This week's space news:
- Were Boeing Starliner astronauts "abandoned"?
- Boeing has lost $2b on Starliner
- JWST sees light echos in a supernova
- A Tesla roadster is not an asteroid
- But maybe this other asteroid will hit Earth and put us out of our misery.

https://www.adastraspace.com/p/asteroid-impact-2032-boeing-starliner

If you’re an experienced aerospace engineer who is very knowledgeable about both rockets generally and Starship, and you’d be willing to answer a few questions for me via email, can you let me know?? Feel free to PM. (Looking for a reputable source who actually works in the field and ALSO keeps up with Starship forums, not just the latter. I know plenty of fans, would like actual engineering knowledge).

Can Boeing Starliner astronauts vote from the ISS??

There’s a Texas law that allows it, but astronauts have to fill out a form on the ground. Butch and Suni didn’t expect to be gone for this long. Does that mean they can’t vote in November’s election?

Here’s NASA’s verdict:

https://youtu.be/D1ySSsUS9aw

Again, nothing has been confirmed -- BUT according to NASA if SpaceX is going to bring Butch and Suni home, it will be on Crew-9. Two astronauts and two suits will go up, with ballast in the two extra seats.

If you want to get up to speed on the Boeing Starliner/SpaceX Crew Dragon possible rescue situation, I have the newsletter version ready for you!

https://www.adastraspace.com/p/boeing-starliner-spacex-rescue-nasa
https://wandering.shop/@skrishna/112906210784726108

I have a full summary of what's been going on with Boeing Starliner, the rumors about a SpaceX Crew Dragon rescue, and what could be going on behind the scenes at NASA.

If you've been following this situation closely, this may not have any new information for you -- but if you want to get caught up, you're in the right place.

Newsletter tomorrow at 11 am ET: adastraspace.com

#space #science #nasa #boeing #starliner #iss #spacex

https://youtu.be/WyZMRTWWw3I

It’s looking increasingly likely that Boeing Starliner astronauts will come home on a SpaceX Crew Dragon. If that happens, that’ll be the end of the Starliner program.

To be clear, nothing is certain — but the lack of updates from NASA (and the agency’s lack of transparency) is pretty loud here.

This AI (Perplexity) has been recommended to me by multiple people as a research shortcut. This was the result the first time I used it. I think I'll stick with my own research, thanks.

https://infosec.exchange/@maxeddy/112695100425199824

JWST's second anniversary image is here! This is a distorted spiral galaxy at the center and an elliptical galaxy to the left of it. They're called the Penguin and the Egg.

#space #science #jwst

GUESS WHO IS SENDING BACK DATA FROM ALL FOUR OF ITS OPERATIONAL SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS??

Voyager 1 we love you!

#space

Starliner is at a 10m hold and waiting for better lighting for the spacecraft’s cameras

@JoBlakely To be clear I think there are too many things named "Star" and I have called Starliner "Starship" multiple times today

Starliner is currently having issues with two of its four RCS thrusters. It’s holding 200 m from the ISS while they troubleshoot.

If they aren’t able to dock with the ISS (it’s possible this is connected to the helium leak, which had gotten worse), the update video for this is just going to be me screaming on camera.

INCREDIBLE images from China's Chang’e 6 lander, which landed on the far side of the moon late on June 1 and lifted off in an ascent vehicle with the first lunar samples from the far side of the moon yesterday.

Image credit: CNSA

#space #science #moon #spaceflight

The heat shield for Orion, which is the crew vehicle for the Artemis program (which is supposed to return humans to the surface of the moon this decade), is having some problems.

During the flight of Artemis I, NASA noticed that the heat shield behaved in unexpected ways. So, what's going on??

I dive in here: https://youtu.be/z8inB_5b1IM

#space #science #nasa #artemis

A few people have pointed out that it's worth mentioning that my newsletter is on Beehiiv, not on Substack.

I chose a service that doesn't platform hate speech, and the tradeoff was I gave up on the other service's internal algorithm and tools for helping people find your publication.

Hence why I'm doing this push. Beehiiv is GREAT, they have been really good to me, and I very much recommend their service.
https://wandering.shop/@skrishna/112332886203206306

Here's the newsletter version of my weekly space news, if that's more your thing! https://www.adastraspace.com/p/euclid-telescope-ice-t-coronae-borealis-recurrent-nova
https://wandering.shop/@skrishna/112136509494938509

I forgot to pack my kid's water bottle for school, had to run it over there, but I AM BACK NOW.

13 minutes to launch. They're watching the weather.

#Starship #SpaceX

We got the first photos back from Odysseus!

#space #intuitivemachines

Mars Ingenuity was designed to make 5 short flights over 30 days. Instead it made 72 flights over three years on the red planet. Now it's time to say goodbye to the little helicopter that could.

#space #science #nasa #mars

https://youtu.be/GnwX66Z1s4o