Free Republic

Jared Isaacman Is Transparent With NASA Decision to Fly Orion Heat Shield 'As Is'N | 11:50 Ellie in Space | 216K subscribers | 12,455 views | January 10, 2026 Link to Eric's article: Is Orion's heat shield really safe? New NASA chief conducts final review on eve of flight Eric Berger | January 9, 2026 | Ars Technica

This is a developing situation. NASA is considering a rare early return of Crew-11 after canceling a planned ISS spacewalk due to an unspecified medical issue with one astronaut. The crew member is stable, but the EVA — slated for Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke — was scrubbed. That spacewalk would’ve tied a career EVA record for Fincke. NASA says all options are on the table. Spacewalk Canceled, Medical Issue Prompts Rare Talk of Early ISS Crew Return | 4:05 Ellie in Space | 216K subscribers | 8,083 views | January 8, 2026

Paul McCartney performs Blackbird at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, CA 9/29/2025 Paul McCartney, Blackbird at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, CA 9/29/2025 [4K] | 3:51 lucid | 29.2K subscribers | 904 views | September 30, 2025 Shot in 4K, 60fps on iPhone 16 Pro Max

Starship Flight 11 Announced – Goodbye Pad 1, Goodbye V2! | 8:53 Ellie in Space | 211K subscribers | 35,281 views | September 30, 2025 (as soon as Monday, October 13. The launch window will open at 6:15 p.m. CT)

[snip] In fact, I saw someone who actually worked on the Sierra Space Dreamchaser comment about this. I wanted to interview him, but right now he's working for SpaceX, which means he can't do interviews. But he wrote, "I spent years tiling this ship, drilling composites and making every detail perfect. Management was a disaster and even tried to convince us they were on par with SpaceX. Now that I work on Starship, comments like that sound even more childish than before. RIP Chaser never to be." [/snip] NASA May Have Put the Nail in the Coffin for Sierra Space...