NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

March 1, 2025

Blue Ghost to the Moon

With spacecraft thrusters at top center, the rugged surface of the Moon lies below the Blue Ghost lander in this space age video frame. The view of the lunar far side was captured by the Firefly Aerospace lunar lander on February 24, following a maneuver to circularize its orbit about 100 kilometers above the lunar surface. The robotic lunar lander is scheduled to touch down tomorrow, Sunday, March 2, at 3:34am Eastern Time in the Mare Crisium impact basin on the lunar near side. In support of the Artemis campaign, Blue Ghost is set to deliver science and technology experiments to the Moon, part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Blue Ghost's mission on the surface is planned to operate during the lunar daylight hours at the landing site, about 14 Earth days.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

NASA Uses New Technology to Understand California Wildfires

Feb 28, 2025

The January wildfires in California devastated local habitats and communities. In an effort to better understand wildfire behavior, NASA scientists and engineers tried to learn from the events by testing new technology.

The new instrument, the Compact Fire Infrared Radiance Spectral Tracker (c-FIRST), was tested when NASA’s B200 King Air aircraft flew over the wildfires in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, California.

Based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, the aircraft used the c-FIRST instrument to observe the impacts of the fires in near real-time.

Due to its small size and ability to efficiently simulate a satellite-based mission, the B200 King Air is uniquely suited for testing c-FIRST.

Managed and operated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, c-FIRST gathers thermal infrared images in high-resolution and other data about the terrain to study the impacts of wildfires on ecology.

In a single observation, c-FIRST can capture the full temperature range across a wide area of wildland fires – as well as the cool, unburned background – potentially increasing both the quantity and quality of science data produced.

“Currently, no instrument is able to cover the entire range of attributes for fires present in the Earth system,” said Sarath Gunapala, principal investigator for c-FIRST at NASA JPL.

“This leads to gaps in our understanding of how many fires occur, and of crucial characteristics like size and temperature.”

For decades, the quality of infrared images has struggled to convey the nuances of high-temperature surfaces above 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (550 degrees Celsius).

Blurry resolution and light saturation of infrared images has inhibited scientists’ understanding of an extremely hot terrain, and thereby also inhibited wildfire research.

Historically, images of extremely hot targets often lacked the detail scientists need to understand the range of a fire’s impacts on an ecosystem.

To address this, NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office supported JPL’s development of the c-FIRST instrument, combining state-of-the-art imaging technology with a compact and efficient design.

When c-FIRST was airborne, scientists could detect smoldering fires more accurately and quickly, while also gathering important information on active fires in near real-time.

“These smoldering fires can flame up if the wind picks up again,” said Gunapala. “Therefore, the c-FIRST data set could provide very important information for firefighting agencies to fight fires more effectively.”

For instance, c-FIRST data can help scientists estimate the likelihood of a fire spreading in a certain landscape, allowing officials to more effectively monitor smoldering fires and track how fires evolve.

Furthermore, c-FIRST can collect detailed data that can enable scientists to understand how an ecosystem may recover from fire events.

“The requirements of the c-FIRST instrument meet the flight profile of the King Air,” said KC Sujan, operations engineer for the B200 King Air.

"The c-FIRST team wanted a quick integration, the flight speed in the range 130 and 140 knots on a level flight, communication and navigation systems, and the instruments power requirement that are perfectly fit for King Air’s capability.”

By first testing the instrument onboard the B200 King Air, the c-FIRST team can evaluate its readiness for future satellite missions investigating wildfires.

On a changing planet where wildfires are increasingly common, instruments like c-FIRST could provide data that can aid firefighting agencies to fight fires more effectively, and to understand the ecosystemic impacts of extreme weather events.

https://www.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/nasa-uses-new-technology-to-understand-california-wildfires/

https://www.riverbender.com/news/details/duckworth-schiff-demand-answers-from-nasa-faa-over-conflict-of-interest-in-federal-contract-awards-to-musks-private-companies-80179.cfm

https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_nasa_faa_on_musk_conflicts_of_interest.pdf

Duckworth, Schiff Demand Answers From NASA, FAA Over Conflict of Interest in Federal Contract Awards to Musk’s Private Companies

March 2, 2025 8:00 AM

Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) and Ranking Member of the CST Subcommittee on Aviation, Space and Innovation—and U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) demanded answers from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Acting Administrator Janet Petro and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau on why, despite Elon Musk’s conflicts of interest, each agency has or may soon award billions of dollars in federal contracts to private companies controlled by Musk while he serves as a government employee.

“If accurate, this presents a striking new phase in Mr. Musk’s conflicts of interest. Mr. Musk holds unprecedented leverage over you and your agencies by directing ongoing efforts to substantially influence, alter, and undercut your departments’ operations, personnel, and funding.

Simultaneously awarding his private companies with billions of dollars in federal contracts raises grave questions as to whether you and your agencies are enabling corrupt favoritism to benefit Mr. Musk,” wrote the Senators.

Dear Ms. Petro and Mr. Rocheleau:

We write with serious concerns regarding recent reports that the federal agencies you lead – the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), respectively – have awarded or may soon award billions of dollars in federal contracts to private companies controlled by Elon Musk, a Special Government Employee. If accurate, this presents a striking new phase in Mr. Musk’s conflicts of interest.

Mr. Musk holds unprecedented leverage over you and your agencies by directing ongoing efforts to substantially influence, alter, and undercut your departments’ operations, personnel, and funding.

Simultaneously awarding his private companies with billions of dollars in federal contracts raises grave questions as to whether you and your agencies are enabling corrupt favoritism to benefit Mr. Musk.

On February 21, 2025, NASA announced that it selected Mr. Musk’s company, SpaceX, to provide launch services for the Near-Earth Object Surveyor mission, which is intended to detect and observe asteroids and comets that could potentially pose an impact threat to Earth.

According to NASA, the total cost of the launch service on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is approximately $100 million.

Three days later, on February 24, 2025, the FAA announced via Mr. Musk’s platform, X, that the agency “has been considering the use of Starlink,” a subsidiary of Mr. Musk’s company, SpaceX, to increase reliable weather information for the aviation community.

The same day, Mr. Musk posted on X: “The Verizon system is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk.”

In an effort to take over a $2.4 billion federal contract with the FAA held by Verizon, Mr. Musk has reportedly approved a shipment of 4,000 Starlink terminals to the FAA to upgrade critical infrastructure.

FAA officials confirmed that several Starlink terminals had been installed in New Jersey and Alaska6 and the agency is reportedly “close to canceling” Verizon’s contract and awarding the work to Mr. Musk’s company in a significant dismantling of conflict of interest protections in government contracts.

Furthermore, several employees of Mr. Musk’s parent company of Starlink, SpaceX, have joined the FAA – an agency tasked with regulating SpaceX activities and one of several federal Departments that have conducted investigations and reviews of Mr. Musk’s company for violating safety rules.

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>>22680981

We strongly support the need to upgrade federal technological systems through public-private partnerships and contracts, but this cannot be done through corruption and graft. Mr. Musk – a man worth over $350 billion – carries significant influence over President Trump and federal government agencies, even as he faces regulatory reviews and federal investigations across almost a dozen federal departments and independent agencies, including the Department of Transportation, of which FAA is a part.

Mr. Musk’s profound conflicts of interest risk fundamentally undermining public trust in your agencies at a moment in which trust in the missions of NASA and the FAA have never been more important.

On February 10, 2024, Senator Schiff sent letters to former Director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), David Huitema, and White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles requesting clarification regarding Mr. Musk’s compliance with federal conflicts of interest, ethics, and reporting requirements.

Following President Trump’s announcement firing Mr. Huitema without cause and designating Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins as acting OGE Director, Senator Schiff sent a follow-up letter requesting that the OGE preserve all records and correspondence regarding Mr. Huitema’s removal and inquiring, yet again, about Mr. Musk’s financial reporting obligations and any conflict of interest considerations communicated with the OGE on behalf of the White House.

To ensure that the Senate can undertake its constitutional oversight and legislative functions, including consideration of potential reforms to strengthen existing statutes, please take the following measures and respond to the questions below by March 7, 2025:

Preserve all records and correspondence since January 20, 2025, in NASA and the FAA’s possession regarding federal contract awards.

Preserve all records and correspondence in NASA and the FAA’s possession regarding any companies in which Mr. Musk retains a financial interest.

Please provide all records and correspondence in NASA and the FAA’s possession with Mr. Musk or any Department of Government Efficiency employees regarding any companies in which Mr. Musk retains a financial interest.

Provide the status of any reviews or investigations underway or closed since January 20, 2025, involving companies in which Mr. Musk retains a financial interest, including an investigation by the FAA of SpaceX’s Starship rocket following a failed test flight14 and the FAA’s review of alleged safety measure violations related to SpaceX launches.15

Did any White House officials communicate with any NASA or FAA officials about Mr. Musk’s conflict of interest considerations, including whether Mr. Musk would need a waiver under 18 U.S.C. § 208, prior to Mr. Musk’s appointment as a special government employee?

If so, please explain the nature of those communications.

Did any NASA or FAA employees raise concerns about awarding federal contracts to Mr. Musk’s companies, given his role as a Special Government Employee?

If so, please explain the nature of those concerns and communications and preserve all records and correspondence in your possession regarding these concerns.

Congress has yet to receive responses from the White House or the OGE regarding Mr. Musk’s compliance with federal criminal conflicts of interest law and other ethics and reporting requirements, which reinforces concern that Mr. Musk may not be complying with his legal obligations.

We look forward to reviewing your responses.

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Two Space Probes Are Facing Serious Issues Just Days After Launch

February 28, 2025

If you need yet another reminder that space travel is ridiculously complicated, two freshly launched probes have already run into trouble.

On February 26, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center, with a payload that included NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer and Astroforge’s Odin.

By February 28, both had experienced communications issues with their handlers back on Earth.

In a statement, NASA said that, while Lunar Trailblazer had deployed from the rocket after reaching space without incident, mission control soon began receiving troubling data about the spacecraft’s power systems.

At 7:30 a.m. ET on February 27, communication with Trailblazer was lost, only to be regained several hours later.

“The team now is working with NASA ground stations to reestablish telemetry and commanding to better assess the power system issues and develop potential solutions,” said NASA.

Lunar Trailblazer, designed to orbit the Moon, was built to search for clues about the location and state of its water.

As part of the agency’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program, NASA has called the Lunar Trailblazer “high-risk, low-cost.”

Although SIMPLEx missions are supposed to be capped at $55 million, there have been cost overruns tied to the Trailblazer. According to The New York Times, the cost of building and operating it has reached $94 million.

“To maintain a lower overall cost, SIMPLEx missions have a higher risk posture and lighter requirements for oversight and management,” NASA said on its website.

“This higher risk acceptance allows NASA to enable science missions that could not otherwise be done.”

Astroforge has also experienced difficulties staying in touch with its spacecraft, named Odin. The probe is designed to scan for valuable metals as part of the company’s goal of mining asteroids for profit.

Writing on X yesterday, Astroforge said it had run into “countless ground station issues,” but had “multiple communication points with Odin.”

In a video update posted early Friday morning, CEO Matt Gialich said communications issues were the result of a ground-based power amplifier breaking.

“I don’t even know how you make this shit up,” he said.

However, the company believes Odin is in “a power positive state,” and that the vehicle is roughly where it should be and is expected to reach the opposite side of the Moon in two days.

As Gialich admitted, Astroforge doesn’t fully understand the state of the vehicle.

He listed two possibilities—the most likely, he said, is that everything is fine, but there is a possibility that the craft is in an uncontrolled tumble. More information is expected on Friday night.

Like Lunar Trailblazer, Odin is a low-budget affair. Astroforge estimates the mission cost at $6.5 million and has raised at least $55 million in funding since launching in 2022.

The plan calls for Odin to use the Moon’s gravity to propel itself towards an asteroid called 2022 EB5, which is currently around 4,039,000 miles (6,500,100 kilometers) from Earth.

The timeline to complete the mission is uncertain.

Prior to launch, Gialich seemed to be hedging his bets, saying that the low cost entailed “exceptional risks.”

Tagging along on the pair’s launch was a second lunar-bound probe, but this one’s fortunes appear to be brighter thus far.

On February 27, Intuitive Machines said in a statement that its Athena lunar lander is in “excellent health,” having established a stable attitude, its solar panels are functioning, and the spacecraft is in radio communication.

On Friday, the company said on its website that Athena is about halfway to the Moon and is communicating fine with the mission’s flight controllers. The lander is scheduled to touch down on the surface on Thursday, March 6.

Space travel is tricky, with countless variables that can go wrong in what is one of the most hostile environments imaginable.

Some people, and we’re not naming names, may think risking human lives on foolhardy missions through the void is reasonable. The two spacecraft’s troubles should be a reminder that it is not.

https://gizmodo.com/houston-we-have-a-couple-of-problems-newly-launched-probes-are-already-facing-serious-issues-2000570077

https://blogs.nasa.gov/trailblazer/2025/02/27/nasa-working-to-reestablish-communications-with-lunar-trailblazer/

https://x.com/astroforge/status/1895198585660276781

https://x.com/astroforge/status/1895404348236300504

https://investors.intuitivemachines.com/news-releases/news-release-details/intuitive-machines-im-2-lunar-lander-successfully-commissioned

There’s a Surprisingly Large Crowd of Cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere Right Now

February 28, 2025

NASA satellite imagery captured tropical cyclones crowding the waters of two oceans in the Southern Hemisphere in recent days.

Three storms were simultaneously active in the Pacific Ocean—a rare event—but satellites also captured a trio of cyclones rolling across the Indian Ocean.

The images reveal the intensity of the weather across a broad sweep of the Southern Hemisphere, and showcases the utility of agency satellites in tracking storm systems from low-Earth orbit.

The images were taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA-20 using its Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor.

The Pacific storms are named Alfred and Seru, and the Indian Ocean systems are Bianca, Garance, and Honde.

In the NASA false color imagery taken on February 26, Garance and Honde are seen toiling on either side of Madagascar, while Bianca sits off Australia’s west coast. Alfred and Seru are east of northern Australia.

According to a NASA Earth Observatory release, the image was taken a day after a sixth storm weakened too much to be identifiable in this shot. That storm brought heavy rain to Fiji.

But the other storms are still an imposing presence. Seru achieved Category 1 strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale—the go-to scale for measuring the strength of storms like hurricanes and cyclones.

Alfred is seen in this image as a Category 2 storm, though February 27 (yesterday), the storm achieved Category 4 strength.

Tropical Cyclone Bianca is seen near the end of its life; it achieved Category 3 strength on February 25 but stayed far from land and dramatically weakened to a tropical storm the following day.

But the other storms in the Indian Ocean, Garance and Honde, remain powerful systems that could be felt on land. Rain, strong winds, and storm surge remain in the forecast for Madagascar.

According to the NASA release, warm sea surface temperatures and weak wind shear may have given a platform for the storms.

Indeed, warmer-than-average surface water temperatures in combination with low vertical wind shear also helped fuel Hurricane Milton last year, which intensified from a Category 1 storm into a Category 5 event in just 7 hours.

A marine heat wave has lingered in the waters west of Australia since September, and NOAA observed particularly high sea surface temperatures in the area this month.

That said, ’tis the season for tropical cyclones, as the storms generally form between November and April in the southern hemisphere.

The satellite imagery is a reminder of the utility of spacecraft in monitoring climatological processes on Earth.

Our measurements of the planet’s surface will only improve, as the NASA and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) mission NISAR is set to launch this year, and observe and measure changes to Earth’s surface with precision.

https://gizmodo.com/theres-a-surprisingly-large-crowd-of-cyclones-in-the-southern-hemisphere-right-now-2000569939

China is building a 'space station', but 6,500 feet under the sea. There is one problem

01 Mar 2025 15:38 IST

China is building a space station, the only catch being that it won't be actually in space but underwater.

The government has approved the plans for this highly ambitious project where a "deep-sea space station" would be built around 6,500 feet underwater.

The station is expected to become operational by 2030, and is touted to be one of the most technologically complex installations ever made by humans, South China Morning Post reported.

Oceans still remain a mystery despite scientific advancements. Exploring the vast water world requires humans to spend a considerable amount of time in the sea which has not been possible yet.

This is where China's deep-sea space station comes into the picture.

To be built over 6,500 feet below sea level, the station will be able to house six researchers for up to a month.

This will allow them to carry out experiments, and explore the oceans and the hidden regions that remain out of reach.

Focus of deep-sea space station

Researchers spending time on the deep-sea space station will target their efforts mainly towards one particular area - cold seeps.

These are places on the ocean floor from where hydrocarbon or methane-rich fluids seep upwards.

These cold seeps create a gaseous environment which is primarily responsible for the sustenance of deep-sea species.

Studying these regions can also prove helpful in identifying renewable energy solutions. Life forms that exist around the cold seeps can also help with the dangerous oil spills.

Scientists seek to understand how these microorganisms can help break down the oil spills, thus preventing other ocean life from being harmed.

Monitoring cold seeps from a deep-sea space station will help reach the goals better since being in a permanent space will let scientists conduct lengthier experiments underwater and consistently analyse cold seeps, besides letting them in on tectonic activity and ecological changes.

According to the website Oceanographic, China is aiming for a four-pronged advancement in this area, combining unscrewed submersibles, ships, and seabed observatories for better results.

South China Sea and political issues

However, political reasons might make China's task difficult since it plans to build this space station in the volatile South China Sea. Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines claim several parts of the sea, which might delay the process of construction.

https://www.wionews.com/world/china-space-station-6500-feet-under-the-sea-8768278

https://www.space.com/the-universe/climate-change/scientists-warn-of-consequences-as-over-800-noaa-workers-are-fired-censoring-science-does-not-change-the-facts

https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/trump-administration-layoffs-target-noaa

https://bsky.app/profile/rissarwx.bsky.social/post/3lj6sxel2zc2r

Scientists warn of consequences as over 800 NOAA workers are fired: 'Censoring science does not change the facts'

February 28, 2025

Scientists warn that the Trump administration's abrupt firing of hundreds of weather forecasters and climate experts across NOAA will curtail important climate research and could result in preventable deaths during extreme weather events and related disasters.

Over 800 employees across most divisions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — a premier U.S. federal agency at the forefront of climate research that provides timely weather forecasts to the public for free — were dismissed in mass layoffs that began Thursday afternoon (Feb. 27).

The cuts targeted probationary employees, a term that refers to new hires in trial periods lasting one to two years as well as long-term federal workers who recently transitioned into new positions; with limited civil protections, these employees are easier to terminate.

The layoffs are part of a broader effort by the new White House administration to shrink the federal workforce, which is being spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at its helm.

"Decimating the nation's core scientific enterprise, even as costly and deadly climate change impacts and extreme weather events worsen, flies in the face of logic, common sense and fiscal responsibility," Juan Declet-Barreto of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a nonprofit organization started by scientists and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said in a statement.

"NOAA's data and science are used routinely by weather forecasters, mariners, farmers, emergency responders, businesses and everyday people across the country."

"Everyone in the United States relies on NOAA in their daily lives whether they realize it or not, something that will come into focus for many in the weeks and months ahead," he added.

Among those dismissed from NOAA include meteorologists at the National Weather Service (NWS) who provide local forecasts, a move that several scientists are warning will hamper predicting and communicating timely warnings of severe storms and earthquakes —warnings that people and industries across the country rely on.

This could ultimately leave the U.S. less prepared than it would have been for the increasingly extreme weather patterns driven by climate change.

"There will be people who die in extreme weather events & related disasters who would not have otherwise," climate scientist Daniel Swain at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote in a post on X.

The layoffs at NOAA "are spectacularly short-sighted, and ultimately will deal a major self-inflicted wound to the public safety of Americans and the resiliency of the American economy to weather and climate-related disasters."

NOAA headquarters did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Space.com.

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>>22681106

By late Thursday, NWS and NOAA offices had started reducing services citing staffing shortages.

NWS headquarters announced weather balloon launches at Kotzebue, Alaska — which typically lift off twice a day to collect raw data used to refine weather prediction models — have been suspended indefinitely.

A field station in Michigan that conducted research in the Great Lakes region announced its social media presence will be taking an indefinite hiatus.

"You're seeing the whittling away of scientists, and the people who got fired today are some of the best people you can imagine," Tom DiLiberto, a NOAA climate and weather scientist until Thursday, when he was fired two weeks before his probationary period ended, told CBS News.

"These people have dedicated their lives to help others — there's no politics in this," he added. "When we forecast, or think of the oceans and keep them clean, we're not thinking about the politics.

This is an insult on science and all that's good."

Like many actions ordered by the Trump administration in recent weeks, the layoffs at NOAA follow the vision of Project 2025.

Project 2025 is a policy blueprint created by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative organization, that calls NOAA "one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry," and urges the agency to be dismantled, some of its programs terminated, and data collected by the NWS to be commercialized.

The Union of Concerned Scientists said it had delivered a letter signed by 2,500 scientific experts calling on Howard Lutnick, who leads the Commerce Department, which oversees NOAA, to protect NOAA's staff, funding and scientific independence.

"Censoring science does not change the facts about climate change," Declet-Barreto said in the UCS statement.

Across the nation, several scientists are planning to protest outside NOAA facilities early next week and in rallies on Friday (March 7), which are being organized by a team of early-career researchers to "Stand Up for Science."

"We will not go quietly because we care about the NOAA mission to protect the public," a NOAA scientist who was part of the mass layoffs at NOAA wrote on social media.

Two senators question Air Force nominee’s SpaceX connections

February 28, 2025

Two Democratic senators are pressing the Trump administration’s nominee for Secretary of the Air Force, Troy Meink, over his past role in awarding contracts to SpaceX.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Meink seeking clarity on his relationship with SpaceX and its chief executive, Elon Musk, who now holds a significant advisory role in the administration.

In a letter dated Feb. 27, the senators asked Meink to clarify his past involvement in contract decisions at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), where he currently serves as principal deputy director.

They also inquired about his plans for future contracting decisions at the Pentagon should he be confirmed.

President Donald Trump announced Meink’s nomination on Jan. 16 to lead the Department of the Air Force, which oversees both the Air Force and the Space Force.

If confirmed, Meink would be responsible for billions of dollars in defense contracts, including those related to military space operations, where SpaceX has become a dominant player.

The senators’ inquiry comes in response to a Feb. 7 Reuters report alleging that Meink structured a multibillion-dollar NRO contract solicitation in a manner that favored SpaceX.

The Hawthorne, Calif.-based company is a key contractor for the intelligence agency, supplying launch services, satellite communications, and other critical capabilities.

Given the Air Force’s oversight of lucrative contracts for national security space efforts, it is imperative that all contractors are treated fairly and equitably, Warren and Duckworth wrote.

The senators also voiced concerns over reports that Musk recommended Meink for the Air Force’s top civilian position, citing the nominee’s longstanding professional ties to SpaceX.

Musk, in addition to leading SpaceX, holds a role in the Trump administration as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, a position focused on streamlining federal operations.

SpaceX’s growing footprint in national security has made the company an increasingly influential force in defense contracting.

It is the primary provider of launch services for the U.S. Space Force’s national security satellite missions, and its Starlink satellite internet network is gaining traction in military applications.

Despite the concerns raised by Warren and Duckworth, defense analysts suggest that Meink’s confirmation is unlikely to be derailed.

“I don’t see any evidence of wrongdoing or a conflict of interest,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

“Meink was acting on behalf of the government at NRO, and he’ll be acting on behalf of the Department of the Air Force in his new position.

In both roles, his interest is in getting the best value for the government.”

Harrison added that while scrutiny over contracting decisions is expected, there is no indication that Meink personally benefited from any dealings with SpaceX.

“It’s not as if he worked for SpaceX or ever profited from SpaceX,” he said.

Meink is expected to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the coming weeks.

https://spacenews.com/two-senators-question-air-force-nominees-spacex-connections/

https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-duckworth-raise-concerns-over-potential-quid-quo-pro-between-elon-musk-and-dr-troy-meink-trumps-air-force-secretary-nominee

SpaceX gets FAA approval for Flight 8 of Starship megarocket

February 28, 2025

SpaceX now has permission to launch its Starship megarocket for the eighth time.

Elon Musk's company is targeting Monday evening (March 3) for Flight 8 of Starship, which will lift off from Starbase in South Texas, near the border city of Brownsville.

That date had been a bit fuzzy for some time, as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had not given its approval for the launch until now.

"The FAA issued a license modification authorizing the SpaceX Starship Flight 8 launch," FAA officials said in an emailed statement today (Feb. 28).

"The FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental and other licensing requirements for the suborbital test flight."

Starship last launched on Jan. 16, for a test flight that was partially successful.

The company managed to catch the vehicle's giant first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy, using the "chopstick" arms of Starbase's launch tower.

But Starship's upper stage suffered a propellant leak and exploded over the Atlantic Ocean, bringing a premature end to the mission.

The FAA is overseeing the SpaceX-led investigation into the Flight 7 anomaly, which is ongoing despite the newly granted approval.

"After completing the required and comprehensive safety review, the FAA determined the SpaceX Starship vehicle can return to flight operations while the investigation into the Jan. 16 Starship Flight 7 mishap remains open," the FAA's emailed statement reads.

Flight 8 is scheduled to lift off on Monday during a window that opens at 6:30 p.m. EST (2330 GMT; 5:30 p.m. local Texas time). You'll be able to watch the action live here at Space.com.

Flight 8's goals are similar to those of Flight 7. SpaceX will try for another Super Heavy booster catch, and Starship's upper stage, known as Ship, will travel much of the way around Earth before splashing down in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia.

Ship will attempt to deploy four payloads — mock versions of SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellites — on its suborbital trajectory.

The upper stage carried 10 dummy Starlinks on Flight 7 but never got the chance to eject them into space.

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/spacex-gets-faa-approval-for-flight-8-of-starship-megarocket

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-8

>>22681133

little gold sheep or something in the picture behind them

The Department of the Air Force implements Deferred Resignation Program

March 1, 2025

Beginning Feb. 28, 2025, the Department of the Air Force began implementing the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) by issuing notifications to employees on the status of their program application.

Officials began sending automated emails through the DRP tool directly to DRP applicants following a phased approach based on command validation of exempt or ineligible employees.

The email rollout will start with non-bargaining employees. Notifications for bargaining employees will follow after collective bargaining units receive official notice.

Approved DRP participants can enter a transition period, receiving paid administrative leave until Sept. 30, 2025, during which they are generally not expected to work and are exempt from in-person requirements.

This voluntary program requires a formal agreement between the employee and the DAF, providing a financially supported pathway for eligible employees nearing retirement while enabling the Department of Defense to proactively reshape its workforce.

If employees have additional questions after they receive their notification, they should reach out to their local civilian personnel office for additional information.

Guidance on Deferred Resignation, as well as other civilian personnel priorities, is available at: Executive Orders and Presidential Memorandums

https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4086464/the-department-of-the-air-force-implements-deferred-resignation-program/

https://www.spaceforce.mil/Portals/2/Documents/SAF%202025/Implementation_of_Deferred_Resignation_Program.pdf

https://www.opm.gov/fork/faq/