Short Takes – 11-7-26 - Space Geek Edition

Is the south pole the right place for a lunar base? TheSpaceReview.com article. Pull quote: “” However, the south pole of the Moon still has the rugged terrain and challenging lighting conditions that make landings difficult. At some point, NASA may need to weigh those technical risks with the political risks of seeing a Chinese crew land first. 

Cosmic rays could scar the heart, raising risks for Mars-bound astronauts, rat study hints. LiveScience.com article. Pull quote: “The research, published Sept. 30 in the journal PLOS One, found that rats exposed to levels of radiation similar to what an astronaut might experience on a long-term trip to Mars developed more scar tissue around the small blood vessels of their hearts than rats that were not exposed to this radiation. This scar tissue is indicative of a condition known as cardiac fibrosis, which is known to increase the risk of heart failure.” 

Starfish Space’s first Otter servicing spacecraft fails. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “Starfish Space continues to operate its Otter Pup 2 spacecraft, launched in June 2025. That spacecraft was originally intended to rendezvous and dock with an ION orbital transfer vehicle from D-Orbit, but that company backed out of those plans. Otter Pup 2 would instead approach ElaraSat MMS-1, a spacecraft built by Australian company Gilmour Space and launched last year.” 

NASA telescope reenters Earth’s atmosphere. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “The Swift Observatory, an aging NASA telescope barely clinging to space after a failed rescue effort, reentered Earth’s atmosphere Wednesday morning over the North Sumatra region of Indonesia at 7:39 a.m. EST, according to the space agency.” 

Do we know how many Starship launches SpaceX will need to get NASA astronauts to the moon? Space.com article. Pull quote: “But keep in mind: None of this is set in stone. If SpaceX can't demonstrate that its orbital refueling strategy works, or if it can't pull off an uncrewed lunar landing mission by the end of next year, NASA could still select Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander for Artemis IV — assuming Blue Moon is able to check its required boxes in time.” 

James Webb Space Telescope uncovers new clues about the origins of 'interstellar invader' comet 3I/ATLAS. Space.com article. Pull quote: “On the other hand, the results imply that 3I/ATLAS was formed around its star of origin from similar icy material to that which produced some of the TNOs in our solar system, showing that the building blocks of planets around other stars share a common range of properties with the building blocks that formed our solar system. Indeed, 3I/ATLAS could even be a fragment of a TNO-like body that was shattered in a collision.” 

OMB Approves FRA Safety System Info Protection NPRM

Thursday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved a notice of proposed rulemaking from the DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on “Litigation Protections for System Safety Program and Risk Reduction Program Information”. The NPRM was sent to OIRA on September 28th, 2026. 

According to the 2026 Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking: 

“This rulemaking would propose revising 49 CFR 270.105 and 271.11 [links added] to broaden the scope of railroad safety risk reduction program information protected from use in litigation.  The rulemaking would do so by removing the limitation that the protected information must have been compiled or collected solely” for a railroad safety risk reduction program purpose.” 

I suspect that the effects of this rulemaking on railroad hazmat safety will be tangential at best, so I am not sure that I will be covering its publication in any detail. At the very least, however, I will announce its publication in the appropriate Short Takes post. 

Review - PHP Fallout in Control Systems - 11-6-26

 Yesterday I published a free article over on CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/php-fallout-in-control-systems-11 - that updated my previous list of PHP2Shell advisories that had been published by control-system related vendors. I noted that: 

“We are continuing to see control system related vendors publishing new advisories and updated advisories for the two PHP2Shell vulnerabilities. Here is a non-exhaustive listing of both from the last week.” 

Chemical Transportation Incidents – Week of 10-3-26

Reporting Background 

See this post for explanation, with the most recent update here (removed from paywall). 

Data from PHMSA’s online database of transportation related chemical incidents that have been reported to the agency. 

Incidents Summary  

• Number of incidents – 505 (474 highway, 25 air, 6 rail, 0 water) 
• Serious incidents – 5 (4 Bulk release, 0 evacuation, 0 injury, 0 death, 2 major arteries closed, 3 fire/explosion, 25 no release)  
• Largest container involved – 26,387-gal DOT 111A100W1 Railcar {Diesel Fuel} Damaged manway gasket and loose manway bolts. 
• Largest amount spilled – 3,800-gal Tank Truck {Argon, Refrigerated Liquid (Cryogenic Liquid)} Trailer damaged in rollover accident. 
• Total amount reported spilled in all incidents – 7128.6-gal 

NOTE: Links above are to Form 5800.1 for the incident described. 

Most Interesting Chemical: Tars, Liquid Including Road Oils and Cutback Bitumens: No CAMEO description (Source: CameoChemicals.NOAA.gov).  

INSERT UN 1999 Placard 

OMB Announces Same Day Approval of UAS Spectrum Final Rule

Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved a final rule from the FCC on “Spectrum Rules and Policies for the Operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, WT Docket No. 22-323”. The final rule was also submitted yesterday. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for this action was published on February 7th, 2023. An interim final rule was published on January 8th, 2025. 

According to the 2026 Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking: 

“This proceeding seeks to (1) develop rules enabling the use of the 5030-5091 MHz band for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS); (2) determine whether the Commission’s current rules governing flexible-use bands are adequate and appropriate to ensure co-existence of terrestrial mobile operations and UAS use; and (3) address the need of certain UAS operators to obtain a license in the aeronautical VHF band to communicate with air traffic control and other aircraft.” 

I do not expect to cover this rulemaking in any detail, but I will announce its publication in the appropriate Short Takes post

H Res 1648 Introduced – Activity Reporting

Yesterday, Rep Everton (D,GA) introduced H Res 1648, the Congress at Work Resolution. The resolution would require each member of the House to post monthly reporting about official activities conducted by the member on their website. It would seem obvious that this was introduced in response to reporting about significant absences of members of both houses during the last year. 

The resolution would require members to report on their: 

• Schedule during the month,  
• Committee activity at committee hearings and other meetings during the month,  
• Voting record during the month, and 
• Legislative activity during the month, as described in paragraph (4) of subsection (b). 

Interestingly, it does not require reporting on constituent support activities. Probably because most of that is done by staff members, not the Congress Person. 

Anyone that has had to compile weekly activity reports at work will understand that such reporting seldom does anything to increase productivity. The reports do provide a record to support personnel actions when there are periodic supervisory responses to the adequacy of the activities reported.