Short Takes – 1-4-25

Space debris crash in Kenya village believed to be from leftover rocket hardware. Space.com article. Pull quote: “An early review by Inside Outer Space of the Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (CORDS) Reentry Database suggested a possible link to an incoming rocket body associated with an Atlas Centaur launch back in 2004.”

NASA's Parker Solar Probe beams home 1st detailed update after record-breaking approach to the sun. Space.com article. Pull quote: “On Wednesday (Jan. 1), mission control at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland began receiving the Parker Solar Probe's first telemetry — or housekeeping data — that confirms Parker's systems and science instruments are "healthy and operating normally" after its historic rendezvous with the sun, NASA shared in an update on Thursday (Jan. 2).”

SpaceX's Starship to deploy mock satellites in next test. Reuters.com article. Pull quote: “"While in space, Starship will deploy 10 Starlink simulators, similar in size and weight to next-generation Starlink satellites as the first exercise of a satellite deploy mission," SpaceX said in a blog post on its website.”

Trains halted, FBI involved: Explosive device found on train car in Treasure Valley. IdahoStateman.com article. Pull quote: ““There was nothing discovered or disclosed by the suspect in this case that would tie him to any kind of terrorist organization,” Marshall said.”