TYB
Good morning all around
There's a lot of good comments on the AI video Elon posted yesterday, sharing a few here
Tricia Flanagan (R-NJ)
@NewDayForNJ
It’s just the beginning…
Quote
Tricia Flanagan (R-NJ)
@NewDayForNJ
By the dawn’s early light, we start the next chapter…
Here’s to the next 250 🇺🇸
Patriots in control.
9:09 AM · Jul 5, 2026
https://x.com/NewDayForNJ/status/2073801425914650972
https://x.com/Marianne124124/status/2073733165517050296
https://x.com/AutistDivision/status/2073846985228947871
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
July 6, 2026
Dueling Bands over the Atacama Desert
What are these two bands in the sky? The more commonly seen band is on the left and is the central band of our Milky Way galaxy. Our Sun orbits in the disk of this spiral galaxy so that from inside, it appears as a band of comparable brightness all the way around the sky. The less commonly seen band, on the right, is zodiacal light – sunlight reflected from dust orbiting the Sun in our Solar System. Zodiacal light is brightest near the Sun and so is best seen just before sunrise or just after sunset. On some evenings, this ribbon of zodiacal light can appear quite prominent. It was discovered only in this century that zodiacal dust was mostly expelled by comets that have passed near Jupiter. The featured image was captured about a year ago from the Atacama Desert in Chile.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ps_kai9A2M
Triple Account of Earth Vulnerability | S0 News and frens
July.6.2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPypJ4tXzmM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gotw2we4KhM (Max Velocity: A Large Storm Is Coming…)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOK5YB7oX-s (MrMBB333: There's just NO WAY this can be NORMAL! What is GOING ON?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlM32fwli1U (Mr Weatherman: Strong Tropical Wave Coming in with Flood Threat…)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk2JTQc9eS0 (On the Pulse with Silki: SHOCKING WEIRD Sheer Force of Venezuela’s Double Earthquake on CAMERA)
https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Storm%20to%20Bring%20Heavy,%20Flooding%20Rain%20in%20Northeast?source=weather-forecast%2Fnow
https://www.accuweather.com/en/severe-weather/summertime-storms-flooding-downpours-to-persist-this-week-across-central-eastern-us/1908257
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/319727/20260704/july-4-aurora-lit-30-states-g3-solar-storm-beat-noaa-forecast-two-levels.htm
https://www.koat.com/article/raton-new-mexico-earthquake-colorado/71834815
https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-cleveland-county-severe-storm-damage-july-4/71827716
https://pix11.com/news/morning/state-of-emergency-declared-in-paramus/
https://www.asiaone.com/asia/earthquake-magnitude-581-strikes-mindanao-philippines-gfz-says
https://qna.org.qa/en/news/news-details?id=47-magnitude-earthquake-hits-northwestern-costa-rica&date=6/07/2026
https://nypost.com/2026/07/05/us-news/la-on-earthquake-alert-as-fault-lines-hit-highest-stress-levels-in-history-study/
https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2026/07/05/kilauea-volcano-update-for-sunday-july-5th/
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/region/mount-etna-ash-grounds-flights-at-sicilys-catania-airport-3223344
https://www.webcenterfairbanks.com/2026/07/06/funnel-cloud-sighting-interior-alaska-prompts-social-media-stir/
https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2026/07/06/strong-wind-tornadoes-rip-across-myanmar-damaging-over-100-buildings/
https://meteoagent.com/schumann-resonance-forecast
https://www.tornadohq.com/
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes-volcanoes/news/319109/Volcano-earthquake-report-for-Monday-6-Jul-2026.html
https://www.spaceweather.gov/
https://spaceweather.com/
Hayabusa2 captures images of asteroid Torifune
July 6, 2026 (JST)
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully conducted a flyby of asteroid Torifune, the first asteroid exploration of the Hayabusa2 Extended Mission.
On 5 July at 18:35 JST, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft was confirmed from ground communications to be operating normally.
We are pleased to share the following images and scientific data that were successfully obtained of asteroid Torifune.
Flyby of Torifune
The asteroid explorer Hayabusa2 was launched in December 2014 onboard the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 26. The mission explored asteroid Ryugu, delivering samples from Ryugu to Earth on 6 December 2020.
Since then, the spacecraft returned to deep space on an Extended Mission.
On 5 July 2026 at 18:30 JST (error margin: ±1 second), Hayabusa2 successfully performed a flyby of Torifune, the asteroid selected as the first exploration target of the Extended Mission. (Time is a preliminary estimate.)
Observations with the onboard scientific instruments began in mid-June with the Optical Navigation Camera – Telescopic (ONC-T), which directly imaged Torifune on June 20.
Observations with the ONC-T then continued with the primary purpose to support optical-radio hybrid navigation for the spacecraft during the approach to Torifune.
From about one hour before the closest approach, observations were also conducted using the NIRS3 (Near-Infrared Spectrometer), TIR (Thermal InfraRed Imager), and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) instruments.
These observations continued until immediately before the closest approach to Torifune but could not be conducted after the spacecraft had passed the asteroid.
At present, only part of the data acquired by the scientific instruments has been transmitted to Earth. The remaining data will be transmitted to the ground during future operations.
https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2026/07/20260706-3_j.html
moar space objects
https://easternherald.com/2026/07/06/tianwen-2-asteroid-kamooalewa-china-cnsa-arrival/
https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2608/
https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso2608a/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02921-7
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/2223613/massive-asteroid-triggered-330-foot-tsunami
https://www.space.com/astronomy/asteroids/once-in-a-millennium-asteroid-flyby-will-be-visible-to-much-of-the-world-in-2029
https://www.nasa.gov/technology/space-comms/nasas-capstone-completes-extended-mission-testing-lunar-technologies/
extra NASA
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/solar-cycle-25/2026/07/06/strong-flare-erupts-from-sun-11/
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/examining-algal-blooms-in-blue-mesa/
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/nasa-seeks-industry-input-on-second-phase-of-commercial-space-stations/
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/nasa-will-have-to-find-a-way-to-service-its-new-alien-hunting-space-telescope
NASA’s CAPSTONE Completes Extended Mission Testing Lunar Technologies
Jul 06, 2026
As NASA prepares for a sustained human presence on the Moon, missions will increasingly require spacecraft that can navigate and communicate without a direct connection to Earth.
NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, validated and advanced these capabilities.
Designed to test and validate technologies in lunar orbit, CAPSTONE launched in June 2022 and became the first U.S. commercial mission at the Moon.
The spacecraft tested operations in three-body orbits around the Moon, using the combined gravity of Earth and the Moon to reduce the fuel needed to maintain a stable lunar path.
It became the first spacecraft to fly and characterize this orbit for future exploration and science missions. Owned and operated by Advanced Space, the microwave-sized spacecraft then received a 15-month mission extension, becoming a testbed for advanced communications, networking, autonomous navigation, and software-defined satellite technologies.
Rather than launch a new satellite, NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate demonstrated that CAPSTONE’s existing hardware could host new applications after launch, transforming the spacecraft into a cost-effective, flexible lunar technology demonstration platform.
NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Division will now use the data to demonstrate innovative networking and navigation techniques on future experiments.
“Operating multiple experiments simultaneously aboard the same spacecraft allows NASA to evaluate how these technologies perform together in a real lunar environment,” said Greg Stover, director of the Advanced Research and Technology Division within NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Investments in autonomous operations and resilient communications infrastructure are essential to ensuring U.S. leadership as activity around the Moon continues to increase.”
Two experiments aboard CAPSTONE used software-defined infrastructure to advance two future mission essentials: autonomous navigation and deep space communications.
The autonomous Navigation, Guidance, and Control software, or autoNGC, is designed to allow a spacecraft to determine where it is, where it is going, and how to get where it needs to be without waiting for instructions from the ground.
While portions of the software had previously flown in Earth orbit, CAPSTONE marked the first time autoNGC was tested at the Moon.
“To really demonstrate that something works, you have to fly it,” said Sun Hur-Diaz, principal investigator for the autoNGC technology development project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“The real environment is key.”
To really demonstrate that something works you have to fly it. The real environment is key.
Sun Hur-Diaz
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Principal Investigator for the autoNGC Project, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Researchers also evaluated how autoNGC performed with limited contact to Earth.
While NASA’s Deep Space Network antennas were supporting the Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon, CAPSTONE’s communications window dropped to just a few passes per week.
Those gaps became one of the experiment’s most valuable tests. Without data from Earth, autoNGC determined CAPSTONE’s location using an onboard star tracker camera to image the Moon, Earth, and other celestial bodies.
The camera-based system, known as optical navigation, at times outperformed ground-based methods for real-time onboard navigation, advancing technologies for future deep-space missions.
Alongside autonomous navigation testing, CAPSTONE also tested delay/disruption tolerant networking (DTN), a communications architecture designed for deep space.
Unlike Earth-based internet systems, deep space communications must function despite long delays and frequent signal gaps.
The DTN system addresses those challenges by storing information on the spacecraft when no connection is available and automatically forwarding it once communications are restored.
With these demonstrations, CAPSTONE became the first to fly the latest DTN protocols beyond Earth orbit and the first to run them in NASA’s core Flight System, an open-source framework that can be implemented on any spacecraft.
In one demonstration, engineers began transmitting data from CAPSTONE to Earth, but the connection ended before the transfer was complete.
The spacecraft stored the remaining data until the next communications opportunity, and transmission resumed automatically. Every piece of data made it home.
“You can imagine an astronaut walking behind a lunar hill or descending into a crater and temporarily losing connectivity,” said Ben Anderson, a systems engineer for the Near Space Network at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“This technology allows that data to be automatically retransmitted once communications are restored.”
In addition to its primary achievements, CAPSTONE’s second life as a software-defined testing platform demonstrated that new technologies can be affordably tested and proven directly in their operational environment.
After nearly four years of technology maturation, NASA’s activities on CAPSTONE concluded in June 2026, while Advanced Space will continue to use the spacecraft as a technology development testbed.
The CAPSTONE spacecraft was designed and built by Terran Orbital and is owned and operated by Advanced Space.
NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate managed the mission through the Small Spacecraft and Distributed Systems program, based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
Elements of the CAPSTONE technology suite were supported by NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program.
The autoNGC and DTN demonstrations conducted during CAPSTONE’s extended mission were managed by NASA’s SCaN Division, based at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
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https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nasa-independence-day-flyover-faa-safety-concerns-1807065
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2073913388191605119
extra Isaacman
https://www.newsmax.com/us/jared-isaacman-nasa-china/2026/07/05/id/1261844/
https://www.benzinga.com/news/space/26/07/60276233/nasa-chief-says-blue-origin-has-honed-in-on-cause-of-new-glenn-explosion-theyre-going-to-solve-that
NASA Leader Jared Isaacman Ignored Direct FAA 'Too Dangerous' Warnings To Fly His Vintage Jet Over Crowded DC Air Show
06 July 2026, 1:23 PM BST
NASA's Independence Day flyover raises questions about FAA safety decisions and public aircraft status.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flew a privately owned Northrop F-5 Tiger II over the National Mall on 4 July after the Federal Aviation Administration rejected a request to authorise four of the jets for the Freedom 250 flyover.
The FAA's 30 June decision called the aircraft 'very high-risk' and identified potential danger to people and property on the ground.
The flight nevertheless went ahead after Isaacman said the operation had been placed under NASA control and should be treated as a government operation, not a civil one.
The publicly available record establishes the safety refusal and the flight, but it does not settle whether the later classification met the legal test for a public aircraft operation.
FAA Safety Review Rejected Civil Request
The Journal's document-based account says an Isaacman representative petitioned the FAA in late June to permit four 1970s-built F-5s, with NASA and Air Force pilots, to join the anniversary air display.
It reported that Hugh Thomas, the senior official leading the FAA's Flight Standards Service, signed a six-page denial on 30 June. The account says the review examined the jets' flight controls, the consequences of a pilot ejection, and previous crashes.
The reported decision matters because the request concerned an operation above the National Mall, where a mechanical failure would have consequences well beyond the crew.
The FAA spokeswoman told the Journal that the agency had conducted a standard safety review of 'privately owned, experimental aircraft' before they came under government ownership. The agency did not say that it had reversed its safety conclusion.
NASA had publicly advertised the Washington events in advance. The official Freedom 250 page listed 3-5 July activities at the Great American State Fair and a 4 July 'Salute to America' fireworks celebration, alongside a schedule of agency flyovers.
NASA also identified the F-5 in a February image caption as Isaacman's personal aircraft.
Public Aircraft Status Became Regulatory Fault Line
Isaacman told the Journal that the flyover should never have been filed as a civil operation. He said the jets were already under NASA control, although the titles had not been transferred.
The Journal reported that the FAA registry still listed Isaacman's company, JDI Holdings, as the owner of three of the four aircraft, with a separate entity owning the fourth. It also reported that invited government passengers did not fly.
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That distinction is central, rather than semantic. Federal law defines a public aircraft to include an aircraft 'used only for the United States Government,' subject to statutory limits.
An aircraft loses that status when it is used for commercial purposes or carries passengers who are not crew or qualified non-crewmembers, under 49 U.S.C. §40125.
The statute does not make a recorded transfer of title the only possible route to federal public-aircraft status, but it does require the operation to meet the governing conditions.
The FAA's advisory circular on public aircraft operations says its purpose is to help determine whether government-owned or government-contracted aircraft operations are public or civil.
It also says the circular is guidance, not a regulation, and does not alter the statutory requirements.
The materials reviewed do not include NASA's custody agreement, its risk acceptance, a mission order, or a formal FAA public-aircraft determination for the July flight.
Those missing records prevent a definitive public conclusion about whether the reclassification was legally sufficient.
Official Event, Personal Aircraft
The 4 July appearance was not an unscheduled private stunt. NASA's Freedom 250 material presented the flyovers as part of a national anniversary programme, while the agency's separate Flight Inspiration guidance describes flyovers as straight, level passes of up to three F-5 aircraft and requires event applicants to provide an FAA contact.
That guidance does not itself decide the legal status of this particular flight, and it does not explain the reported four-aircraft request.
Isaacman's aviation credentials are substantial. NASA's official biography says he has more than 8,000 flight hours, has flown at more than 100 airshows, and is qualified in the Northrop F-5 and T-38.
Those credentials, however, do not answer the public-interest question raised by the FAA's decision: whether an agency head's personal jets can move from a rejected civil proposal to a government operation without release of the safety and custody documentation behind that change.
The Journal reported that Isaacman said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford texted him before the flight to wish him well, while Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy backed the FAA's safety decision and did not intervene.
Neither point demonstrates that FAA safety officials withdrew their objections. It instead illustrates the unresolved institutional split between a regulator's safety review and NASA's claimed authority to conduct a government operation.
The unresolved issue is whether a safety refusal for privately owned aircraft can be overtaken by reclassification as government business without transparent public documentation.
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