi Astrolab (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— Astranis Improvement (spacenews.com) (en.wikipedia.org)— House Science Committee vs NTSB (spacenews.com)— Astra Electric (spacenews.com)— ULA puts in a big order (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— LeonRunningMan: LEASAT didn’t use a Minuteman-III motor, exactly (discord.com)This Week in Spaceflight History—  21 April 2013, Launch of Antares A-ONE, maiden flight of Antares (en.wikipedia.org) (nasa.gov) (northropgrumman.com) — Orbital Sciences contracted with Aerojet Rocketdyne to use modified NK-33’s. (PDF: lpre.de)— Next week (4/26 - 5/2) in 2002: The end of a dream, to be chased by others.

Spaceflight News— Spinlaunch (space.com) (HT McMally: businesswire.com)— SLS wet rehearsal modification (HT DeltaV: twitter.com/SciGuySpace) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) — April 2nd, lightning strikes (nasa.gov) — April 3rd, fan failures (nasa.gov) — April 4th, vent and check valves (nasa.gov) (nasa.gov)Short & Sweet— DARPA funds in-space manufacturing development (spacedaily.com)— Spaceport Camden: Back from the grave? (news4jax.com)— Warpspace comes to the U.S. (spacenews.com)— Astroscale preparing to restart demonstration (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro — Sentinel on Vega-C (spacenews.com) — Axiom’s arrival (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 12 Apr, 1985: the launch of STS-51-D with LEASAT-3 onboard (en.wikipedia.org) (hughesscgheritage.com) — Further reading: Bold They Rise, The Space Shuttle Early Years, 1972-1986, by David Hitt and Heather R. Smith (nebraskapress.unl.edu) — The successful deployment of LEASAT-4 (youtu.be) — Ox grabbing LEASAT-3 (same video, different timecode) (youtu.be) — Spinning LEASAT-3 before departure (same video) (youtu.be)— Next week (4/19 - 4/25) in 2013: it’s not just a steak sauce.

Spaceflight News— MSR delayed and split in half (spacenews.com) (PDF: nasa.gov)— Northrup Grumman eyeing its own SLD contract (spacenews.com) (nasa.gov) (HT Andrew Z: twitter.com/wapodavenport) — NG received six additional CRS-2 missions last month (govconwire.com)Short & Sweet— Crew Dragon production is ending (teslarati.com)— Slingshot Aerospace gets USSF contract (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— Andrew Z via email: nautical miles are actually useful!— From the intro: ISS seat swap negotiations (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 4 April, 1984: Launch of Challenger flight STS-41-C (youtube.com VIA nss.org) (nytimes.com) (PDF: nasa.gov) (harvard.edu) (planet4589.org) — A good book about Shuttle: The Space Shuttle Program: Technologies And Accomplishments by Davide Sivolella (vdoc.pub) — MMU Users Guide indicates a proportional relationship between nominal “cruise” speed and length of travel (PDF p38: large.stanford.edu)— Next week (4/12 - 4/18) in 1985: Swat that fly

Spaceflight News— Second Artemis Lander (spacenews.com) (nasa.gov)Short & Sweet— NASA opens 50-year-old lunar sample (cnet.com) (PDF: curator.jsc.nasa.gov)— Astra’s successful launch had a not-secret-anymore customer (spacenews.com)— Starship environmental review delayed… Again (spacenews.com)— Arianespace and SPX adjust to missing Soyuz launches (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— April 4, 1968. The launch of Apollo 6 (en.wikipedia.org) (scribd.com) (PDF HT Mike Stewart: ibiblio.org) (PDF HT Mike Stewart: ibiblio.org) — Further listening: Arin Cross’ Data Relay on combustion instability (theorbitalmechanics.com)— Next week (4/5 - 4/11) in 1984: Pinky and the Brain… that he’s trying to fix.

Spaceflight News— Artemis I Rollout (spacenews.com) (americaspace.com) (americaspace.com)Short & Sweet— SpaceX sets two new records (spacenews.com)— First all-cosmonaut Soyuz docks with station (spaceflight.com)— China satellite launch includes demonstration third-stage (nasaspaceflight.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— From the intro: JWST progress (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 25 Mar, 1961: Launch of Korabl-Sputnik 5 (en.wikipedia.org) (theatlantic.com) (nasa.gov) (airandspace.si.edu)— Next week (3/29 - 4/4) in 1968: Less than perfect, but successful, but a failure.

Spaceflight News— Astra LV0008/ELaNA 41 failure analysis (spacenews.com) (astra.com) (nasaspaceflight.com)Short & Sweet— OSAM-1 completes critical design review (nasa.gov)— China to commercialize Tiangong spacenews.com— Soyuz embargo leaves many satellites grounded (spacenews.com)Questions, Comments, Corrections— Gravitational submarines — Matthew Bell (iopscience.iop.org) — Andrew not-Z via email suggests Re-entry Vehicle Dynamics (google.com) — Aaron Sawdey (twitter.com/sawdey) (en.wikipedia.org)Interview – Zachary Tong, creator of Breaking Taps on Youtube— youtube.com/c/BreakingTaps— twitter.com/BreakingTapsThis Week in Spaceflight History— 18 Mar, 2003. The authorization of Project Prometheus (everyspec.com, alt: web.archive.org)— Next week (3/22 - 3/28) in 1961: Ghost beetroot calls home.

Spaceflight news— More Russian fallout — Russia threatens OneWeb launch (spaceflightnow.com) — OneWeb looking to non-Russian rockets (spacenews.com) — eROSITA turned off on Russian Spektr-RG (space.com) — ExoMars likely to be delayed (spacenews.com) — South Korea worried about Russian launches (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— Anahuac pleads guilty to selling tainted rocket fuel (justice.gov)— Iranian launch failure (apnews.com) — Post-recording, Iran successfully launched their second orbital payload. (reuters.com)— SpaceX awarded 3 more commercial crew missions (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Andrew Z via email: More sanctions considerations— MMC in the chat: loss of ISS would free up money for the Moon.This Week in Spaceflight History— 13 March, 1985, Launch of Geosat (en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: jhuapl.edu) (earth.esa.in)— Next week (3/15 - 3/21) in 2003. Bringing fire to icy worlds.

Spaceflight news— Sanctions on Russia — Roscosmos pulled out of French Guiana (twitter.com/planet4589) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (twitter.com/nextspaceflight) — NASA no longer involved in Venera-D? (spacenews.com) — ISS is unlikely to be used as a pawn (reuters.com) (spacenews.com) — ULA has enough RD-180s (HT DeltaV: twitter.com/torybruno) (HT DeltaV: twitter.com/planet4589) (twitter.com/torybruno) (spacenews.com) — Starliner uses Russian power converters (HT Ben Hallert: spacedaily.com) — Post-Crimea sanctions were likely more impactful on the space industry (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— Relativity qualifies rocket with structural test (satnews.com)— Dream Chaser looking at landing in Japan (spacenews.com)— China says moon impactor not Chang’e-5 (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 2 Mar, 2004. Launch of Rosetta (books.google.com) (sci-hub.se) (harvard.edu) (esa.int) (en.wikipedia.org)— Next week (3/8 - 3/14) in 2013: Watery potato

Spaceflight News— JWST Alignment (PDF: spacefoundation.org) (HT deathkin: jwst-docs.stsci.edu) — Follow JWST’s alignment progress on Where Is Webb? (jwst.nasa.gov)Short & Sweet— Chandra X-ray Observatory suspends operations (space.com)— China reveals human spaceflight plans and communication with U.S. govt (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 22 Feb, 1996. The launch of Columbia, STS-75 (en.wikipedia.org) (americaspace.com) (space.skyrocket.de) (youtu.be) (PDF: ntrs.nasa.gov)— Next week (3/1 - 3/7) in 2004: 5-7 = 46+21

Spaceflight news— Astra failure (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (youtube.com)Short & Sweet— Mysterious Moon Masher (twitter.com/sciguyspace) (projectpluto.com) (projectpluto.com)— James Webb is making adjustments (spacenews.com)— Starship testing may move to Florida (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: (nasaspaceflight.com) (youtube.com)— BreakingTaps made an excellent video and 3D model of JWST’s hexapod actuator! (youtube.com)This Week in Spaceflight History—  17 Feb, 2007. Launch of THEMIS (en.wikipedia.org) (ucla.edu) — Constraints on the moon-bound trajectory were many (PDF: igpp.ucla.edu)— Next week (2/22-2/28) in 1996: This is why we keep the mezuzah rolled up

Spaceflight News— JWST cryocooler — Alternative tube configurations include U-bend and coaxial (PDF p7: trc.nist.gov) — Testing shows the cryocooler is TWICE as efficient as required! (nasa.gov) — JWST’s radiators are coated with BIRB (PDF: indico.cern.ch)Short & Sweet— Curiosity’s wheels take a lickin’ but keep on tickin’ (cnet.com)— InSight weathers a dust storm (spacenews.com) (reddit.com/r/InSightLander)— Astra receives first Part 450 (twitter.com/Astra) (spacepolicyonline.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Uncle_Willy via Discord: four reasons why running Oxy-rich is bad— BreakingTaps on YT made a JWST Hexapod Actuator model!!! More on this next week. (youtube.com)Interview – Tupper Hyde, Chief Engineer at NASA's Goddard Center— twitter.com/TupperHyde— linkedin.com/in/tupperhyde— nasa.gov/goddard— etd.gsfc.nasa.gov— Also discussed: the next generation of space telescopes is LUVOIR (en.wikipedia.org)This week in Spaceflight history—  February 10th 2009, The collision of Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 (PDF: ntrs.nasa.gov) (PDF: castor2.ca) (en.wikipedia.org) (en.wikibooks.org)— Next week (2/15-2/21) in 2007: BC? More like BSee-you later!

Spaceflight news— Shijian-21 does some space tuggin’ (spacenews.com) — Last November, a new object, 2021-094C, appeared near SJ-21 (spacenews.com) — USA 271 “buzzed” SJ-20 in August 2020 (breakingdefense.com) — SJ-21 might be trying net or debris lasing tech (PDF: airuniversity.af.edu — 1972 Incidents at Sea Agreement (US + USSR) (state.gov)Short & Sweet— NASA identifies cause of stuck solar panel on Lucy (spacenews.com)— JMS is officially shut down (spacenews.com)— Anomaly pauses Astroscale’s demo mission (spacenews.com)This Week in Spaceflight History— 7 Feb, 2008. Launch of STS-122 with Columbus module (en.wikipedia.org) — ECO sensor system factsheet (PDF: nasa.gov) — Launch damage included a lost LOMS stinger tile (PDF p18: nasa.gov, VIA spaceref.com) — STS-93 is a good example of when the ECO fuel sensors might be a critical safety measure (TWSF: theorbitalmechanics.com)— Next week (2/8 - 2/14) in 2009: 102.2 degrees and 77 protons.

Spaceflight News— Artemis rescheduling (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— Gamma ray observatory suffers anomaly in LEO (space.com)— SpaceX wins a new contract (spacenews.com)— Exomars to launch this year (spacenews.com) (spaceflightnow.com)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: ABL second stage anomaly (spacenews.com) (youtube.com)— From Upcoming Spaceflight Events: JWST Virtual Town Hall (stsci.edu)Interview: Alex Lao, Kepler Communications— linkedin.com— Kepler.space— twitter.com/KeplerComms— CEO Mina Mitry wrote an article about the role of cubesats in space-based communication (spectrum.ieee.org)This Week in Spaceflight History— 25 Jan, 1995. Launch of the SCIFER Sounding Rocket Experiment (PDF: sci-hub.se) (PDF: nasa.gov) (eucom.mil VIA web.archive.org)— Next week (2/1 - 2/7) in 2008: Failing Wet

Spaceflight news— JWST deployment — A detailed timeline is available from Jonathan McDowell (planet4589.org) — Hexapod actuators (PDF: esmats.eu) — A photo of an early actuator development unit (PDF, p2: sci-hubtw.hkvisa.net)Short & Sweet— Chang’e 5 identifies water on the moon (space.com) (science.org)— Perseverance rover prepares to clear blocked sampling tube (nasa.gov)— SLS hoping for March launch (spacenews.com)— Orbit Fab signs deal to provide on-orbit fueling for Astroscale (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Follow up on that moon rock (twitter.com/AJ_FI)This week in Spaceflight history— January 20 1978, Maiden flight of the Progress spacecraft (wiki.org) (russianspaceweb.com) (spaceref.com)— Next week (1/25 - 1/31) in 1995. Get me my briefcase.

Spaceflight news— JWST finishes deployment steps! — Primary and Secondary mirror deployment (esmats.eu) — Aft Deployed Instrument Radiator (PDF HT MMC: ttu-ir.tdl.org) — Cross stitch (reddit.com/r/CrossStitch) — Current estimate is 20 years worth of propellant (HT DeltaV: twitter.com/cbs_spacenews)Short & Sweet— Paragon acquires spacesuit manufacturer (spaceref.com)— KSLV-2 failure is determined (spacenews.com)— China’s robotic arm performs test on orbit (space.com)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: an expensive model (shop.blueorigin.com)— Aaron Sawdey: Thermal power vs nuclear power (twitter.com/sawdey)— Bill Boabab via email: JWST Aft Momentum Flap — See also: no deployment cameras (nasa.gov) — The observation strategy actually limits saturation by making observations in opposite attitudes (jwst-docs.stsci.edu) — A not-incredibly related but often-cited paper is available (web.archive.org) — A JWST science advisor gave an if-I-remember-correctly on this very question (HT deltaV: twitter.com/markmccaughrean)This week in Spaceflight history— 16 Jan, 1965: Gemini Simulated Off-The-Pad Ejection test 12 failure (PDF: ntrs.nasa.gov) (astronautix.com)— Next week (1/18 - 1/24) in 1978: Remove the seats, life support systems, heat shield, parachute, but let’s keep the crew rating.

Spaceflight news— JWST launched (blogs.nasa.gov) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) — Realtra’s VIKI cameras looked fantastic! (realtra.space) (theorbitalmechanics.com) — Deployment explorer (webb.nasa.gov) — Port mid-boom deployment was delayed due to cover switches (twitter.com/NASAWebb) — Non-explosive pins were discussed in the pre-launch coverage (youtube.com)  — Sunshade tensioning will be discussed in ep 341, as it was successfully completed the day this episode was published (twitter.com/NASAWebb)Short & Sweet- Tianhe avoids a pair of Starlinks spacenews.com)— Sherpa goes green (spacenews.com)— SLS is delayed by a computer problem (spacenews.com)This week in Spaceflight History— 5 Jan, 1973: Cancellation of the NERVA program (nasa.gov) (nasa.gov)— Next week (1/11 - 1/17) in 1965: No towah, moah problems

Spaceflight news— Superheavy (twitter.com/elonmusk) — Raptor 2 will produce 230+ tons of thrust (twitter.com/elonmusk) — McGregor will only perform Raptor 2 testing (twitter.com/elonmusk) — B4/SN20 will be used for the orbital flight test (twitter.com/elonmusk) — A guess about Starship stretching (reddit.com/r/spacex) — Possible tank volumes (HT Birkeland: forum.nasaspaceflight.com)Short & Sweet— JWST delayed (blogs.nasa.gov) (spacenews.com) (spaceflightnow.com)— Stoke Space receives funding (spacenews.com) (sbir.nasa.gov)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: PSP’s inside the Sun video (planetary.org) (youtube.com) (nasa.gov)— Jon P via email: Apollo CM was a sphere section, not biconic. (en.wikipedia.org)This week in SF history— 24 Dec, 1979. First launch of Ariane 1, first of the Ariane family. (sci-hub.se) (sci-hub.se) (en.wikipedia.org) (en.wikipedia.org)— Next week (1/4 - 1/10) in 1973: Smash the scram button

Short & Sweet— Astra to launch next from Cape Canaveral (spacenews.com)— SpaceX gets FCC approval for Starship launch, starts construction on launchpad (dailymail.co.uk) (spaceflightnow.com)— NASA investigates Ingenuity helicopter’s transmission problem (cnet.com)— SpaceX Crew-5 to fly with cosmonaut (spacenews.com) (twitter.com/Rogozin)This week in SF history— 15 Dec, 1976. Launch of Kosmos 881 and Kosmos 882 (en.wikipedia.org) (1lib.us) (google.com/books)— Next week (12/21 - 12/27) in 1979. Some vikings and their kitty cat.

Spaceflight news— Raptor issues (spacenews.com) (twitter.com/thesheetztweetz) (spaceexplored.com)— Neutron, a 2050 rocket (youtube.com) (spacenews.com) — Electron thermal protection system is aerogel/graphite composite! (HT Andrew Z: twitter.com/Peter_J_Beck)Short & Sweet— ESA tests tanks for its reusable launch vehicle (esa.int)— Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin select future astronauts (spacenews.com)— Northrop Grumman wins SLS booster contract (spacenews.com)— Fatigue, debris, and rumors of debris (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Pangea tests an aerospike! (HT Andrew Z: youtube.com)This week in SF history— 10 Dec, 1974. Launch of Helios A, a West German/NASA collaboration (en.wikipedia.org) (bernd-leitenberger.de)— Next week (12/14-12/20) in 1976: Two tickets, I mean, just one ticket to space, please!

Spaceflight news— JWST bonk (spacenews.com) (nasa.gov) (esa.int) (youtube.com) — The clamp came off “in a way that it was not designed to come off” (HT deltaV+Deathkin: twitter.com/wapodavenport)Short & Sweet— Japan to recruit astronauts for first time in 13 years (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (blogs.nasa.gov)— Hubble makes a partial recovery (space.com)— Rocket Lab to manufacture more spacecraft components (smallsatnews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: Reusable satellites (smallsatnews.com)This week in SF history— 2 Dec, 1990. Launch of Soyuz TM-11 (sen.com) (spacefacts.de) (nytimes.com) (weathernews.jp)— Next week (12/7-12/13) in 1974: Hitze und Geschwindigkeit.

Spaceflight news— Astraaaaaa! (space.com) (spacenews.com) (en.wikipedia.org) — Astra issued an update after we recorded this episode (twitter.com/thesheetztweetz) (HT DeltaV: twitter.com/thesheetztweetz)Short & Sweet— Tyvak wins contract for very low-earth orbit mission (spacenews.com)— European startup tests aerospike engine (spacenews.com)— Satellite maneuvers to avoid near collision around Moon (cnet.com)Questions, comments, corrections— ThrustMe paper (nature.com)— From the intro: ASAT test (spaceflightnow.com) (youtube.com) (HT Andrew Z: airforcemag.com)Interview -- Matthew Kuhns, Head of R&D at Masten Space Systems— Masten in-Flight Alumina Spray Technique (masten.aero)— This study was a 2020 NIAC Phase I selection (nasa.gov) (researchgate.net)— Tests were run on a modified car lift (youtube.com)— The FAST concept is similar to the High Velocity Oxygen Fuel spray coating technique (sciencedirect.com)— Find more about Matthew and Masten: — linkedin.com — matthewkuhns.com — masten.aeroThis week in SF history— 26 Nov, 1965. Launch of Astérix, the first French satellite (pt deux?!) (en.wikipedia.org)— Next week (11/30 - 12/6) in 1990. The antihero.

Spaceflight news— SpinLaunch spins (spinlaunch.com) (cnbc.com) (youtube.com) (youtube.com) (spacenews.com) — Nike Sprint is one of several other “instastart” vehicles (HT Andy Z: youtube.com)Short & Sweet— Virgin Orbit to launch from Japan (spaceref.com)— Amazon to launch first Kuiper satellites on ABL rocket (spacenews.com)— South Korea to develop reusable launch vehicle (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Ben Hallert via twitter: 53 not 60 Starlinks (twitter.com/chairboy)— ISS tour (HT Andrew Z: youtube.com)This week in SF history— November 16, 1973. The launch of Skylab 4 (bbc.com) (wiki.org) (youtube.com) (spacefacts.de) (nasa.gov) — Episodes 59 and 60 of The Space Above Us focused on SL-4 (thespaceabove.us) (youtube.com) (youtube.com)— Next week (11/23 - 11/29) in 1965: Unmitigated gall in the face of invading Romans

Spaceflight news— Blue lawsuit (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— Dragons Passing in the Night (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (blogs.nasa.gov)— Shijian-21 has a companion (spacenews.com)— A Chinese Mars Sample Return Mission (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Ben Hallert: Speaking of expandable space stations... (twitter.com/chairboy)This week in SF history— 9 Nov, 1970: Launch of the Orbiting Frog Otolith (wiki) (skyrocket.de) (scribd.com)— Next week (11/16 - 11/22) in 1973: I refuse to work under these conditions, at least my stomach does.

Spaceflight news— Orbital Reef announced (blueorigin.com) (orbitalreef.com) (nasaspaceflight.com) (youtube.com) — Other Commercial LEO Destination (CLD) proposals so far: — Axiom Station (axiomspace.com) — Nanoracks/Lockheed/Voyager’s Starlab (cnet.com) — Sierra Space Station (sierraspace.com)Short & Sweet— James Webb Space Telescope prepares for launch (spacenews.com) (planetary.org) (spacenews.com)— Russia gives Crew Dragon the green light (spacenews.com)— Hubble Space Telescope returns to safe mode (cnet.com)This week in SF history— 8 November, 2011: Failed launch of Fobos-Grunt/Yinghuo-1 (en.wikipedia.org) (en.wikipedia.org)— Next week (11/9 - 11-15) in 1970: Parietal eye in the sky

Spaceflight news— Starliner investigation continuation continues (spacenews.com) (arstechnica.com)Short & Sweet— Lucy solar array issue (spacenews.com) (blogs.nasa.gov) (space.com)— Space Adventures ends plans for Crew Dragon tourist flight (spacenews.com)— Nanoracks announces plans for commercial space station (cnet.com) (nanoracks.com)— Rocket Lab prepares for first recovery involving a helicopter (businesswire.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Lucy launch vehicle changes (twitter.com/sawdey)Interview --  Will Henry (Writer/Producer) and Dylan Taylor (Executive Producer) of The High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O’Neill— Space Studies Institute (ssi.org)— highfrontiermerch.com— thehighfrontiermovie.com— willhenryfilm.com— dylantaylor.orgThis week in SF history— First launch of the Saturn 1 (en.wikipedia.org) (youtube.com) (astronautix.com) (youtube.com) (youtube.com)— Next week (11/2-11/8) in 2011: Tune into the show for an audio clue

Spaceflight news— Rocket 3.3 follow-up (spacenews.com) (astra.com)— Lucy’s in the sky (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (planetary.org) (americaspace.com) (planetary.org) (blog.ulalaunch.com)Short & Sweet— Brazil Space Agency successfully tests new rocket motor (avibras.com.br)— Virgin Galactic gets postponed (spacenews.com)— China launches nation’s first solar observatory (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Roton Revision — Andy Z via email: Check out the WWI Le Rhone engine (youtu.be) — Ben Hallert via Twitter: Autorotation is complicated and interesting enough to be more specific about. (twitter.com/chairboy) (twitter.com/chairboy) (youtube.com)— From the intro: ISS takes another tumble (HT Andy Z: twitter.com/liamkennedy)This week in SF history— 19 Oct, 2014. Comet Siding Spring has closest approach to Mars (nasa.gov) (nasa.gov) (nasa.gov) (arxiv.org) (skyandtelescope.org)— Next week (10/26 - 11/1) in 1961: Cluster thruster

Spaceflight news— Artemis funding (spacenews.com)— Starliner stuff — Valves (spacenews.com) — Reassigned crew (spacenews.com) (spacepolicyonline.com)Short & Sweet— Taiwan launch company to attempt orbital launch again (spacenews.com)— Planetary Protection might be revised (spacenews.com)— UAE announces plans for next interplanetary mission (cnet.com)Interview -- Kevin Rice, Director of Project Business Management JPL ret., Lockheed Martin ret.— Kevin can be found on LinkedIn (linkedin.com)— thebusiness.space— thebusiness.space/consultingThis week in SF history— 12 Oct, 1999: Final flight of Rotary Rocket’ Roton ATV (en.wikipedia.org) (web.archive.org) (youtube.com) (HT Mike Stewart: web.archive.org) (hobbyspace.com) (sfgate.com)— Next week (10/19 - 10/25) in 2014: Duck and cover.

Spaceflight news— Blue Origin’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week — Blue experienced morale issues related to remote work (cnbc.com) — An essay was published with sexism and safety allegations (lioness.co) (cnbc.com) — Eric Berger reports his sources say allegations of sexism go too far (twitter.com/SciGuySpace) (wsj.com) — FAA say they take the Lioness essay seriously (spacenews.com) — Legal documents regarding Blue’s HLS bid were FOIA’d (theverge.com)Brief & Bitter— Shiyan 10 test satellite fails after launch (spaceflightnow.com)— SLS likely to slip to 2022 (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Kevin L via email: NASATV’s empty schedule is probably due to the potential government shutdown.— Ben Hallert via twitter: Blue engines are built in Kent Washington, and a factory is being staffed in Huntsville.This week in SF history— 10 Oct, 1967: Outer Space Treaty is put into force (en.wikipedia.org) (unoosa.org) (wiki.org)— Next week (10/12 - 10/18) in 1999: Strange shares half this with Down. All three accurately describe this event.

Short & Sweet— Space Operations Mission Directorate and Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate split (spacenews.com) (arstechnica.com)— Starliner likely to slip to 2020 (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: New Glenn hardware! (HT Andy Z: floridatoday.com)Interview -- Othniel C. Mbamalu, Founder and CEO of Advanced Rockets Corporation— Airbreathing.space— twitter.com/RocketsAdvanced— othnielcreator.com— twitter.com/othnielcreatorThis week in SF history— 30 Sept, 2001. First orbital launch from Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska (en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: nasa.gov) (astronautix.com) — DeltaV: recommendation for VASTS, particularly Langley Experience (vsgc.odu.edu) — Launched on an Athena I rocket (wikipedia.org) — Starshine 3 was a hobby radio repeater/disco ball (en.wikipedia.org) — DoD Space Test Program sats included PICOSat and Sapphire (en.wikipedia.org) (en.wikipedia.org) (en.wikipedia.org) — PCSAT was an APRS repeater operated by midshipmen (aprs.fi)— Next week (10/5 - 10/11) in 1967: This event in spaceflight history requires a total of 88 articles if you want the whole story.

Spaceflight news— First Perseverance sample collection (spacenews.com) (nasa.gov) (nasa.gov) — “Where Is The Rover” map, featuring Ingenuity (mars.nasa.gov)Short & Sweet— Shenzhou 12 crew returns to Earth (spaceflightnow.com)— Vande Hei to remain on ISS (spacenews.com)— NASA awards five companies for Lunar Lander studies (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: Inspiration4 (spacenews.com)— Are you free Sep 21-23? Sit in on a NIAC session! (nasa.gov)This week in SF history— 24 Sept, 2011: UARS burns up on re-entry (en.wikipedia.org) (directory.eoportal.org)— Next week (9/28 - 10/4) in 2001: A first from the last frontier.

Spaceflight news— NASA and the Giant Budget Reconciliation (spacenews.com)— Starlink antennas again (spacenews.com) — Thanks to Ben Hallert for the TCM! (twitter.com/chairboy)— Chang’e 5 returned to the Moon (spacenews.com) — Trajectory animation (twitter.com/coastal8049) — Possible TCM Sunday 9/12, or maybe not (https://twitter.com/coastal8049)Short & Sweet— DOD wants to go nuclear (spacenews.com) (diu.mil)— James Webb Space Telescope launch pushed to December (space.com) (planetary.org) (spacenews.com)— Smoke detected in Zvezda module (reuters.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Anonymous source: Different ranges have different fts requirements. Federal ranges have fts handled by the space wing. Commercial range - kodiak - uses white sands missile range on contract as flight safety— Asif Sadiqi’s book “Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration 1958-2016” is free for download! (twitter.com/historyasif)This week in SF history— 18 Sept, 2013. Cygnus Demo mission launches (nasa.gov) (en.wikipedia.org) — Orbital Sciences (now NG) won their CRS contract in 2008. (spaceflight101.com) (en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: nasa.gov)— Next week (9/21 - 9/27) in 2011: You ares on fire!

Spaceflight news— Firefly Alpha launch failure (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (firefly.com) — Scott Manley’s first takes included some “old fashioned pixel counting” (twitter.com/DJSnM) (twitter.com/DJSnM) — Third-party photo coverage was fantastic (twitter.com/lavie154) (twitter.com/thejackbeyer) (twitter.com/nextspaceflight) (HT Sam: twitter.com/StarshipFairing) — Keavon posted 4k video, but the tracking is rough (youtube.com) — OptoData has fantastic tracking and exposure (youtube.com) — NSF had great tracking and color saturation, from a different angle (youtube.com) — Firefly’s deleted first cut montage (youtube.com) — Firefly’s later “final cut” montage (youtube.com)Short & Sweet— New cracks discovered in ISS (space.com)— Rocket Lab increases satellite component production (spacenews.com)— Perseverance sample collection update (mars.nasa.gov) (nasa.gov) (twitter.com/NASAPersevere)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: Virgin Galactic grounded (twitter.com/nickschmidle) (twitter.com/SciGuySpace) (spacenews.com)This week in SF history— 8 Sept, 2004. Sample return and crash of the Genesis capsule (nasa.gov) (nasa.gov) (PDF: nasa.gov) (esa.int) (springer.com)— Next week (9/14 - 9/20) in 2013: Virginia is for lovers of space

Spaceflight news— Rocket3.3 Exits Stage Right (astra.com) (space.com) (youtube.com) (youtube.com) — Follows an abort on Friday called by the guidance system near T-0 (space.com) — Jonathan McDowell guessed a “fatal problem” in the air (twitter.com/planet4589)Short & Sweet— 7GB of paperwork for HLS (twitter.com/joroulette) (spacenews.com) (businessinsider.com) (spacenews.com)— Starlinks get lasers (spacenews.com)— First test of Astroscale satellite capture technology (​​spacenews.com) (astroscale.com)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: A Shortfall of Gravitas struts its stuff (spacenews.com) (twitter.com/elonmusk)This week in SF history— 4 Sep 1968: Von Braun tests a suit in the NBS (facebook.com/SpaceWalkOfFame) (twitter.com/nasahistory) (books.google.com) — Further reading: a collection of Von Braun’s daily notes (collectspace.com)— Next week (9/7 - 9/13) in 2004: The end of the beginning and the beginning of the salvaging.

Spaceflight news— Blue Origin lawsuit, and exodus — Lawsuit filed against NASA on Aug 19 (theverge.com) (spacenews.com) — > 11 key employees left Blue (twitter.com/thesheetztweetz) (twitter.com/thesheetztweetz) (twitter.com/thesheetztweetz) — Lauren Lyons went to Firefly (https://spacenews.com) — 10k bonus handed out at end of July (twitter.com/thesheetztweetz)Short & Sweet— Japan tests new engine type (futurism.com) (PDF: nagoya-u.ac.jp)— JAXA announces Phobos sample-return mission (apnews.com)— Starlink satellites responsible for most close encounters in LEO (space.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Watch party! The High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O’Neill. Friday Aug 27 3pm PT / 6pm ET (thehighfrontiermovie.com) (calendar.google.com)— VAXHeadroom via Discord: Cygnus spacecraft is a Northrop Grumman vehicle.Interview -- John E Ward, Senior Systems Engineer, Réaltra Space Systems Engineering— VIKI (Independent VIdeo KIt) datasheet (PDF: realtra.space) — twitter.com/astro_ward— twitter.com/RealtraSpace— realtra.space— linkedin.com/in/johnenniswardThis week in SF history— August 27, 1962: Launch of Mariner 2 to Venus (en.wikipedia.org) (space.com) (space.skyrocket.de)— Next week (8/31 - 9/6) in 1968: It’s like being in space, but wetter und mit Braunschweiger

Spaceflight news— 2018 Soyuz leak turns into a whodunnit (arstechnica.com) (HT DeltaV: arstechnica.com) (twitter.com/KathyLueders)— Starliner Destacked (twitter.com/BoeingSpace) (twitter.com/EmreKelly) (twitter.com/BoeingSpace) (spacenews.com)Short & Sweet— Shuttle payload readied for restoration (space.com)— xEVA falls behind schedule (spacenews.com)— GSLV fails to reach orbit (https://spacenews.com/indian-gslv-launch-fails/)Questions, comments, corrections— Andrew Z. via email: Super Heavy landing nubs.— Ireland’s Place in Space (podcasts.apple.com)— From the intro: Tethers Unlimited (spacenews.com)— Watch party! The High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O’Neill. Friday Aug 27 3pm PT / 6pm ET (calendar.google.com)This week in SF history— 18 Aug, 1993: first flight of the DC-X delta clipper (nasa.gov) (youtube.com)— Next week (8/24 - 8/30) in 1962: Hello, I live next door. Sorry I didn’t come and say hello sooner.

Spaceflight news— Astra readies for next orbital launch (spacenews.com) (twitter.com/Astra) (spacenews.com)— Super Heavy Starship stacked! (twitter.com/StarshipGazer) (twitter.com/ErcXspace) (twitter.com/elonmusk) (twitter.com/RGVaerialphotos) (youtube.com)— Perseverance’s first sampling attempt (spacenews.com) (​​nasa.gov) (twitter.com/PaulHammond51)Short & Sweet— China hops (spacenews.com)— OFT-2 slipping from August? (HT DeltaV: twitter.com/SciGuySpace) (HT DeltaV: twitter.com/SciGuySpace) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com) (spacenews.com)— Blue Origin developing reusable second stage (arstechnica.com)Questions, comments, corrections— Another Eric Berger interview on MECO (HT AZ: podcastaddict.com)Dragonfly interview (HT AZ: forbes.com)— Watch party! The High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O’Neill. Friday Aug 27 6pm ET (calendar.google.com)Interview -- Danny Gleeson, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Réaltra Space Systems Engineering— realtra.space— twitter.com/realtraspace— linkedin.com/in/dannyjgleesonThis week in SF history— 10 Aug, 1966. Launch of Lunar Orbiter 1, first U.S. spacecraft to orbit the Moon (en.wikipedia.org) (nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov) (history.nasa.gov)— Next week (8/17 - 8/23) in 1993. Move that parking cone over there.

Spaceflight news— Nauka Arrives (spaceflightnow.com) (space.com) — Investigation of the issue (twitter.com/RussianSpaceWeb) — Amazing footage of the issue (youtube.com) (HT Andy Z: twitter.com/liamkennedy) (HT Andy Z: twitter.com/fs_jeronimo)Short & Sweet— Rocket Lab successfully launches U.S. military payload (spaceflightnow.com)— Inmarsat announces plans to add multi-orbit satellite constellation (spacenews.com)This week in SF history— August 9 1976: The Launch of Luna 24 (lroc.sese.asu.edu) (theverge.com) (russianspaceweb.com)— Next week (8/10 - 8/16) in 1966: When I get hot, I get dizzy and lose my bearings.

Spaceflight news— Nauka Launched (spacenews.com) (forum.nasaspaceflight.com) — Three sets of engines on Nauka (twitter.com/RussianSpaceWeb) — Initial reports of issues (forum.nasaspaceflight.com) — A summary was written on Wikipedia quite early (en.wikipedia.org) — “Nothing irreparable” (twitter.com/katlinegrey) — An initial RCS burn was made to get to a safe orbit (twitter.com/katlinegrey) — First DKS firing reported by Anatoly Zak on July 23 (twitter.com/RussianSpaceWeb) — Kurs was declared operational on the 25th (twitter.com/RussianSpaceWeb) (twitter.com/katlinegrey) — We found this amateur imagery of the module delightful (twitter.com/ralfvandebergh)— Next Generation Arecibo Telescope (space.com) (arxiv.org)Short & Sweet— Falcon Heavy gets a new customer (spacenews.com)— China tests fairing recovery (nasaspaceflight.com)— Rocket Lab concluded its launch failure investigation (spacenews.com)This week in SF history— 29 July, 1985. Launch and abort of STS 51-F (wiki) (PDF: jsc.nasa.gov) (americaspace.com)— Next week (7/2 - 8/2) in 1975: Luckily, crisis was not avoided

Spaceflight news— Hubble back online (PDF: asd.gsfc.nasa.gov) (PDF: ses.gsfc.nasa.gov) (youtube.com) (nasa.gov) (sciencemag.org)Short & Sweet— Astranis produces new batch of very small GEO satellites (spacenews.com)— Funding secured for Beresheet 2 mission (ap.org)— Raptor engine development ramping up (spaceflightinsider.com)— ESA announces new kick stage for Ariane 6 rocket (esa.int)Questions, comments, corrections— Andrew Z via email: China commercial space infographic (twitter.com/rhZhao)This week in SF history— 22 Jul, 1962. Failed launch of Mariner 1 due to software typo (wiki) (vice.com)— Next week (7/27 - 8/2) in 1985. Spain’s beautiful this time of year, but we ain’t going there today.

Spaceflight news— Northrop Grumman signs HALO contract (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (nasa.gov) — A docking adapter is planned for HLS (PDF: nasa.gov)Short & Sweet— SKA endangered by megaconstellations (spacenews.com)— Chinese Spacewalk (spacenews.com)— JWST One Step Closer (spacenews.com)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: Blue not-so-subtly sub-tweets VG (twitter.com/blueorigin)Interview -- Bill Britton, Director of the California Cybersecurity Institute at Cal Poly, SLO— cci.calpoly.edu— linkedin.com/in/wbrittonThis week in SF history— 15 Jul, 2009: The launch of Kibo (希望) exposed facility on STS-127 (space.skyrocket.de) (en.wikipedia.org) (Archive of kibo.jaxa.jp: web.archive.org) — Kibo used to feature the Inter-orbit Communication System (directory.eoportal.org) (iss.jaxa.jp)— Next week (7/20 - 7/26) in 1962: Where do pirates go to drink? An arr-bar.

Spaceflight news— Transporter-2 payloads (americaspace.com) (americaspace.com) (spacenews.com) (geekwire.com) (PDF: fcc.report)Short & Sweet— IROSAs installed (americaspace.com) (nasaspaceflight.com)— Starship Booster prototype nears completion (teslarati.com)— ULA has an engine nozzle issue (spacenews.com)This week in SF history— 3 July, 1998. Launch of the Nozomi mission. (springeropen.com) (nasa.gov) (PDF: sci-hub.se) (en.wikipedia.org)— Next time (7/13 - 7/19) in 2009: Hope floats

Spaceflight news— Rocket Lab wins Mars mission (space.com) (hou.usra.edu) — Characteristic energy, declination, right ascension of the departure asymptote vector (C3/DLA/RLA) were discussed in our interview with Mark Wallace. (theorbitalmechanics.com)Short & Sweet— Chinese crew reaches Tianhe space station module (spacenews.com)— Faulty memory system halts Hubble operations (spacenews.com)— NEO Surveyor moves forward (spacenews.com)— Launcher announces development of orbital transfer vehicle (spacenews.com/)Questions, comments, corrections— From the intro: Bill Nelson agrees a second HLS contractor would be nice. (spacenews.com)— An interstellar… big thing… is headed towards the solar system. (twitter.com/Astro_Wright) (twitter.com/TM_Eubanks)— ROSA deployment videos were published this week. (twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) (twitter.com/BoeingSpace)This week in SF history— 25 Jun, 1992: Launch of STS-50, the first Extended Duration Orbiter (en.wikipedia.org) (en.wikipedia.org) (PDF: sci-hub.do)— Next week (6/29 - 7/5) in 1998: Not all hope is lost, it’ll return twice.