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By Laura Holt, Co-Founder of Her Cosmic Orbit
TLDR;
Layoffs Continue
Hayley Arceneaux's Latest Book Released
Not a normal Starlink! SpaceX Lands a Booster in the Bahamas
Blue Origin NS-30 Crew Announced
Butch & Suni Set the Record Straight (Elon crashes out)
Michael Sheetz Joins Firefly
Starship Flight 8 Loading
NASA's Jim Free, Out
ESA Physically Disabled Reserve Astronaut gets Flight Certified
Fly With Me in Zero-G Campaign
With layoffs hitting Blue Origin last week, rumors started spreading of the next round coming to NASA’s doorstep. Thankfully, reports came out at the end of the day that the agency was spared (we hope). A new Space Age is upon us - it’s unfortunate to begin the year with uncertainty and instability. The impact feels harsh and it’s our hope that all displaced employees will get picked up by other companies and continue working in the industry. I highly recommend utilizing available resources like Your Space Career, driven by Laura Forczyk and Heather Leser. They offer industry specific career coaching and courses alongside weekly open position updates on LinkedIn! Networking opportunities like Space Happy Hour are also happening in various space hubs each month. If we can help in any way, please reach out!
Hayley Arceneaux’s newest children’s book titled Astronaut Hayley’s Brave Adventure was released. This is Hayley’s third book and can be purchased at most major book retailers.
SpaceX launched Starlink Group 10-12 from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. For the first time ever, the booster launched from one country and landed in another. Reused booster, B1080, successfully landed on droneship Just Read the Instructions (JRTI) off the coast of the Bahamas. Local spectators got a fantastic view and sonic boom!
Blue Origin announced the crew for New Shepard 30. This mission is the 10th human flight for the New Shepard program and the 30th in its history. Lift off is targeted for 9:30am CST on Tuesday, February 25th from Launch Site One in Van Horn, TX.
The provocative, misinformed rhetoric continues…Elon Musk doubled down Wednesday in a Fox News joint interview with President Trump stating, “They were left up there for political reasons, which is not good.” This comes after Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week setting the record straight; “We don’t feel abandoned, we don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stranded.” The astronauts even went a step further by requesting the public help change the narrative with the preferred phrasing, “Prepared and Committed’. Veteran astronauts are chosen for these type of test missions where any contingency is planned for. The two are set to return to Earth very soon!
Firefly Aerospace CEO, Jason Kim, shares on social media that former CNBC space reporter Michael Sheetz joined the company as Director of Investor Relations.
FAA advisories posted Thursday for SpaceX’s Starship Flight 8 targeting NET Wednesday, February 26th, 2025. The launch window opens at 5:30pm CST with backup launch opportunities from Feb 27-March 6th. Starship launches from Starbase in Boca Chica, TX.
Official notice was released announcing Jim Free’s retirement as NASA Associate Administrator effective Saturday, Feb. 22. This comes after 30 years of service at the agency.
European Space Agency (ESA) reserve astronaut John McFall makes history as the first physically disabled person to be medically certified to launch on a long-duration mission to the ISS. Liz Johns, Interim Head of Space Exploration at the UK Space Agency added “This is ground-breaking work that no other space agency has done before. Now we are looking forward to supporting John during the next phase: Fly! Mission Ready. This is an essential step towards the first long-term mission for an astronaut with a physical disability.”.
Space for Humanity launched a social media campaign to win a Zero-G flight. According to the flyer, each mentor chooses a winner to fly on a Zero-G parabolic flight to experience zero gravity from Titusville, Florida, on April 13th. The winners will float alongside STEM favorites like Sian Proctor, Katya Echazarreta, Emily Calandrelli, and Amanda Nguyen. Submission details can be found on the company website and social accounts. The deadline to enter is March 15. Good luck!
That’s just a few of the mission updates from the week. Now back to crying over the anglerfish – bye!
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