The first Falcon Heavy in eighteen months carries ViaSat-3 F3 towards geostationary orbit. Read more from @casi-bev.bsky.social: www.spacescout.info/2026/04/falc...

I firmly believe presidents & people with control over medical agencies should understand percentages! If *you* don’t, no judgment; I will explain in the next couple posts how they work. The short version is that Senator Warren is correct in the clip, and there’s NO interpretation in which RFKJr is

Back Home, Missing A Friend

Also troubling: NASA reportedly implemented some of the cuts in the (later rejected) budget request from last year, without waiting for them to be approved. If govt keeps threatening cuts, the agency will not be able to function as though the budget is stable. Even if reversed, these cuts hurt.

While we're talking percentages, let's talk about the proposed cuts to NASA's science budget. NASA is currently 0.36% of US federal spending. www.planetary.org/space-policy... The proposed budget cuts NASA science by 47%. NASA science is already on a shoestring, and that string is about to break

House Science Committee pans NASA budget request Members of the House Science Committee rejected a proposed fiscal year 2027 budget for NASA because of sweeping cuts as the agency’s administrator argued it could do more with less.

If there are inefficiencies in NASA science spending (and I don't doubt there are!) then addressing those WITHOUT reducing the budget would mean more science, more innovation, more return on investment, more benefit to humanity. But realistically, cutting science funding by half just cuts science.

A number of space science organizations offered support for Isaacman's nomination because he is a proponent of space exploration and claimed he would support science. But now that science is on the chopping block -- and human spaceflight isn't -- he is volunteering to give NASA the DOGE treatment.

When I was working on curiosity, our budget decreased by 5-10% every year, our power output from the RTG decreased by about the same, and we managed to do just as much science over time—sometimes even more—than when the mission started. A 50% cut out of nowhere would kill missions like curiosity.

@davidjdphotography.com shares his perspective on covering Artemis II from LC-34. Read more: www.spacescout.info/2026/04/sole...

It's up! Check out the Space Scout team's incredible photos and personal reflections on the historic launch of Artemis II!

Despite successfully reusing a booster, New Glenn loses a payload at a poor time for the company's plans. Read more from @casi-bev.bsky.social: www.spacescout.info/2026/04/a-mi...

new from @casi-bev.bsky.social for @spacescout.bsky.social on New Glenn's stumble: www.spacescout.info/2026/04/a-mi...

The Space Scout team shares our unique perspective on the historic Artemis II mission. Read more from the team: www.spacescout.info/2026/04/phot...

After the journey of a lifetime, the crew of Artemis II are home once again. Read more from @casi-bev.bsky.social: www.spacescout.info/2026/04/arte...

New Glenn makes the trek up Launch Complex 36 ahead of the NG-3 mission.

Gotta go with my favorite mission photos for this #stunday

Experts found that the White House budget request for the upcoming fiscal year could defund 54 NASA science missions, including a spacecraft currently studying Jupiter and two planned Venus missions: www.scientificamerican.com/article/whit...

Hansen during the crew return event: "We're not always on the joy train. There are many times we're not on the joy train. But we are committed to getting back on the joy train as soon as we can."

With the Artemis II Live Mission Coverage closed, it lasted 230 hours, 38 minutes, 28 seconds. It had seventy-eight million views.

What a great photo just added on the NASA Johnson Flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2...

Another thing from last night: you could tell who was ready for the chute sequence. For a generation of people watching at home who mostly remember the shuttle, I can imagine that was a bit of an ordeal. Even knowing how it works I hated every second until the mains were out

On the Cassini mission to Saturn they called these “Kodak moments” and routinely included them in spacecraft imaging plans, a few per orbit www.planetary.org/articles/2859

I managed to tell @astrokatie.com something she did not already know, which is that the Integrity crew did not get to go straight to bed but instead had to do a lil obstacle course to see how freshly landed astronauts would escape the capsule, in, like, woods and she was like WHO APPROVED THIS. WHY

Some quick thoughts: If you saw Artemis II and thought "ugh, more propaganda," I get it. I wish this had happened in a better time. But I encourage you to look closer, listen to the people involved, and see the spirit of NASA that persists in spite of this admin and will outlast it. (1/4)

This is a fantastic photo #ArtemisII

Steal her look

Just a reminder that we can fund science, and save the earth, and feed everyone, and have health care and housing too. All those things are within our reach, together.

LOL, trying to stay offline and do my work, and friends are sending me "LOOK AT THIS NEW PIC!" texts .... This one is worth it. First PoC and first woman to go around another world. Don't stop talking about this point. It's important. #ArtemisII

Absolutely wonderful to be in an auditorium full of reporters here at JSC. Room erupted into cheers hearing Reid’s voice after blackout, again when we saw mains, and again on splashdown. Just an amazing feeling after everything

Integrity on chutes

The most beautiful sight I've seen in a long time. #ArtemisII

Splashdown! Vehicle is stable and upright. “A perfect bulls-eye splash for Integrity and its four astronauts!” #Artemis

The collective sigh of relief from the space reporters here at NASA JSC when the Artemis II crew splashed down will be one of my favorite memories

First rule of Artemis II press conferences: You do not talk about the budget Second rule of Artemis II press conferences: You do NOT talk about the budget

The crew of Artemis II brings us a whirlwind of science, wonder, and emotions from the Moon. Read more from @casi-bev.bsky.social: www.spacescout.info/2026/04/arte...

The #Artemis II astronauts said they needed more superlatives to describe their view of the eclipse, when the Sun was behind the Moon and its near surface was faintly illuminated by Earthshine

Full image plus another and an animated visualization here: images.nasa.gov/search?q=Art...

#Artemis II lunar flyby images are showing up! 😍 A crescent Earth setting behind the Moon.

More pics incoming here. Just gonna stare at these today as therapy for everything else going on www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2...

Um OKAY. Breathtaking photos from the Artemis II crew's lunar flyby and eclipse viewing

A friend described doing an exercise w/ a group of students from around the world, asking them to write down the best & worst thing about a bunch of different countries. Answers varied a lot for all countries except for one: every single person said the best thing about the USA is NASA.

Oh, wow. So many other worlds visible in the background of the Artemis II view from eclipse, peeking out of the haze of the solar corona. Thanks @tunctezel.bsky.social for labeling!

If anyone wants to laugh a fair bit from NASA's podcast with the Artemis II crew that was done ahead of the flight, with it here: www.nasa.gov/podcasts/hou...

With Artemis II now out of comms blackout and in an observation break, take your own break from listening to the comms by diving deep on the iconic orange Orion Crew Survival System suits with us!

The Artemis II mission seems good because it is. People seem excited by it because they are. It looks like a testament to the value of teamwork because it needs many people working together to succeed, and it’s succeeding. One of the best things about this is how straightforward it is. Authentic.

#Artemis crew to Mission Control, after seeing and attempting to describe the eclipse: "And if you could give me about 20 new superlatives in the mission summary tomorrow, that'll help my vocabulary out a bit. Thank you."

It's really been a great day on the job. It can be easy to get cynical about covering spaceflight sometimes, especially when it feels like 90 percent of the job is reporting delays. But you can't not be charmed by the joy and wonder of the Artemis II mission and crew