February 20, 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.
- Starlab touts its full scale Starlab mock-up at the Johnson Space Center
The video is less than informative, focused more on sizzle and glitz than real content.
- 25 years ago the crew of Atlantis delivered the Destiny module to ISS
Took three spacewalks. The image at the tweet shows the shuttle afterward, with an empty cargo bay.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
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.
- Starlab touts its full scale Starlab mock-up at the Johnson Space Center
The video is less than informative, focused more on sizzle and glitz than real content.
- 25 years ago the crew of Atlantis delivered the Destiny module to ISS
Took three spacewalks. The image at the tweet shows the shuttle afterward, with an empty cargo bay.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Starlab is a commercial effort. I don’t begrudge capitalist enterprises a bit of glitz and flash.
I would love to see it in place of Zvezda certainly.
This doesn’t sound good. SLS will roll back to the VAB and the launch will be delayed with March no longer an option. https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2025249086908125630
Tim: Refresh your browser. I posted about this two hours ago.
I know this will shock everyone, but it seems that the Artemis II stack has decided that it doesn’t want to go into space next month after all.
“After overnight data showed an interruption in helium flow in the SLS interim cryogenic propulsion stage, teams are troubleshooting and preparing for a likely rollback of Artemis II to the VAB at @NASAKennedy. This will almost assuredly impact the March launch window. @NASA will continue to provide updates as they become available.” — NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
https://x.com/i/status/2025231621436186837
P.S. Jared fields a question from one of the NSF guys:
Q: “I have a question… Does this mean that it was an overnight data review of the WDR or is it that the helium flow interruption happened overnight?”
Jared: “The ICPS helium system performed as expected during both WDRs. This was an unexpected development during routine helium flow operations last evening. The teams were up all night assessing the situation.”
I will just note for the record that the ICPS was designed by . . . Boeing.
Oops, never mind, Bob. For some reason my cache didn’t update on your site, so I did not see your new post on the ICPS issue. Feel free to not post it! You were on the ball today!
I checked the site before adding my comment and there definitely wasn’t a post about SLS. It seems others had the same experience. Thanks for pointing to it. It is showing up now.
Tim: Then it was simply a timing issue. You probably checked just before I posted. No big deal.
”I will just note for the record that the ICPS was designed by . . . Boeing.”
And flew successfully 46 times on Delta IV and SLS.
Mkent,
Indeed, as I pointed out explicitly on Bob’s SLS delay thread yesterday!
Striking, then, that this most flight proven stage on the entire stack is the one that has somehow managed to force a rollback to the VAB. Could it be the result of having been sitting in storage at NASA for nearly five years, rather than, say, bad Boeing workmanship?
Now, that said, a cursory bit of research suggests that at least one Delta IV launch was forced into a lengthy (multi-week) launch delay by problems in its DCSS. Perhaps there were more; I’d have to keep looking.
Otherwise, maybe it’s not unreasonable to have an impression of the ICPS/DCSS as much of a piece with Boeing/McDonnell Douglas hydrolox launch endeavours of this last generation: generally capable, but quite finicky, and exuberantly expensive.
Edit to my last post: The ICPS stages are now being built by ULA, not Boeing, even if it was Boeing that originally designed and operated Delta IV after the MD merger; so if there’s bad workmanship, it would be ULA at fault now.
Of course, we don’t know the root cause of the helium flow problem on the stage yet. It could be something that happened after ULA delivered it to NASA after all. There’s been plenty of time for that.
Bloody upper stages…