Short Takes – 5-29-25

NASA switches to backup propellant line on Psyche spacecraft. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The propellant valve problem was the first major issue NASA reported with Psyche since its October 2023 launch on a Falcon Heavy. The $1.2 billion Discovery-class mission had run into significant problems during its development, though, delaying the launch by more than a year and increasing its cost by 20%.”

A Texas startup has successfully tested a revolutionary engine for a supersonic jet that can zip passengers from New York to Paris in less than 60 minutes. LuxuryLaunches.com article. Non-tech puff piece. Pull quote: “The recent test flight in New Mexico lasted just seven seconds, but those seven seconds proved that decades of theoretical physics could actually work in the real world. The 12-foot test rocket experienced forces four times stronger than gravity as it accelerated, demonstrating that the engine could handle the extreme conditions of hypersonic flight. This wasn’t just a laboratory experiment; it was a full-scale validation that the technology could power actual aircraft.”

The Risky ‘Side Launch’ That Doomed Kim Jong Un’s New Warship. WSJ.com article (free). Pull quote: “Side launches are commonly used for cargo vessels or tankers, as they have flatter hulls and are therefore easier to balance after being dropped into the water, naval experts said. The method is risky for warships, since their hulls are narrow to maximize speed and they have bulky weapons systems mounted atop them.”

Brain drugs can now cross the once impenetrable blood–brain barrier. Nature.com article. Pull quote: “Fifteen years ago, big pharmaceutical companies started to pull away from neuroscience research, scared off by the failure of so many candidate drugs in clinical trials. But improved understanding of brain biology, and new methods of assessing a drug’s efficacy with biomarkers, has increased confidence. Industry investment has rocketed in the past half-dozen years, often in the form of multi-billion-dollar buyouts of small biotechnology companies. Between 2018 and 2023, shuttle technologies helped to grow the industry pipeline for drugs that act in the brain by more than 30%. One-quarter of these candidate therapies are biological drugs, the molecules that need help from shuttles the most.”

CISA loses nearly all top officials as purge continues. CybersecurityDive.com article. Pull quote: ““With these significant number of senior departures, several of which are leaders who have been here since the days of US-CERT, there’s a lot of anxiety around when the cuts and departures will finally stop and we can move forward as an agency,” said one CISA employee, who requested anonymity to discuss internal tensions.”

Northrop invests $50 million into Firefly for launch vehicle development. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The companies provided few additional details about the status of Eclipse’s development, noting continued testing of the Miranda engine that will be used in its first stage as well as development of other flight hardware for the rocket. The first launch of Eclipse is scheduled for no earlier than 2026 from Wallops Island, Virginia.”

HHS cancels funding for Moderna’s candidate H5 avian flu and pandemic vaccines. CIDRAP.UMN.edu article. Pull quote: “Stéphane Bancel, MBA, MS, Moderna’s chief executive officer, said, “While the termination of funding from HHS adds uncertainty, we are pleased by the robust immune response and safety profile observed in this interim analysis of the Phase 1/2 study of our H5 avian flu vaccine and we will explore alternative paths forward for the program.””

EO 14299 - Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security. Federal Register.

EO 14300 - Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Federal Register.

EO 14301 - Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy. Federal Register.

EO 14302 - Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base. Federal Register.

EO 14303 - Restoring Gold Standard Science. Federal Register.