January 14, 2026 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast
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Author: Robert Zimmerman
Endeavour undocks from ISS, carrying the Expedition-11 crew
SpaceX’s Endeavour Dragon capsule undocked from ISS late this afternoon, carrying its four Expedition-11 crew who are coming home a few weeks early because of a medical issue with one crew person.
Live return coverage will resume at 2:15 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 15 on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel until Dragon splashes down at approximately 3:41 a.m. off the coast of California and crew members are safely recovered.
It has been speculated by several sources, based on several NASA updates, that the crewman with the medical issues is Mike Finke, 58, who had flown in space three times previously.
Note that the only reason most major news sources are covering this crew return is because of the medical emergency. Normally, SpaceX has made this process so routine few pay attention any longer.
Anabasis – Dead Can Dance
A evening pause: Performed live c2018.
Hat tip Diane Zimmerman.
Because Boeing did nothing to replace a defective part, an airplane crashed killing fifteen
Click for NTSB report.
Despite previously identifying stress fractures in a part that held the engines to the wing on three different MD-11 airplanes, Boeing did nothing to replace the part, and so fifteen people died when the engine fell off a UPS cargo plane at take-off in November 2025.
The sequence of images to the right, which I have annotated to show the engine breaking free from the wing, comes from the NTSB preliminary investigation report [pdf]. From the article at the link above:
In an update to its ongoing investigation into the crash of UPS Flight 2976, the National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB] said its team found fatigue cracking and overstress failure across much of the bearing race inside the area that attached the plane’s left engine to its wing. NTSB investigators then went back into Boeing service data and confirmed the design of the bearing assembly was consistent with the original design of that part.
[A] Boeing Service Letter dated Feb. 7, 2011 [and found by the NTSB], told operators the company was aware of four previous bearing race failures on three different airplanes. Boeing had seen the fractures of the bearing race, with the parts splitting in two and moving out of place. However, Boeing told operators its review of the bearing failure “would not result in a safety of flight condition.”
Boeing said further regular inspection of MD-11 airplanes would include a look at this bearing assembly, something scheduled for 60-month service intervals. And while Boeing used that service letter to discuss a new bearing assembly configuration, the installation of the original parts “was not prohibited.”
The plane itself had been built by McDonnell-Douglas, prior to its merger with Boeing. Nonetheless, Boeing engineers and managers were aware of this issue and did nothing to inform the owners of this plane so they could take action. In fact, Boeing apparently continued to ship out the original parts to airlines as replacement spares.
This is another example of a serious quality control problem at Boeing, where engineers no longer view serious engineering failures as serious engineering failures.
January 14, 2026 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- War Department will invest in L3Harris’s missile division
This is a strange deal. Instead of buying solid-rockets from L3Harris, the government appears to be buying part of the company, now called Missile Solutions. Not a good plan in the long run.
- Firefly unveils the upgraded Block II version of its Alpha rocket
The final launch of Block 1 is tentatively scheduled “in a few weeks” and “will test some Block II subsystems.” As Block I had a poor launch record, the sooner it is replaced with an upgrade the better.
- Nimbus Power Systems successfully completes simulated launch test of its fuel cell system
This power system will be used on Blue Origin’s lunar landers, both manned and unmanned.
- A review of historical records finds the pulse of a variable star has shortened by three days
The Space.com headline at the link is garbage, pure clickbait that does not reflect the basic research.
- NASA official admits it is “unlikely” the MAVEN Mars orbiter will be recovered
Engineers will resume their effort to restore contact later this week, after the solar conjunction ends that is presently blocking communications with Mars.
- NASA’s IMAP space telescope reaches its planned L1 position
From here it will study the edge of the solar system and the local space weather produced by the Sun
Axiom has delayed the launch of its first space station module to ’28
Axiom’s module assembly sequence
When Axiom announced in September 2025 that Redwire would be building the solar panels for the first module of its space station, dubbed the PPTM, it also said that module would launch in late 2027, which was a delay of one year from the original launch date of 2026.
That schedule has now apparently been delayed again. In an interview yesterday, the company’s vice president of human spaceflight, former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, indicated the launch was now targeting 2028.
Plans call for the initial Axiom Station to be comprised of two modules, the PPTM — short for Payload Power Thermal Module — and a habitat module. The PPTM, which is to be shipped shortly to Houston for final assembly and integration, is slated to be launched in early 2028, with the second module following just months later. From there, Axiom aims to swiftly begin welcoming crew, Peggy Whitson, the company’s vice president of human spaceflight, told me in an interview.
This schedule almost guarantees that the Axiom station will not detach from ISS as quickly as originally intended. PPTM has a large hatch opening connecting it to ISS, allowing for the easy transfer of much of the research racks held on ISS. Before Axiom can become a free-flying station that ISS equipment must be moved, a process that will take time, likely months. To get it done the company will probably have to also attach its second habitation module so that crews can arrive and begin this transfer process.
In other words, Axiom’s schedule margins for getting its station launched, docked to ISS, loaded with ISS equipment, and then separated before ISS retires in 2030 are shrinking. It can ill afford further delays.
Below are my rankings of the five American space stations presently under development. Note that I now consider Axiom and Starlab tied for second.
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SpaceX launches 29 more Starlink satellites
SpaceX today successfully placed another 29 Starlink satellites into orbit, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The first stage completed its 13th flight, landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic.
The 2026 launch race:
6 SpaceX
2 China
Update on Starship launchpad construction in Texas and Florida
Link here. First, it appears construction of a second launch tower in Florida is about to begin. Second, the launchpad needed for the next orbital test flight of Starship/Superheavy is nearing completion.
Not only does this suggest the next test flight is only a matter of weeks away, the first launch out of Florida is not far in the future.
Another ESA rendezvous demo mission proposed
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Luxembourg startup ClearSpace yesterday announced a new demo mission to test autonomous rendezvous and proximity maneuvers, scheduled to launch in 2027.
PRELUDE aims to validate autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations in real flight conditions. The mission will test high-accuracy tracking, navigation and maneuvering using a combination of vision-based and complementary sensors feeding onboard algorithms and autonomous, fault-tolerant guidance, navigation and control (GNC) software. The goal is to demonstrate full freedom of movement and safe, repeatable maneuvers around another spacecraft.
Sounds good, eh? Not so fast. ClearSpace has had a bunch of these missions proposed, and none has yet flown. In 2019 ClearSpace won an ESA contract to de-orbit an old piece of space junk by 2025. In 2023 however that mission was stymied when that space junk, a payload adapter from a 2013 launch of Vega rocket launch, was hit by another piece of space junk.
Both ESA and ClearSpace apparently had difficulties re-designing the mission. In 2024, the ESA forced a major shake-up in ClearSpace’s management and missions, with the established company OHB taking over the startup. Subsequently the mission was redesigned to de-orbit a different defunct satellite, but delayed until 2029.
In 2024 the United Kingdom gave ClearSpace and Japan’s Astroscale a contract to de-orbit two satellites in ’26. It is however not clear at this time whether that mission will launch as planned.
This new PRECLUDE mission is interesting in that it will test the rendezvous and proximity technology that ClearSpace must have for all the other de-orbit missions. In other words, those other missions were never possible, because ClearSpace didn’t have the capability to do them. This new mission appears designed to develop that capability.
I ask: Why wasn’t PRECLUDE scheduled first, in the first place? That it wasn’t reflects very badly on both ClearSpace and the ESA.
A small European prototype re-entry capsule survived PSLV launch failure
A small prototype re-entry demonstration capsule, built by the Spanish startup Orbital Paradigm and dubbed the Kestrel Initial Demonstrator (KID), apparently survived for a short period the failure of the third stage of India’s PSLV rocket early this week.
According to an Orbital Paradigm press release, the survival of its little demonstrator came as a surprise. “When we understood that the launch was non-nominal it was a bit of a hit for us,” explained Orbital Paradigm CEO Francesco Cacciatore. … “I think the launch livestream was still ongoing when the team saw that we had 190 seconds of flight data transmitted and received. We needed a few minutes to realize it was real data and not a glitch.”
…“KID was tested beyond its design envelope, and it worked. Separation, power-on, and data transmission, even after reentry, all performed well despite degraded conditions,” explained the company in a 13 January update. “Based on initial analysis, it seems that we achieved 4 out of 5 launch milestones, albeit through an off-nominal profile. The failure to deliver customers’ data prevents us from declaring the mission a success.”
The company considers the mission a failure because it did not get the re-entry data back that it really needed. It says however it is moving forward on a more advanced demonstrator it hopes to launch in 2027. I suspect it will not hire India’s space agency ISRO to launch it.
ULA loses another launch contract to SpaceX
The Space Force yesterday announced it has switched rocket companies for its next GPS satellite launch, taking the launch away from ULA and its Vulcan rocket and giving it to SpaceX.
SpaceX could launch the GPS III Space Vehicle 09 (SV09) within the next few weeks, as the satellite was entering the final stages of pre-flight preparations. As part of the swap, United Launch Alliance (ULA) will instead launch the third of the next generation of Global Positioning System satellites. The GPS III Follow-on (GPS IIIF) SV13 satellite was originally scheduled to launch on a Falcon Heavy, but will now fly on Vulcan.
“SV09 and SV13 were traded between ULA and SpaceX to get capability to orbit as soon as possible, for the same reason as the prior swap, which resulted in the last GPS launch in May 2025,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The trade results in an overall net cost savings to the government and again demonstrates our sustained commitment to moving at speed to deliver combat-credible capabilities on orbit to meet warfighter needs.”
While at first glance it appears ULA has lost nothing, the military’s decision here bodes ill for the company. First, it indicates ULA has been unable to get Vulcan ready on time, forcing the Space Force to look to someone who could.
Second, this is the second time the Pentagon has taken a launch from ULA for these reasons. Increasingly it appears the military is losing patience with ULA’s inability to launch on time. For example, in awarding its most recent set of nine launches, it gave them all to SpaceX, bypassing ULA entirely.
In the past the Space Force tolerated ULA’s delays and high launch cost in order to guarantee the military had more than one launch provider. It now appears it is placing more importance on reliability and cost savings. And as I say, this bodes ill for ULA, which has not done a good job of providing either.
NASA and Department of Energy agree to place nuclear reactor on Moon by ’30
NASA and Department of Energy have signed an agreement to develop nuclear power stations for NASA lunar base, and are targeting 2030 for placing a nuclear reactor on Moon.
NASA, along with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), announced Tuesday a renewed commitment to their longstanding partnership to support the research and development of a fission surface power system for use on the Moon under the Artemis campaign and future NASA missions to Mars.
A recently signed memorandum of understanding between the agencies solidifies this collaboration and advances President Trump’s vision of American space superiority by deploying nuclear reactors on the Moon and in orbit, including the development of a lunar surface reactor by 2030. This effort ensures the United States leads the world in space exploration and commerce. [emphasis mine]
Wanna bet? I’m laying odds that this joint government effort will end up being delayed and overbudget. In fact, the highlighted phrase suggests this work is already experiencing delays and budget overruns. Why else make a big deal about “a renewed commitment”?