I’m coming to you from 1 week before Christmas 2024. I have to admit, at the moment my brain is occupied with just 3 things: Will I finish the knitting I need to finish before Christmas Day? Will Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost launch while I’m in Florida for PodFest? And What is going to happen at NASA under the next administration? At the moment, I’m 90% certain the knitting will not be done, I have decided not think about future NASA, so let’s talk about what’s launching in the new year.
I’ll be in the Orlando area January 14 – 25 for PodFest. If you’re going please stop by and say hi.
Right now, as I record, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is doing a test firing. If all goes well, it will be ready for launch. I want this rocket to be amazing – we need more heavy-lift vehicles to get bigger and better science tools into space. This rocket has all the potential in the world to follow the “Everything works the first time” history of modern NASA-funded rockets. With a government shutdown looming and winter weather, it is unclear if New Glenn will get off the ground before I get to Florida, and I have to admit that I’m hoping the weather and holiday-related issues keep Glenn on hold until I get there. It’s selfish, but this rocket has big thrust energy, and I want to see it fly.
I’m also really hoping that Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost remains on schedule for a mid-January launch. It’s not currently listed on Rocketlaunch.live, but I remain hopeful. Blue Ghost is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services6program, and this lander hopes to do what no commercial company has done before: Land safely in the correct orientation.
If these or any other launches occur when I’m not presenting at Podfest, I will bring you live coverage… And if nothing launches I’ll go to Disney Springs and catch a free drone show.
While commercial space sorts itself out, science continues. In our first segment, we’ll be looking at the science of small bodies doing mighty interesting things, including life rapidly colonizing a sample of Ryugu and Io not being structured exactly how we thought. Later on, we’ll dive into new discoveries in galaxy formation, and take a look at tales from the launch pad.