Short Takes – 5-31-25 – Space Geek Edition

‘We did it!’ Globe-spanning travelers take a quick space trip on Blue Origin rocket ship. GeekWire.com article. Pull quote: “Since 2021, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture has flown 64 suborbital space travelers, including “Star Trek” captain William Shatner and Bezos himself. A previous New Shepard flight in April sent up an all-female crew including pop superstar Katy Perry, CBS morning-show host Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and journalist who is Bezos’ fiancée. That mission generated celebrity buzz as well as backlash.”

White House to pull NASA nominee Isaacman. Semafor.com article. Pull quote: “Conservative personality Laura Loomer suggested on Saturday Isaacman’s nomination is in danger because of the nominee’s friendship with Elon Musk. Musk departed the administration this week.”

Trump pulls Isaacman nomination for space. Source: “NASA is f***ed. ArsTechnica.com article. Pull quote: “The Trump administration did not immediately name a new nominee, but two people told Ars that former US Air Force Lieutenant General Steven L. Kwast may be near the top of the list. Now retired, Kwast has a distinguished record in the Air Force and is politically loyal to Trump and MAGA.”

White House to withdraw Isaacman nomination to lead NASA. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “Isaacman, in written responses to questions from members of the Senate Commerce Committee in April, said he was not involved in budget deliberations but said reports that science funding could be cut by nearly 50% “does not appear to be an optimal outcome.” The budget documents released May 30, as well as a top-level “skinny” budget four weeks earlier, confirmed those cuts.”

Elon Musk says SpaceX will launch its biggest Starship yet this year, but Mars in 2026 is '50/50'. Space.com article. Pull quote: “Musk seemed undaunted after Flight 9 on Tuesday, noting Ship's improved performance compared to the two previous liftoffs and stressing that the company has a wealth of data to analyze going forward.”

Scientists found a possible new dwarf planet — it could spell bad news for Planet 9 fans. Space.com article. Pull quote: “"2017 OF201 spends only 1% of its orbital time close enough to us to be detectable," said Cheng. "The presence of this single object suggests that there could be another hundred or so other objects with similar orbits and size; they are just too far away to be detectable now.”