Eric Clapton – Signe
An evening pause: Performed live 1992.
Hat tip Ferris Akel.
Author: Robert Zimmerman
December 9, 2025 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.
- Rocket Lab ships Neutron’s reusable fairing and upper module to Wallops Island launch site
Both have apparently passed qualification and acceptance testing. The spring first launch of Neutron seems increasingly likely.
- China touts a new Long March 12 being transported to the launchpad
This expendable version has already flown three times. The 12A version will try to land the first stage, with its first launch scheduled before the end of the month, with a launchpad static fire test occurring two days ago.
- The Air & Space Museum shows off the color global view of the Earth taken this week in 1972 by an astronaut on Apollo 17
It would be years before the U.S. had another spacecraft in a position to get a similar color view.
SpaceX completes its 11th launch this year for the National Reconnaissance Office
SpaceX today successfully placed its 11th payload into orbit this year for the National Reconnaissance Office, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The first stage completed its fourth flight, landing back at Cape Canaveral. The rocket’s two fairings were both new, flying their first mission.
The leaders in the 2025 launch race:
162 SpaceX (a new record)
79 China
15 Rocket Lab
15 Russia
SpaceX now leads the rest of the world in successful launches, 162 to 131.
Academia makes its first comprehensive attempt to plan science missions to Mars using Starship
Figure 2-2 from the National Academies
of Science report
A new report released today by the National Academies of Science, entitled “Highest Priority Science for the First Human Missions to Mars,” is essentially the first attempt by the planetary science community to plan its future science missions to Mars using the gigantic capabilities that SpaceX’s Starship is expected to provide them.
You can download the report here.
Even though the report made the search for life on Mars its big priority — a bugaboo that NASA and the science community trots out repeatedly to garner clicks from the ignorant propaganda press — this report is radically different then all previous similar NASA studies proposing future Mars exploration, as indicated by the graphics from figure 2-2 of the report to the right. Unlike those past studies, which were badly limited by the inadequate capabilities of any spacecraft NASA could send to Mars, this new report recognizes how much the game is changed by SpaceX’s Starship.
First, the new panel did not attempt to place any limit on any landing zones. Earlier reports had forbidden landings in the high latitudes or high altitudes because of the risks to NASA’s proposed landers. Starship overcomes much of those risks, giving researchers much greater flexibility.
Second, the focus of the missions will not be solely devoted to scientific or geological research, as had been the case for all previous similar reports by NASA and the academic community. Instead, the proposed research goals includes important engineering and human exploration requirements outside of science, including efforts to use the resources on Mars itself as well as find locations better suited for human habitation. Once again, the vastly greater capabilities of Starship influenced this change.
Even more important, the study doesn’t assume the future missions will be unmanned, as all previous NASA reports have done. In fact, it does the opposite, proposing multiple 30-day manned missions, as shown in the graphic. One set of three missions would go to three different locations, while another set of three missions would focus on one place in particular.
Much of this shift towards manned flight I think stemmed from the presence on the panel of representatives from the private companies SpaceX and The Exploration Company (a French startup), as well as an engineer from the National Academy of Engineering. Previously studies were almost always entirely dominated by planetary scientists, so the goals outlined were always focused on their interests. Now the idea of human exploration has become prevalent.
The panel’s work was clearly also influenced by the realization that SpaceX’s Starship is not only far more capable, its first flights are just around the corner. SpaceX plans sending it numerous times to Mars in the very near future, as shown in the graphic below that Elon Musk released during a presentation in May 2025.
» Read more
New data detects potassium and chlorine in Cassiopeia supernova remnant
Click for original.
Using the Japanese orbiting XRISM space telescope, astronomers have now detected evidence of both potassium and chlorine in the ancient Cassiopeia supernova remnant.
The picture to the right, reduced to post here, shows the evidence for potassium in the remnant, overlaid onto an image of Cassiopeia produced by combining data from X-ray data from Chandra, infrared data from Webb, and optical data from Hubble. The green grid boxes indicate strong evidence of potassium, while the yellow grid boxes indicate weaker evidence.
The roughly circular Cas A supernova remnant spans about 10 light-years, is over 340 years old, and has a superdense neutron star at its center — the remains of the original star’s core. Scientists using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory had previously identified signatures of iron, silicon, sulfur, and other elements within Cas A.
In the hunt for other elements, the team used the Resolve instrument aboard XRISM to look at the remnant twice in December 2023. The researchers were able to pick out the signatures for chlorine and potassium, determining that the remnant contains ratios much higher than expected. Resolve also detected a possible indication of phosphorous, which was previously discovered in Cas A by infrared missions.
The orientation and position of these grid boxes on the face of the expanding supernova remnant suggest the original star and explosion might have formed unevenly.
Nova explosions appear to have multiple slow and fast explosive outflows
Click for original.
According to new observations of two different recent nova events have shown that the star’s eruption is complex, with multiple outflows moving at both fast and slow speeds.
The graphic and images to the right come from figure 1 of the paper, and show the evolution of one of these novae, Nova V1674 Herculis. The initial slow flow along the star’s equator, indicated at the top, acts to force the later fast flow to move out along the star’s poles, as shown at the bottom. From the paper’s abstract:
The images of the very fast 2021 nova V1674 Her, taken just 2–3 days after discovery, reveal the presence of two perpendicular outflows. The interaction between these outflows probably drives the observed γ-ray emission. Conversely, the images of the very slow 2021 nova V1405 Cas suggest that the bulk of the accreted envelope was ejected more than 50 days after the eruption began, as the nova slowly rose to its visible peak, during which the envelope engulfed the system in a common-envelope phase. These images offer direct observational evidence that the mechanisms driving mass ejection from the surfaces of accreting white dwarfs are not as simple as previously thought, revealing multiple outflows and delayed ejections.
Novae are stellar explosions of a much smaller scale than supernovae, and occur when a white dwarf star gathers enough material on its surface stolen from a binary star companion for that material to go critical. Because the stars are binaries, with some systems this process is periodic.
That these better observations, including good high resolution visuals, reveal the explosions are more complicated than “previously thought” should not be a surprise to anyone. In fact, to even suggest that anyone expected the process to be simply is absurd. Whenever we get a better view we discover new details that increase the complexity of any phenomenon.
A new study blasts the European Union’s proposed space act
This label would be more accurate if it read
“NOT made in the European Union”
A new study [pdf] just published by the generally leftist Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) has concluded that the proposed European Union’s space act would do great harm to both the European and American space industries if passed and should be reconsidered.
The economic analysis relied on the European Commission’s own estimates of increased compliance costs. The commission projected that the act would increase the cost of manufacturing a satellite in Europe by 2% and a launch vehicle by 1%. The study assumed companies would pass those costs on to customers through average price increases of 2.7%. Depending on price elasticity in each market segment, that could reduce demand by 1% to 13.6%. The resulting loss to European companies would be 245 million euros ($285 million) in annual revenue and 100 million euros in profits, the study concluded.
U.S. companies exporting to the EU would also be affected. The study estimates that American firms would lose 85 million euros in annual revenue and 7 million euros in profits from reduced European sales.
Officials from PPI are further quoted as opposed to the act as presently written, calling for a complete rewrite before passage. As PPI is a decidedly partisan leftwing think tank, formed initially by the Democratic Party in 1989, this clear public opposition to this decidedly leftwing top-down law suggests support for the bill is truly waning.
The bill itself won’t be voted on until the summer of 2026, and even if approved would not begin going into effect until 2027. Considering the opposition from the U.S. and other member nations of the European Union and the European Space Agency, it would demonstrate the EU’s utter disregard for its claimed democratic principles if it were to go ahead and ratify it as presently written. And that remains a possibility.
Three astronauts return from ISS in Soyuz capsule
Early today one American and two Russians safely returned to Earth, their Soyuz capsule touching down on the plains of Kazakhstan after spending more than eight months on ISS.
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim returned to Earth on Tuesday alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, wrapping up an eight-month science mission aboard the International Space Station to benefit life on Earth and future space exploration. They made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 12:03 a.m. EST (10:03 a.m. local time), southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, after departing the space station at 8:41 p.m. on Dec. 8, aboard the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft.
Over the course of 245 days in space, the crew orbited Earth 3,920 times, traveling nearly 104 million miles. They launched to the space station on April 8. This mission marked the first spaceflight for both Kim and Zubritsky, while Ryzhikov completed his third journey to space, logging a total of 603 days in space.
There remains on ISS one Soyuz, with its crew of three, with a planned return in July 2026. Getting its replacement crew launched however remains an unknown right now because of the damage to the Soyuz-2 rocket launchpad in Baikonur that occurred when they were launched two weeks ago. Roscosmos has provided no public updates about its plans to fix the pad or replace it, and until such plans are revealed, the Russians have no ability to launch any further manned missions.
This is why I speculated earlier that the present Soyuz crew might be starting an extended mission, awaiting repairs to the launchpad.
China completed two launches today
China today completed two launches from two different spaceports, one a pseudo-commercial launch and the other a classified military payload.
First China launched the fifteenth set of satellites in the Guowang or SatNet internet-of-things satellite constellation, its Long March 6A rocket lifting off from its Taiyuan spaceport in north China. According to China’s state-run press, this brings the total number of Guowang satellites in orbit to about 110, fewer than I had previously estimated. The final plan calls for a constellation of 13,000.
The second launch took place on December 9th (in China), with a Long March 4B rocket lifting off from China’s Jiuquan spaceport in northwest China, placing a classified satellite into orbit.
With both launches, China’s state-run press provided no information about where the rocket’s lower stages crashed inside China. This is especially critical with the Long March 4B, which uses very toxic hypergolic fuels that can dissolve your skin.
The leaders in the 2025 launch race:
161 SpaceX
79 China (a new record)
15 Rocket Lab
15 Russia
SpaceX still leads the rest of the world in successful launches, 161 to 131.
Senate committee approves Isaacman’s nomination as NASA administrator
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today approved the nomination of Jared Isaacman for NASA administrator, doing so for the second time after his first nomination was withdrawn by Trump in May and then re-instated his nomination in November.
All 15 committee Republicans and three of the 13 Democrats voted in favor: Senators Ted Cruz (Chairman, R-Texas), John Thune (R-South Dakota), Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Todd Young (R-Indiana), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), John Curtis (R-Utah), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Tim Sheehy (R-Montana), Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Maria Cantwell (Ranking Member, D-Washington), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), and John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania).
Ten of the 13 Democrats voted no: Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), Gary Peters (D-Michigan), Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada), Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico), John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado), Andy Kim (D-New Jersey), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Delaware).
In the previous April 2025 confirmation vote two Democrats, Kim and Hickenlooper, had voted yes. Now they voted no. In turn in April Fetterman had voted no and now changed his vote to yes.
Isaacman’s nomination still has to be confirmed by the Senate. No vote has been scheduled, but there have been indications that it will be scheduled in the next week or so. If not, the vote will have to wait until after the New Year. In either case, it is expected Isaacman will be approved handily.
Soggy Bottom Boys – I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow
An evning pause: Performed live 2001.
Hat tip Judd Clark, in a roundabout way.
SpaceX launches 29 more Starlink satellites, sets new record for Falcon 9 reuse, dominates the world in rocketry
First stage after landing for the 32nd time
SpaceX today launched another 29 Starlink satellites, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket (B1067) flew for its 32nd time, a new record for a Falcon 9 first stage. As shown in the rankings below of the most reused launch vehicles, this stage is now just one flight from tying the space shuttle Atlantis:
39 Discovery space shuttle
33 Atlantis space shuttle
32 Falcon 9 booster B1067
30 Falcon 9 booster B1071
29 Falcon 9 booster B1063
28 Falcon 9 booster B1069
28 Columbia space shuttle
Nor will it be long before SpaceX’s fleet surpasses all the shuttles.
Meanwhile in the 2025 launch race SpaceX’s dominance is overwhelming, as shown by the leader board:
» Read more