Eric Berger

She was a Disney star with platinum records, but Bridgit Mendler gave it up to change the world “The space industry has a ground bottleneck, and the problem is going to get worse.”…

I went in-depth here on Bridgit Mendler and Northwood Space. There's a lot of bad news out there, but this is one of the most uplifting stories I've reported on in awhile.

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

Some parts of Trump’s proposed budget for NASA are literally draconian “That’s exactly the kind of thing that NASA should be concentrating its resources on.”…

NASA to end work in nuclear thermal and nuclear electric propulsion for deep space exploration.

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

Major shakeup at NASA's premiere science facility. Effective June 1, Laurie Leshin is resigning as director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Scientists, would you consider the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to be a success? Is the tracking layer upgrade worth it? If you don't want to comment publicly, feel free to message me instead. Not looking for on-the-record quotes.

SpaceX pushed “sniper” theory with the feds far more than is publicly known “It came out of nowhere, and it was really violent.”…

Did you know that SpaceX asked the FBI to investigate the ULA sniper theory back in 2016? Until last week, I did not.

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

What’s it like to be 70 years old in space? “All those little aches and pains heal up.” “When the flight docs say I’m ready to go back, I’m ready to do it.”…

Don Pettit wants to go back to space again. And you know what, he should.

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

Trump official to Katy Perry and Bezos’ fiancée: “You cannot identify as an astronaut” It turns out the FAA now takes no role in identifying who is an astronaut.

Despite recent comments from the Secretary of Transportation, if Katy Perry wants to call herself an astronaut, there's no one who can tell her she's not.

Heavy rain after a long period of dry weather is so cathartic.

Soyuz MS-26 has begun its return to Earth, undocking from the ISS Rassvet module at about 2157:33 UTC Apr 19 with crewmembers Ovchinin, Vagner and Pettit

Losing 200 employees to early resignations with no sign of backfilling will be a detriment to public safety nationally.

Trump White House budget proposal eviscerates science funding at NASA “This would decimate American leadership in space.”…

This really is an extinction level event for NASA's science programs.

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

Wilmore: "Thankfully, these folks are heroes. And please print this. What do heroes look like? Well, heroes put their tank on and they run into a fiery building and pull people out of it. That's a hero. Heroes also sit in their cubicle for decades studying their systems, and knowing their systems front and back. And when there is no time to assess a situation and go and talk to people and ask, 'What do you think?' they know their system so well they come up with a plan on the fly. That is a hero. And there are several of them in Mission Control."

I love love love this shoutout to the Mission Control team from Wilmore here in this great @sciguyspace.bsky.social piece: arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

You probably won't believe how desperate Starliner's flight to the space station got last summer ...

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

United Launch Alliance gets some great news: Vulcan is officially certified for national security launches.

Momentum seems to be building for Jared Isaacman to become NASA administrator “We believe that Jared Isaacman is uniquely qualified to lead NASA.”…

What’s going on with Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA?

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

Hi space people, I'm looking for non-NASA experts to comment on the MAV portion of Mars Sample Return, and why it's so challenging to take off from Mars.

If that's you, or you know someone, do get in touch. jdaoca[at]gmail[dot]com

Thanks!

NASA started terminating grants :(

Rock and sand. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Kevin M. Gill

Rocks and sand. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Kevin M. Gill

Sol 1453 (tosol!) WATSON closeups of rock near the Mars Perseverance Rover. White balanced.

flic.kr/p/2qTv2F3
flic.kr/p/2qTtR8Q

Thank you to @sciguyspace.bsky.social for putting words to the “ick” I’ve been feeling about the language around bringing the Starliner astronauts home.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/can-nasa-remain-nonpartisan-when-basic-spaceflight-truths-are-shredded/

Founder and ceo is accurate.

text from https://web.archive.org/web/20250313041133/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/artemis/ which reads: Artemis With the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. We will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. Then, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.

A giant step back for womankind?

On February 28th the main Artemis page at nasa. gov read as follows
web.archive.org/web/20250313...

Can NASA remain nonpartisan when basic spaceflight truths are shredded? “Let’s bring them home NOW, Sir!”…

You sit on a throne of lies.

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

Popular program to promote women becoming aerospace engineers is at risk “Ten years ago this was embraced by everyone, and seen as a win-win for all.”…

Then they came for the Brookies ...

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

Saturn Gains 128 New Moons, Bringing Its Total to 274 (Gift Article) The objects around the ringed planet are tiny, but some of them may have formed relatively recently in the solar system’s history.

Somewhat ridiculously, Saturn now has 128 new moons, bring its total to 274.

These are mostly tiny rocks, a few miles across, that orbit the planet backwards – but they might be evidence of a recent smashup in the planet's orbit.

Story by me in The New York Times

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/s...

Can't win so I don't try.

Now that's interesting, thanks for the insight.

After years of acceleration, has SpaceX finally reached its speed limit? SpaceX has long had a hard-charging culture. Is it now charging too hard?

It has been an uncharacteristically messy start to the year for the world's leading spaceflight company, SpaceX.

Why?

arstechnica.com/uncategorize...

It's complicated.

White House may seek to slash NASA’s science budget by 50 percent “It would be nothing short of an extinction-level event for space science.”…

So long, Solar System.

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

How low can you go? Firm near launch of atmosphere-skimming satellite. Flying closer to Earth delivers higher-resolution imagery, but there’s a catch.

Albedo is nearing the launch of its first atmosphere-skimming satellite.

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...