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Donald Trump's efforts to cut ties with Elon Musk and SpaceX hit a road block when a formal review laid out just how crucial his contracts are to America's dominance in space. Trump had suggested at the height of his feud with the world's richest man that the administration could save millions of dollars by 'terminating' government contracts with Musk's companies, which would force him to 'head back home to South Africa.' The relationship had spectacularly combusted over Musk's criticism of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill and personal attacks about the president's former relationship with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Days...

On December 30, 2024, a stunning event captured the attention of both locals and space experts when a massive metal ring crashed from the sky into a Kenyan village southeast of Nairobi. The 2.5-meter diameter object, weighing approximately 500 kilograms, landed in a field without causing injuries but immediately sparked widespread curiosity and concern about space debris falling to Earth. The mysterious metal ring and its identification As New Year celebrations approached, villagers witnessed the extraordinary sight of a half-tonne metallic object plummeting from above. Local authorities quickly secured the area to prevent public access while experts were called in...

The most recent protests, from Friday, were led by Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA). Beyond the pickets, the group, along with a lawyer, have referred Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck, minister for space and for defence Judith Collins and others to the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Why? Because PSNA believes that Rocket Lab activities may have intentionally contributed to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by Israel.In a statement provided to The Spinoff, a Rocket Lab spokesperson said the company “strongly refutes PSNA’s false and irresponsible claims” and that it is considering its...

The International Space Station’s first visitors from India, Poland and Hungary headed back to Earth on Monday, wrapping up a private mission and catching a ride home with SpaceX. Their capsule undocked from the orbiting lab and aimed for a splashdown the next morning in the Pacific off the Southern California coast. The short, privately financed mission marked the first time in more than 40 years that India, Poland and Hungary saw one of their own rocket into orbit. The three astronauts were accompanied by America’s most experienced space flier, Peggy Whitson, who works for Axiom Space, which chartered the...

Watch Live: SpaceX launches Starlink 10-25 mission on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral | 1:25:20 Spaceflight Now | 369K subscribers | 13,765 views | Streamed live 7 hours ago [7/2/2025]

NASA is running out of the special kind of plutonium needed to power deep space probes, worrying planetary scientists who say the U. S. urgently needs to restart production of plutonium-238. But it's unclear whether Congress will provide the $30 million that the administration requested earlier this year for the Department of Energy to get a new program going. Nuclear weapons use plutonium-239, but NASA depends on something quite different: plutonium-238. A marshmallow-sized pellet of plutonium-238, encased in metal, gives off a lot of heat. "If you dim the lights a little bit, it glows a little red, because it's...

Starship explodes during static engine test

The world’s richest man and one of the world’s greatest minds, Elon Musk, turned on Starlink for Iranians after the brutal Islamic regime cut off internet service. This comes following the waves of Israeli attacks on the Islamic regime. Starlink gives internet service to people where internet is hard to get, like in remote areas or people suffering from a natural disaster or war.

In a stunning escalation of the war of words between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump on Thursday, the SpaceX tycoon announced that the company would begin “decommissioning” its Dragon spacecraft “immediately,” a threat to America’s space launch capabilities fueled by his personal animosity for the President. Musk later walked back the threat.

Just days before his expected Senate confirmation, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman—closely aligned with Elon Musk’s SpaceX—has been withdrawn as President Donald Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator. The announcement came on the same day Musk stepped down from the government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and follows renewed scrutiny of Isaacman’s past political donations to Democratic candidates. A new nominee for NASA administrator will be announced soon, according to Trump, who said he will prioritize someone who is “mission aligned” and can put America “first in space.”

The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), set to take off from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida next week, will be piloted by an Indian as it soars towards the International Space Station (ISS). Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian air force is among the four-member multi-country crew of Ax-4 that will be spending two weeks on the ISS. The flight, scheduled for 10 June at 08:22 EDT (12:22GMT; 17:52IST), has generated a huge interest in India as Group Captain Shukla will only be the second Indian ever to travel to space and the first to visit the ISS. The...

Launch in less than 1 hour

Watch live: SpaceX launches Starship mission on critical 9th test flight Live in 19 hours | May 27 at 5:30 PM | Spaceflight Now 364K subscribers | 27 waiting | Scheduled for May 27, 2025

Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms. I must be super focused on 𝕏/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out. As evidenced by the 𝕏 uptime issues this week, major operational improvements need to be made. The failover redundancy should have worked, but did not.

Billionaire Elon Musk triggered a flood of attention on social media on Wednesday as he joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday. The president confronted South African president Cyril Ramaphosa on the issue of the deaths of white farmers. Musk did not speak during the event, as President Trump asked staff to dim the lights in the Oval Office as he played a video of EFF leader Julius Malema chanting 'Shoot the Boer, Shoot the farmer.' Trump also showcased a series of news clippings including a file from the Daily Mail about the horrific crimes committed against...

Pad B is crossing a major milestone: the Orbital Launch Mount has arrived! With Ship 35 doing another static fire and the launch window fast approaching, how close is Flight 9? And how about the Starship future? SpaceX is radically redesigning major parts of Starship! Meanwhile, Rocket Lab is getting closer to pulling off a move even SpaceX hasn’t accomplished yet. Ready For Flight 9? SpaceX Starship- MASSIVE Progress In One Single Day!! | 21:12 What about it!? | 595K subscribers | 281,558 views | May 13, 2025

Elon Musk said Saudi Arabia has approved Starlink for aviation and maritime use in the region, speaking at an investment forum during a White House-led trip to the kingdom on Tuesday. Starlink is the satellite internet service owned and operated by Musk's aerospace and defense contractor, SpaceX. Musk also briefly discussed his other business ambitions in the region, promising to bring Tesla robotaxis to Saudi Arabia at an unspecified date. "I think it would be very exciting to have autonomous vehicles here in the kingdom, indeed, if you're amenable," Musk said. Musk also said he showed several of Tesla's Optimus...

Starship Flight 9: New Local Notice to Mariners cites NET May 19 for launch. Obvious caution required as we wait for status on Ship 35. NASASpaceflight.com on Facebook

NASA... gears up for another attempt to get the Artemis I mission off the ground...November 14, with a 69-minute launch window that opens at 12:07 a.m. ET. The launch will stream live on NASA’s website. he rocket had been stowed away for weeks after issues with fuel leaks that thwarted the first two launch attempts and then a hurricane rolled through Florida, forcing the rocket to vacate the launchpad and head for safety. The Artemis team again is monitoring a storm that could be heading toward Florida, but officials felt confident to move ahead with rollout, according to Jim Free,...

7:38 a.m. Countdown clock in 30-minute hold The countdown clock went into a 30-minute hold at T-40 minutes while the liquid hydrogen team continues to troubleshoot a problem with the RS-25 engines at the base of the core stage. The 30-minute hold is supposed to end with the countdown with only 10 minutes ahead of launch, but a T-0, and has already pushed beyond the start of the two-hour window at 8:33 a.m. An earlier noted potential issue of what seemed to be a crack seen in the inner tank has in NASA engineers’ opinion been not in the actual...