While reading Roald Sagdeev’s memoirs, I came across a quote from Pyotr Kapitsa, written on a preprint he had sent—of all people—to Stalin: “One is not a scientist who simply carries on scientific research; a scientist is one who cannot *not* carry on scientific research.”

Back to Vancouver for phase two of the “Make Fusion in 2026” sabbatical, traveling light with only the essentials from Montreal.

Sometimes you’re browsing the McMaster catalogue and come across something so adorable you add it to your cart without really needing it. This miniature ball valve did not disappoint.

That’s a wrap on #SciTech2026. Plenty of interest and sharp conversations around our work on beamed‑energy propulsion and solar‑wind surfing. Feels good to leave a mark on the Space Coast.

Cocoa Beach. A respectable little surf break. Apparently they also launch rockets nearby.

With my crew at the VAB at Kennedy Space Center. Artemis II is scheduled to roll out to Pad 39B at the end of this week.

Aerospace peeps: I’m at SciTech for first time in 30 years! #SciTech2026

Happy new year! My all sky camera imaged the sky every 15 seconds and this picture shows what happened in the sky in 2025. It shows the length of the night and day with the hourglass shape, the monthly lunar cycle with the diagonal bands, the elevation of the Sun at local noon, and lots of clouds.

Let’s proceed to engage this mission. Among all proposed deep‑space initiatives, none are more demanding in terms of propulsion, precision, and endurance than a mission to the Solar Gravitational Lens—but the scientific return would be incredible. www.science.org/content/arti...

Back in the #Laurentians. Back in my happy place.

Mount Baker and Lions Gate Bridge, viewed from Cypress Mountain, Vancouver.

The magic of leaving Vancouver Island at sunset on @bcferries.bsky.social.

Props to Long Beach Surf Shop for the expert kit and local wisdom. Every session was saltwater joy. Until next time, Tofino.

Big new (at least for me): I’m on sabbatical leave from McGill this year and working full-time with General Fusion in Vancouver. With 2026 shaping up to be a pivot year for commercial fusion, I’m excited to be on-site and contributing directly to the effort.

Unfiltered glimpses of our solar system revealed through raw, breathtaking images. Our group works with one goal in mind: to someday capture such images from other solar systems.

“How a Billionaire’s Plan to Reach Another Star Fell Apart” Our group is still at it, stubbornly in the trenches, steadily chipping away at the key problems that must be solved to reach the nearest stars. The work continues. Onward! www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...

Forty-two years ago, “The Day After” reshaped public discourse around the possibility of nuclear war, even profoundly influencing the sitting U.S. President. Can we hope that, in the hands of a gifted director like Bigelow, such impact might be felt again? youtu.be/0w6wUqWU3yU?...

I wrote an op-ed on the world-class STEM research ecosystem in the United States, and how this ecosystem is now under attack on multiple fronts by the current administration: newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/im-an-awar...

Congratulations to Space Concordia Rocketry Division on the successful launch of Starsailor, featuring the largest student-built bipropellant rocket engine ever flown (35 kN thrust). The launch occurred approximately 1 hr 16 mins into the livestream linked below. www.youtube.com/live/610YciE...

We're reading (and hoping for a successful flyby target🤞🤞): "An Extremely Deep Rubin Survey to Explore the Extended Kuiper Belt and Identify Objects Observable by New Horizons" by @megschwamb.bsky.social doi.org/10.3847/1538...

Why were we able to see the spiral rocket plume last night, but not during other rocket launches? The time of day, the Sun’s light, and the direction the rocket heads into space causes this effect…

I have a complaint about Avi Loeb's latest work and I want to speak to management. medium.com/@steve.desch...

A Saturn mass gas giant may be orbiting Alpha Centauri A, based on solid JWST infrared results and exhaustive simulations of its orbit. It's still a candidate rather than a confirmed world, but follow-up work will tell us soon. www.centauri-dreams.org/2025/08/08/a...

If the sole purpose of attending the conference in person is to catch up with your former PhD students, it would still be worth it. #ICDERS2025

The infamous lecture hall at the University of Ottawa that requires every answer to be in the form of a question.

34 years ago this month, I arrived in graduate school to join a gas dynamics lab. On my very first day, I was handed a pair of scissors and a roll of Mylar and told to start cutting diaphragms. 34 years later, I’m still at it.

Those moments when the city just hits different. #Montreal

Our group focuses on near-term technologies for the first robotic forays beyond our solar system. But it’s worth addressing the oft-repeated claim: “The speed of light is a hard limit: You can’t travel to the stars in a lifetime, so it won’t happen. [1/9]

Our students achieved another successful high-altitude balloon flight last night in collaboration with @uvic.ca and with support from the CSA’s FAST program. Onward and upward!

Reminder: At any time, dozens of comets cross into our inner solar system. The discovery of interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS deservedly excites us, but I'm seeing the tropes of “nature’s wake-up call” or “the dinosaurs didn’t have a space program.” Comets are *always* zipping in. /1

And my latest paper has finally been published! This was based on an INFUSE grant from the DOE to investigate powerful THz sources with TAE Technologies. pubs.aip.org/aip/pop/arti...

Using a direct fusion drive as being designed at Princeton for a Sedna orbiter. Interesting conceptual analysis & feasibility study, contrasting this option with a solar sail using desorption, blowing off embedded elements at perihelion. Hint: sail is faster. www.centauri-dreams.org/2025/07/01/a...

This was fun to write! www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-so...

We’re reading: “Measurements of the force produced by a negatively charged electric sail in a pulsed cathodic arc plasma” pubs.aip.org/aip/pop/arti...

Astronautics propulsion often comes down to plumbing, and interstellar propulsion will be no exception. So we had Swagelok Québec bring their training trailer to campus and put our personnel through a valve & fitting bootcamp.

Let’s cook.

Every summer—when the lab kicks into high gear—the Sharpie Fairy arrives with a fresh set of Sharpies for everyone’s workstation.

We’re reading “Study of Venera Spacecraft Trajectories and Wider Implications” by Adam Hibberd (@adamsspaceresearch.bsky.social) arxiv.org/pdf/2506.09478

This just arrived and can’t wait to dive into the new biography of Luis Alvarez. I devoured Alvarez’s own autobiography years ago, but was left with the impression that some episodes in his life—particularly the ill-fated MTA—were glossed over. Hat tip to @beamjockey.bsky.social for the heads-up.

Once in your life, visit #Santorini. Yes, it is pricey and tourist-heavy, but it is not overrated. There is something so evocative about an outpost of our culture—carved into the edge of a caldera—that marks where an earlier civilization met its end.

Temple of Apollo, seven minutes past sunset.

“By demonstrating that 90-day transfers are feasible using existing chemical propulsion technology, our work provides a near-term, practical alternative to proposed nuclear thermal or nuclear electric propulsion solutions that have low TRLs and require significant regulatory approval processes.”

We’re reading “3 months transit time to Mars for human missions using SpaceX Starship” www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We’re reading “Discovery of a dwarf planet candidate in an extremely wide orbit: 2017 OF201” Key quote: “The orbit of 2017 OF201 also presents an intriguing challenge to the Planet X / Planet 9 hypothesis.” arxiv.org/abs/2505.15806

Chinese academic journal cover or leaked storyboard for Black Mirror Season 8? 😬

Obit for Peter Lax, an applied mathematician who did pioneering work in PDEs, solitons, and computational science. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/s...

Thanks! BTW, here’s the blog post: plateauastro.com/blog/2025-05...

@a-j-higgins.bsky.social Hey! I’m writing a blog post about ISS viewing cycles throughout the year. I have a hunch, but wondering if you can tell me why during May’s flyover cycle we can see almost every evening ISS pass?

Retraction Watch just announced the pending retraction of the Comet Research Group's Sodom & Gomorrah pseudoarchaeology paper. The authors are not taking it well. retractionwatch.com/2025/04/23/s...

“…it is unlikely chemical signatures (even from in situ measurements!) will be convincing enough for us to announce the discovery of life.” Which means—to verify discovery of life on an exoplanet—we are going to need to *go* *there*.