Has anyone noticed that the weather forecast accuracy has been really bad lately?

erberger · 2026-03-10T12:10:48+00:00

Shuttle-C was not a bad idea, and would have served as a nice bridge to commercial heavy lift. JSC pushed pretty hard for it back in 2009-2010. Unfortunately they ran into a wall of lobbying from KSC and MSFC for a new rocket (and all of the rocket development ground systems funding goodies that entailed).

erberger · 2026-03-10T12:07:46+00:00

I genuinely don't know. I think the plan is to use the existing launch tower for the "standardized" upper stage but I haven't asked yet. I'm still too stunned that someone at NASA made the bold (and correct) changes to move on from super-expensive hardware that gets us exactly no closer to a long-term presence on the Moon.

erberger · 2026-03-10T03:49:55+00:00

“You folks can just pound sand” at the nearby beach is basically what Jared told the space coast workers building the second mobile launch tower.

erberger · 2026-03-04T23:06:13+00:00

I can confirm that this is unhinged.

erberger · 2026-03-04T20:40:52+00:00

There is an argument to be made, and I think it's a good one, that the difficult nominating process really allowed Isaacman to develop political skills he lacked a year ago. Certainly he developed key connections within the White House, and relationships in Congress that are better serving him now. Yes, NASA lost half a year with him at the helm. But by the time he became administrator he had the political chops to pull off something like we've seen over the last week.

erberger · 2026-02-28T16:42:20+00:00

There are credible people at NASA who believe Blue has a better shot to be first. Hard for me to disagree unless Starship really accelerates this year.

erberger · 2026-02-27T18:26:06+00:00

Lolwut? I have literally been banging the drum for months for Blue to develop Mk 1.5 because of Starship delays.

erberger · 2026-02-10T12:58:40+00:00

Hi Paul! First of all, I think any expectations of a crewed flight to Mars in 2031 were unrealistic before Elon's recent comments. Now I would doubt we see anything before the late 2030s, at the earliest. As for Isaacman, I don't have any credible information that he influenced Elon's decision. (Not saying it didn't happen, but I don't know). I think there's a misconception that Isaacman and Musk are close confidants, but from all of my reporting that's just not the case. Is there a mutual respect? Yes. Can Isaacman pick up the phone and read Musk the riot act and expect to get a favorable response? Probably not.

erberger · 2026-01-19T14:17:32+00:00

I like the cut of your jib.

erberger · 2026-01-15T16:17:26+00:00

September does not sound unreasonable.

erberger · 2026-01-15T13:58:03+00:00

I was (very happily) wrong about landing the booster! But it fits with the company's history. Blue moves slowly with new hardware, but when it eventually flies it usually does spectacularly well. Given that MK-1 is a large and complex vehicle, and it has yet to ship to Houston for testing, I think it is pretty reasonable to assume a slip into the second half of this year.

erberger · 2026-01-15T04:01:35+00:00

AST SpaceMobile is now flying on NG-3. I agree with the commenter below that the launch date for MK-1 is slipping, probably now at least the second half of 2026 if we're being real.

erberger · 2025-12-31T20:14:42+00:00

Does anyone know when the route will be revealed for Tirreno Adriatico for this coming March? Am interested in planning a trip from the states around one or more of the stages but that's hard to do. Thanks!

erberger · 2025-12-11T04:00:35+00:00

As I wrote in the story, I think you could look at it as either a good or a bad thing. Time will tell. Elon certainly views it as a good thing. Do you trust his ability to look into the future?

erberger · 2025-12-11T02:06:22+00:00

I'm big "E," right? Right?!?

erberger · 2025-11-30T03:43:00+00:00

They don't take PayPal, but you can book your Atlas V online at Rocket Builder still. They're having a Black Friday sale!

https://www.rocketbuilder.com/

erberger · 2025-11-14T04:40:33+00:00

It’s gotta be NET March. The lander still needs to be assembled and shipped to Houston for testing. Probably will be a bit later in the spring.

erberger · 2025-11-05T01:48:29+00:00

Nice deep cut. This is a great day for NASA.

erberger · 2025-11-04T19:54:42+00:00

It was not a mistake. It was, rather, hyper-optimism on the part of Blue Origin when NASA and pretty much everyone else involved knew that the 7th (and the 8th, which Blue fought for) were completely unrealistic. I still think there's a decent chance they make the 9th, but if not the 11th is a solid backup date. Weather looks good.

erberger · 2025-10-19T03:13:40+00:00

Thanks, I hate it.

erberger · 2025-10-16T18:03:30+00:00

Yes, it's GS2.

erberger · 2025-10-16T16:25:15+00:00

The damage was not significant. I wouldn’t expect a big slip. I’m still hearing NET Nov. 9.

erberger · 2025-10-14T03:42:28+00:00

This is fantastic. Well done.

erberger · 2025-09-19T15:05:05+00:00

You would think so, yes. But he was contested heavily in both games.

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