Keith’s note: The NASA OIG has released a report “NASA’s Launch Infrastructure” that throws a lot of cold water on the agency’s expansive launch growth ambitions – for both government and commercial launches: “NASA’s launch infrastructure is dated and lacks the capacity to meet the growing demands of the Agency and government and commercial partners.” The findings are summarized below:

Keith’s note: According to “At G-7, allies plan for a world less reliant on the U.S.“ in the Washington Post, “After years of tariff threats, diplomatic whiplash and public confrontations, many world leaders have concluded that Trump is not an interruption to the international order but a feature of it — a reordering likely to endure regardless of who sits in the Oval Office. Rather than simply accommodating Trump, they are increasingly preparing for a future in which the U.S. is a less predictable partner and Europe is less inclined to follow America’s lead.” This has to have collateral impact on things such as international cooperation on large, long term endeavors and partnerships such as space science, the Artemis Accords, etc. Just sayin’

Keith’s note: NASA announced the Artemis III crew today. Their two week mission in 2027 involves testing of the SpaceX and Blue Origin lunar landers. Whether or not either lander and its associated launch system will be good to go at that point will be interesting to watch. Stay tuned.

Keith’s note: I was just on CNN [Audio] talking about the New Glenn explosion last night – based mostly on video and initial reports of damage. The technical aspects, root cause etc. will take a while to emerge. Given delays with both SpaceX and Blue Origin contributions to the Artemis program this is a rather uncertain time for America’s return to the Moon. But NASA and its contractor team has bounced back before. Ad Lunam. Update: I was also on Deutsche Welle [Audio] and NewsNation with my long-time friend Leroy Chiao [Audio]. Video links below.

Keith’s note: a few minutes ago the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded on its launch pad during a static test. Major damage has been reported. To state the obvious – especially in light of issues with SpaceX Starship 12 flight, this certainly changes things for NASA’s Artemis plans. Of course NASASpaceflight.com, always alert, caught the whole thing.

Once upon a time humans took short trips to the Moon. Then we stopped. Now we are going back – to stay. The prospect of an actual Moon base wherein we live and work offworld utterly fascinates me. It has for more than 50 years. Now we’re actually going to do it. How we do this whole Moon base thing absolutely captivates me. I’m going to write a lot about this on NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com as I pivot my efforts in the years ahead. I am already writing a book on how to mount Astrobiology expeditions on this world – and beyond. So these dispatches will be somewhat of an installment series from that process. More below

Keith’s note: According to this press release NASA did a big Moon base reveal today. Lunar landers, rovers, and drone selections were announced. Two Moon-related BAAs will be released as well. And the NASA Moonbase website has some upgrades.

Keith’s note: I was just on CGTN to talk about the launch of Shenzhou 23 and China’s longer term space ambitions. And I managed to get a plug in regarding the Artemis Accords (at 3:02). [Audio]

Keith’s note: America and Canada were inspired a proud of Artemis II. NASA said that -a lot. And its true. The crew visited Congress but NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens only reposts Republican social media on her official account @NASASpox. No Dems. No mention of Canada. Why? C’mon. We’re ALL proud. Oh yes … after the midterm elections NASA may need those Democrats to help out on things. Just sayin’

Keith’s note: Imagine that I am a regular person trying to find those 12,000 Artemis II images from links in all the recent articles about them. If you go to https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov and search for “Artemis II” or “ArtemisII” or “Artemis” you get one search result (see image). If you search for “Moon” you see “Lunar Collection” which has nothing from Artemis – nor are there any ‘Artemis’ links elsewhere on this Moon page. If you go to the NASA Artemis page or the Artemis II page these 12,000 Artemis II images are not even mentioned.

Keith’s note: I was just on i24 in Israel talking about the Artemis Accords (I used a visual aid), the Artemis II mission, international cooperation in space exploration, inspiration, and that maybe – just maybe – a hope that the way we explore space can teach us something about how we can get along better back on Earth e.g. the ultimate space spinoff. [Audio]

Keith’s note: today the Artemis II crew and Jared Isaacman went to see the president in the Oval Office. This was the crew’s second visit to the Oval Office In 2003 they met with President Biden and talked about their mission and the Moon rock that was on display. Today they met with President Trump. After some initial comments about the actual Moon mission, all that the media – and President Trump – seemed to be interested in was UFOS, Ukraine, Iran, Russia, Putin, Comey, Supreme Court, the Voting Rights Act, fake news, mental institutions, drug dealers, murderers, Farm Bill, nukes,  auto plants, tariffs, trade, Congress, border control, NATO and everything but the Artemis II mission to the Moon and back – the first time this has been done in half a century. A transcript from CSPAN of what was said is included below. NASA/Artemis comments by the President are highlighted in red. Jared Isaacman/NASA comments are highlighted in blue. There is not much in the way of red. Very little blue. More below

Keith’s note: there’s a looming predecisional effort within NASA with a high rumor quotient that’s attracted an unfortunate internal gossip label: “Red Wedding” (yes GOT fans) It involves wholesale management changes at all NASA centers: top leadership, layoffs, reorganizations, etc. A realignment at the agency to match Jared Isaacmans’s implementation of current Administration policies has been expected. He tends to announce things fully formed – clearly stated (not half-baked) and keeps much of the detail close to his chest until its time to release things. Given all the things he has already announced (Project Athena, Core Competencies, Ignition, NASA Force) and his support for the FY 2027 Presidential Budget request, you have to expect that a lot of things need to be readjusted. That said, after all the turmoil NASA has been through 16 months and the deplorable way that many employees were treated prior to Isaacman’s arrival, its easy to understand how people are on edge – and that they expect more of the bad and less of the good. I am only posting this since I have been hearing the “Red Wedding” thing non-stop for weeks at all levels and multiple locations across the agency. Let’s not forget: Artemis II gave everyone a much-needed boost. So it is possible to see the light at the end of the tunnel amidst the chaos. We’ll see soon enough.

Keith’s note: according to a new NASA OIG report “NASA’s Acquisition of Next-Generation Spacesuit Services“: “NASA faces challenges in ensuring next-generation spacesuits are available to meet the Agency’s current schedules for the Artemis lunar landing mission in 2028 and prior to the ISS’s decommissioning in 2030. NASA’s original schedules to demonstrate the lunar and microgravity spacesuits in 2025 and 2026, respectively, were overly optimistic and ultimately proved unachievable, as evidenced by delays of at least a year and a half for both spacesuits. Based on our analysis, if Axiom experiences design and testing delays in line with the historical average for recent space flight programs, the Artemis and ISS demonstrations may not occur until 2031.” …“if Axiom cannot satisfy its contractual requirements in a timely or cost-effective manner, then NASA could be forced to continue using the problematic EMUs throughout the life of the ISS and significantly adjust its lunar plans.” Keith’s Update: @NASAAdmin Jared Isaacman just posted this response to @NASAOIG: “Very much appreciate the OIG work. As I posted months ago, NASA is not taking a passive role in any component of America’s return to the lunar surface and building a Moon base. We are reviewing where NASA can do better, how we can provide relief where appropriate to burdensome requirements, where we can expand capabilities over time (Apollo 11’s EVA profile was very different than Apollo 17), and where we can help industry by inserting NASA SMEs and driving the intended outcomes. I am confident that when NASA is ready to land on the Moon in 2028, our astronauts will be wearing Axiom suits. There will always be lessons learned as we improve across NASA and industry, and we need to be mindful of the contracting approach to stimulate a market versus jumping to an as-a-service model where NASA may be the only customer for the foreseeable future. That places a significant capital burden on providers while they wait for additional demand to materialize. A successful approach for commercial crew and cargo, underpinned by launch, does not mean it is applicable to every space-related service. The orbital and lunar economy is inevitable. We just need to be thoughtful in our approach to sustainably enable it.”

Keith’s Note: Last week we all had a moment to savor just how extraordinary the Artemis II mission was – not only for its technological prowess- but more importantly the sense of pride, wonder, and inspiration it generated here and across the world. So, how do we reward the team who did this? We – gut their budget – for the second year in a row -of course. Congratulations! A preview from the LA Times: A renewed threat to JPL as the Trump administration tries again to cut NASA.

Keith’s note: A media question asked the crew about the removal of the initial “First woman and first person of color” aspirational tag line for Artemis from all NASA websites and materials (by the Trump Administration’s anti-DEI purge.) The answer in a nutshell was that this initial decision had been made a while back such that it will still happen – no matter what – even if it takes a little longer to come to pass. I just Googled and found one remaining example. Let’s see if the anti-DEI squad at NASA PAO deletes it. Or, since it came to pass, if they’d just let it be.

Keith’s note: The Artemis II astronauts (and their mascot “rise”) will hold a news conference at 2:30 pm EDT today Thursday to discuss their mission around the Moon. Apparently they had no fun whatsoever. You can watch on NASA’s YouTube channel or watch other options. I will be live on BBC World News at between 2:30 – 3:30 PM EDT to provide live commentary on their comments.

Keith’s note: According to “NASA Is the Most Underrated Brand“ by Mia Silverio: “On Friday, four astronauts returned to Earth after venturing deeper into space than anyone has gone before. The mission, Artemis II, sent a rocket weighing 5.7 million pounds around the moon and back, setting the stage for a future lunar landing. This incredible feat is a timely reminder that American excellence still exists — if only under the NASA logo.” Totally agree – and as NASAWatch readers have certainly noticed by now I have more than a few things to say about NASA’s immense – yet totally under-utilized – reach, branding, and soft power.

Keith’s note: An enlargement of this image from the splashdown of Artemis II is all over space Twitter. There is a bright colored region on the heat shield. Armchair experts and space influencers all have an opinion. That’s all they have – from one blurry pic. Jared Isaacman @NASAAdmin said this in response. When he has an answer he’ll tell us. So chill and focus on some #MoonJoy. More below