Sasha Grey Responds to her name in the Epstein Files - "I never met Epstein"
Feb 21, 2026
I want to be very clear: I did not know Jeffrey Epstein nor did I ever meet him. I never communicated with him.
I never authorized anyone to reach out to him on my behalf. I had no knowledge that my name was ever discussed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McbGl8vCzpI
https://dangerousminds.net/history/art-bell-and-the-strangest-radio-caller-of-all-time/
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
February 22, 2026
Shadow of a Martian Robot
What if you saw your shadow on Mars and it wasn't human? Then you might be the Opportunity rover exploring Mars. Opportunity explored the Red Planet from 2004 to 2018, finding evidence of ancient water, and sending breathtaking images across the inner Solar System. Pictured here in 2004, Opportunity looks opposite the Sun into Endurance Crater and sees its own shadow. Two wheels are visible on the lower left and right, while the floor and walls of the unusual crater are visible in the background. Caught in a dust storm in 2018, Opportunity stopped responding, and NASA stopped trying to contact it in 2019 and declared the ground-breaking mission, originally planned for only 92 days, complete.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsVFCgw39fc
Uranus Has Fallen, Climate Goof, Coronal Hole | S0 News
Feb.22.2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFVdR5j2H0I
https://watchers.news/2026/02/22/g1-minor-geomagnetic-storm-underway-noaa-forecasts-possible-g2-conditions/
https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/aditya-l1-nasa-isro-solar-storm-earth-magnetic-field-dawn-disturbances-2872157-2026-02-21
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2026/02/22/northern-lights-forecast-11-states-may-see-aurora-sunday/
https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2025385746744369342
https://x.com/StefanBurnsGeo/status/2025536640169480507
https://x.com/randallwcarlson/status/2025390764910338408
https://x.com/schumannbot/status/2025571306414997953
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-viewline-tonight-and-tomorrow-night-experimental
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
>May God have mercy on his soul.
>Condolences to his family.
Amen.
Blessings to you, sir.
Power plant attack near Las Vegas shows security vulnerabilities, echoes 2023 incident
Posted 7:08 PM, Feb 20, 2026
A man who drove from Albany to Las Vegas and crashed into a Boulder City power facility on Thursday was likely planning a much larger attack, according to police evidence that included explosive materials, firearms and flamethrowers in his possession.
Dawson Maloney left a note for his mother before making the cross-country trip, saying he was "a dead terrorist's son" and felt "he had an obligation to carry out his act," police said. Maloney fatally shot himself after ramming his car through the facility's gate.
The incident bears similarities to a 2023 attack at a remote desert power facility near Apex, where another man crashed his car into a transformer and set it on fire.
Darcy Spears digs into what we know so far and how this incident is echoed by a similar case:
During Friday's press conference, Sheriff Kevin McMahill shared images of multiple books found in Maloney's hotel room that were "related to extremist ideologies, including right- and left-wing extremism, environmental extremism, white supremacy, and anti-government ideology."
Police found explosive materials and bomb components in Maloney's motel room, along with a crowbar, hatchet, cell phone and two shotguns in his car.
The weapons included an AR-style pistol, numerous loaded AR magazines, ammunition and two flamethrowers containing thermite, which is used for welding steel, cutting through metal, and in specialized incendiary devices.
"We also recognize the gravity of an armed individual intentionally breaching the power facility while in possession of incendiary components," said Boulder City Police Chief Tim Shea.
The FBI in Albany is also investigating the case. Agents recovered electronics from one Albany residence.
"Recovered from an additional residence in Albany were several gun components needed to assemble a firearm, a 3D printer as well," said Las Vegas FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Delzotto.
The 2023 incident involved Mohammed Reza Mesmarian, a 35-year-old dentist from Aurora, Colorado, who rammed his car through a fence at the MGM Resorts Mega Solar Array.
He crashed into a transformer, set it on fire and sat in a chair watching the flames for about 15 minutes before walking away.
Mesmarian told investigators he wanted to send a message supporting clean energy, thinking the solar farm was a Tesla facility and that the transformer was connected to what he called "the network."
Authorities initially characterized it as a terror attack on the electric system serving several Las Vegas Strip casinos.
"Individuals will take very left-wing ideology, very right-wing ideology, combine it with occult and a number of different types of things, and then they come up with their own ideology," McMahill said. "So we really don't know what has caused this extremism."
In Maloney's case, McMahill said there are "some indications that there had been potentially some early online activity that he had alluded to, but it's too early for me to tell you with any definitive ability that these are the things that caused that."
Both incidents demonstrate ongoing vulnerabilities at power facilities. Video police shared showed it was relatively easy for Maloney to ram his car through the gate and onto the facility's grounds.
"And that's something that we're continuing to look at," McMahill said. "We know in this particular case, there are private security officers that are out there.
There's video, which we had not had in the previous incidents. So there are things that they've done to target, harden that."
Mesmarian was found guilty but mentally ill in December 2023 and sentenced to two to 10 years in prison. Nevada Department of Corrections records show he was paroled last month.
https://www.ktnv.com/13-investigates/power-plant-attack-near-las-vegas-shows-security-vulnerabilities-echoes-2023-incident
https://x.com/dahboo7/status/2025299184216072570
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNLFA_Gapjw
NASA is Wrong about 3I/ATLAS and May Be About Extraterrestrial Life…
Feb 21, 2026
Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is headed straight towards Jupiter - the largest planet in the Solar System - and host to the Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System.
Ganymede interestingly has two striking characteristics that make it surprisingly similar to Earth, the only planet in the Solar System currently known to harbor life, and Jupiter is the perfect place to colonize and control the Solar System from, if a force chose to do so.
Geophysicist Stefan Burns explores the unusual moon Ganymede, it's potential relationship with life, and what 3I/ATLAS is doing in March of 2026.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq7rgOldwI
https://starwalk.space/ja/news/upcoming-comets
https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/a-risky-maneuver-could-send-a-spacecraft-to-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-heres-the-plan
https://x.com/ahenk75/status/2025581910907363752
https://x.com/Russell_V_/status/2025581557008789884
https://x.com/thesentinelnet/status/2025249202096513208
Just gonna redo this, apologies
NASA is Wrong about 3I/ATLAS and May Be About Extraterrestrial Life…
Feb 21, 2026
Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is headed straight towards Jupiter - the largest planet in the Solar System - and host to the Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System.
Ganymede interestingly has two striking characteristics that make it surprisingly similar to Earth, the only planet in the Solar System currently known to harbor life, and Jupiter is the perfect place to colonize and control the Solar System from, if a force chose to do so.
Geophysicist Stefan Burns explores the unusual moon Ganymede, it's potential relationship with life, and what 3I/ATLAS is doing in March of 2026.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq7rgOldwIQ
https://starwalk.space/ja/news/upcoming-comets
https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/a-risky-maneuver-could-send-a-spacecraft-to-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-heres-the-plan
https://x.com/ahenk75/status/2025581910907363752
https://x.com/Russell_V_/status/2025581557008789884
https://x.com/thesentinelnet/status/2025249202096513208
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
@NASAAdmin
After overnight data showed an interruption in helium flow in the SLS interim cryogenic propulsion stage, teams are troubleshooting and preparing for a likely rollback of Artemis II to the VAB at @NASAKennedy. This will almost assuredly impact the March launch window.
@NASA will continue to provide updates as they become available.
7:30 AM · Feb 21, 2026
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
@NASAAdmin
As an update to my earlier post.
The ICPS helium bottles are used to purge the engines, as well as for LH2 and LOX tank pressurization. The systems did work correctly during WDR1 and WDR2.
Last evening, the team was unable to get helium flow through the vehicle. This occurred during a routine operation to repressurize the system.
We observed a similar failure signature on Artemis I.
The Artemis II vehicle is in a safe configuration, using ground ECS purge for the engines versus the onboard helium supply.
Potential faults could include the final filter between the ground and flight vehicle, located on the umbilical, though this seems least likely based on the failure signature. It could also be a failed QD umbilical interface, where similar issues have been observed. It could also be a failed check valve onboard the vehicle, which would be consistent with Artemis I, though corrective actions were taken to minimize reoccurrence on Artemis II.
Regardless of the potential fault, accessing and remediating any of these issues can only be performed in the VAB.
As mentioned previously, we will begin preparations for rollback, and this will take the March launch window out of consideration.
I understand people are disappointed by this development. That disappointment is felt most by the team at NASA, who have been working tirelessly to prepare for this great endeavor.
During the 1960s, when NASA achieved what most thought was impossible, and what has never been repeated since, there were many setbacks.
One historic example is that Neil Armstrong spent less than 11 hours in space on Gemini 8 before his mission ended prematurely due to a technical issue. A little over three years later, he became the first man to walk on the Moon.
There are many differences between the 1960s and today, and expectations should rightfully be high after the time and expense invested in this program.
I will say again, the President created Artemis as a program that will far surpass what America achieved during Apollo.
We will return in the years ahead, we will build a Moon base, and undertake what should be continuous missions to and from the lunar environment. Where we begin with this architecture and flight rate is not where it will end.
Please expect a more extensive briefing later this week as we outline the path forward, not just for Artemis II, but for subsequent missions, to ensure NASA meets the President’s vision to return to the Moon and, this time, to stay.
https://nasawatch.com/artemis/another-artemis-ii-issue-arises/
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/nasa/2026/02/21/544085/space-moon-nasa-artemis-launch-delay/
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2025231621436186837
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2025249086908125630
Cosmic rule-breaker: Researchers discover rocky planet that defies how worlds form
Feb 22, 2026 05:48 AM EST
Astronomers have long believed that planetary systems follow a familiar blueprint. Small rocky planets stay close to their star, while large gas planets orbit much farther away. Our own solar system fits this pattern perfectly.
However, a newly studied system around the red dwarf star LHS 1903 has turned that neat picture upside down. The study authors report the discovery of a rocky planet orbiting in the outer reaches of this system, exactly where scientists would expect to find a gas-rich world.
The surprise is forcing astronomers to rethink when and how rocky planets can form, and whether the textbook model of planet formation is missing an important piece of the story.
“We’ve seen this pattern: rocky inside, gaseous outside, across hundreds of planetary systems. But now, the discovery of a rocky planet in the outer part of a system forces us to rethink the timing and conditions under which rocky planets can form,” Ryan Cloutier, one of the study authors and a professor of physics and astronomy at McMaster University, said.
Mapping a seemingly ordinary system
The researchers focused on LHS 1903, a small and faint red dwarf star much cooler than our Sun. Red dwarfs are common in our galaxy, and because they are smaller, planets orbiting them are easier to detect.
Using a mix of ground-based telescopes and space observatories, the team initially identified three planets orbiting LHS 1903. Their arrangement seemed ordinary.
One rocky planet close to the star, followed by two gas-rich planets similar to mini-Neptunes farther out. This matched the widely accepted theory of planet formation.
That theory says planets are born inside a spinning disk of gas and dust surrounding a young star, called a protoplanetary disk. Close to the star, intense heat and radiation strip away light gases such as hydrogen and helium.
Any planet forming there tends to lose its thick atmosphere, leaving behind a dense, rocky body. Farther away, where it is cooler, planets can hold on to gas and grow into large, puffy worlds.
After carefully studying the three known planets for years, the team received new observations from the European Space Agency’s CHEOPS satellite. CHEOPS is designed to measure the sizes of exoplanets with high precision.
The new data revealed a fourth planet, called LHS 1903 e, orbiting farthest from the star (LHS 1903). When the researchers calculated its size and mass, they found something unexpected.
The outer world that broke the pattern
The outermost planet appears to be rocky rather than gaseous. In other words, it does not have the thick atmosphere scientists would expect at that distance.
“It’s remarkable to see a rocky world forming in an environment that shouldn’t favor that outcome. It challenges the assumptions built into our current models,” Cloutier said.
The team explored several possible explanations. Could a giant collision have blasted away its atmosphere? Computer simulations showed this was unlikely.
Could the planets have swapped places over time due to gravitational interactions? Detailed orbital analyses ruled that out as well.
The most convincing evidence points to a different formation process known as inside-out planet formation. Instead of all planets forming at roughly the same time, this model suggests that planets form one after another.
As each planet forms, it changes the environment in the disk. Over time, the disk can lose much of its gas. If LHS 1903 e formed late—after most of the gas had already been used up or blown away—it would have been left with mainly solid material.
This could explain why it became rocky even though it sits far from the star.
The discovery raises important questions. If one system can break the usual pattern, how many others might do the same?
It also highlights the limits of current planet-formation models. While they explain many systems well, they may not fully capture how evolving disks and timing differences shape final planet types.
The researchers plan to continue studying LHS 1903 in greater detail and to look for comparable systems that test the inside-out formation idea.
https://interestingengineering.com/space/discovery-breaks-the-rule-of-planet-formation
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl2348
Firefly Aerospace prepares Alpha: Stairway to Seven Launch
February 22, 2026
Firefly Aerospace prepares Alpha for its seventh mission, targeted for February 27, following a 10-month hiatus. This return to flight aims to validate systems after investigations into previous stage separation mishaps.
Firefly Aerospace is targeting February 27 for the “Stairway to Seven” mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. This flight marks a critical return to operations for the small-satellite launch vehicle after previous anomalies.
Engineers completed a 20-second static fire test on February 6 to ensure the Reaver engines are functional. This test flight uses a demo payload to reverify the rocket’s performance before the company upgrades its hardware.
Firefly Aerospace prepares Alpha by conducting final systems checks at Vandenberg Space Force Base for a targeted February 27 liftoff.
This return to flight aims to validate core systems using a demo payload following a comprehensive 10-month investigation into previous stage separation mishaps and contamination.
The investigation concluded that a process error during stage integration caused minute hydrocarbon contamination.
This finding ruled out fundamental design flaws, allowing the Texas-based company to proceed with the mission using the current Block I configuration.
The 10-month grounding followed two significant incidents: a first-stage breakup during the “Message in a Booster” mission in April and a subsequent booster explosion during September testing.
Fortunately, ground facilities remained undamaged, allowing the team to focus on resolving the integration process error that led to the contamination.
Alpha launch mission parameters
This seventh mission represents the final flight of the Alpha Block I configuration.
The launch vehicle features four Reaver engines and is constructed with advanced carbon composite materials to maximize payload capacity for small-satellite customers.
Firefly Aerospace prepares Alpha to validate small-satellite deployment capabilities essential for modern telecommunications and research constellations.
This mission serves as a critical bridge to the Block II upgrade, which theoretical reliability models suggest will improve manufacturability and overall vehicle strength during high-pressure flight phases.
Transitioning to Block II configuration
Following this launch, Firefly will shift to the Block II design starting with Flight 8.
This upgraded version will be seven feet taller, featuring enhanced thermal protection, improved avionics, and power systems designed to increase reliability and ease of manufacturing.
Firefly’s broader space exploration milestones
The company’s uncrewed Blue Ghost moon lander successfully completed its debut mission last March.
This achievement underscores Firefly’s broader ambitions beyond Earth orbit as they continue to refine their launch and landing technologies for future NASA-sponsored lunar instruments.
Blue Ghost successfully delivered NASA-sponsored instruments to the lunar surface.
The lander became the first private spacecraft to complete a lunar mission.
Alpha’s Block II configuration will enhance reliability for future orbital missions.
The Reaver engines remain the primary propulsion system for upcoming flights.
Implications and what comes next
Firefly Aerospace prepares Alpha to confirm the launch vehicle’s operational readiness. A successful liftoff paves the way for a rapid cadence of Block II missions throughout the remainder of 2026.
Conclusion
The Texas-based company remains focused on verifying its hardware as firefly aerospace prepares alpha for its upcoming flight. Restoring flight status is a major milestone for commercial space access.
Explore more mission updates on our YouTube channel—join NSN Today.
https://nasaspacenews.com/2026/02/firefly-aerospace-prepares-alpha/
https://fireflyspace.com/