Category Archives: Spacex

SpaceX employees are reportedly circulating an open letter calling Elon Musks behavior a distraction and embarrassment to the company and calling on executives to publicly distance the rocket maker from its founder and CEO.

The disgruntled employees say they were compelled to draft the letter to SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell following reports of a sexual misconduct allegation against Musk, which the mogul has publicly downplayed and used as fodder for jokes.

In light of recent allegations against our CEO and his public disparagement of the situation, we would like to deliver feedback on how these events affect our companys reputation, and through it, our mission, reads a copy of the letter published by The Verge on Thursday. Elons behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks.

The letter, which was reportedly circulated in an internal SpaceX Microsoft Teams channel, claims to have been authored by employees across the spectra of gender, ethnicity, seniority, and technical roles.

As our CEO and most prominent spokesperson, Elon is seen as the face of SpaceXevery Tweet that Elon sends is a de facto public statement by the company, the letter notes. It is critical to make clear to our teams and to our potential talent pool that his messaging does not reflect our work, our mission, or our values.

SpaceX, which was valued at $125 billion in March, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Musk often weighs in on news stories through Twitter but has not responded to reports about the SpaceX letter.

The letter comes weeks after Insider reported that Musk paid a flight attendant on SpaceXs company plane $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct claim. Musk was accused of rubbing the womens leg without permission and offering to buy her a horse if she gave him an erotic massage.

Musk did not deny the payment but said the accusations were utterly untrue and called the story a politically motivated hit piece. He subsequently quipped about the accusation on Twitter, including by making a penis joke.

News of the letter emerged on the same day that Musk addressed employees of Twitter as he continues his bid to take over the company. Twitter employees have expressed anxiety about Musks management style and political beliefs.

Its unclear exactly how many SpaceX employees have signed the letter. The Verge reported that it had been posted in a Microsoft Teams channel with more than 2,600 employees on Wednesday with a request that employees sign it either anonymously or publicly. Petitioners then plan to deliver a signed version of the letter to Shotwell, according to the outlet.

The letter argues that recent events involving the company are emblematic of a wider culture that underserves many of the people who enable SpaceXs extraordinary accomplishments. It says that SpaceXs No Ahole and Zero Tolerance policies need to be equally applied across the company.

The signatories want SpaceX executives to publicly address and condemn Elons harmful Twitter behavior and define and uniformly respond to all forms of unacceptable behavior.

We care deeply about SpaceXs mission to make humanity multiplanetary, the letter reads. Is the culture we are fostering now the one which we aim to bring to Mars and beyond?

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SpaceX workers call Elon Musk 'distraction and embarrassment'

Starship prototypes are pictured at the SpaceX South Texas launch site in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., May 22, 2022. Picture taken May 22, 2022.

Veronica Cardenas | Reuters

SpaceX is closing in on the next major milestone in its Starship rocket development, as the company works to complete environmental impact requirements outlined this week by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Elon Musk on Tuesday said the company will have a Starship prototype rocket "ready to fly" by July, with his space venture aiming to reach orbit with the vehicle for the first time.

SpaceX had hoped to conduct the Starship orbital flight test as early as last summer, but delays in development progress and regulatory approval steadily pushed back that timeline. The FAA made a crucial environmental decision Monday that concluded a long-awaited assessment of the program. SpaceX needs to fulfill more than 75 of the agency's actions before applying for the launch license required for the flight test.

Musk said in a series of tweets that he spent time at the SpaceX facility in Boca Chica, Texas, on Monday evening "reviewing progress" on the rocket. He added that the company "will have a second Starship stack ready to fly in August" and aims to conduct flights "monthly thereafter."

The company is developing its nearly 400-foot-tall, reusable Starship rocket with the goal of carrying cargo and people beyond Earth. The rocket and its Super Heavy booster are powered by SpaceX's Raptor series of engines. SpaceX has completed multiple high-altitude flight tests with Starship prototypes, but it has yet to reach space.

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Elon Musk: SpaceX Starship 'ready to fly' by July

SpaceX plans to launch a German military satellite and land the returning rocket on Saturday morning (June 18), and you can watch the action live.

A two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Saturday at 10:19 a.m. EDT (1419 GMT; 7:19 a.m. local California time). You can watch the action here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, or directly via the company (opens in new tab). Coverage is expected to begin about 10 minutes before launch.

The Falcon 9's first stage will come down to Earth for a vertical touchdown at Vandenberg about nine minutes after liftoff, if all goes according to plan. The upper stage, meanwhile, will carry to orbit SARah-1, a radar satellite that will be operated by the German military, as well as a handful of "rideshare" spacecraft, according to EverydayAstronaut.com (opens in new tab).

Related: The 20 most memorable SpaceX missions

Saturday's launch is the middle mission of a trifecta that SpaceX plans to pull off over a 36-hour stretch. The company launched 53 of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit yesterday (June 17) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, a mission that set a new rocket-reuse record; it was the 13th liftoff for that particular Falcon 9 first stage. (The Falcon 9 flying on Saturday sports a first stage with two launches under its belt, both of them for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, according to a SpaceX mission description (opens in new tab).)

The third launch in the rapid-fire trio is scheduled for early Sunday (June 19), when a Falcon 9 will loft a communications satellite for the Louisiana-based company GlobalStar. That mission will lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC.

The back-to-back-to-back launches continue a very busy year for SpaceX. Elon Musk's company has already conducted 24 missions in 2022, which works out to about one per week.

While all of these operational rockets get off the ground, SpaceX continues work on its potentially transformational next-generation transportation system, a huge rocket-spaceship combo called Starship. The company is gearing up for the first orbital flight test of Starship, which could happen in the next few months now that a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration environmental review is in the books.

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There (opens in new tab)" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).

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SpaceX will launch and land a rocket Saturday. Here's how to watch - Space.com

SpaceX, the private rocket company, on Thursday fired employees who helped write and distribute an open letter criticizing the behavior of its chief executive, Elon Musk, said three employees with knowledge of the situation.

Some SpaceX employees began circulating the letter, which denounced Mr. Musks activity on Twitter, on Wednesday. The letter called the billionaires public behavior and tweeting a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment and asked the company to rein him in. Mr. Musk is currently closing a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.

By Thursday afternoon, SpaceX had fired some of the letters organizers, according to the three employees and an email from Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceXs president and chief operating officer. In her email, which was obtained by The New York Times, she said the company had investigated and terminated a number of employees involved with the letter.

The letter, solicitations and general process made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied, and/or angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views, Ms. Shotwell wrote. We have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of overreaching activism.

It was unclear how many employees had been fired. James Gleeson, a SpaceX spokesman, did not immediately return a request for comment.

The open letter followed recently publicized accusations of sexual misconduct against Mr. Musk amid his contentious acquisition of Twitter. On Thursday, he addressed Twitter employees for the first time since his takeover offer via a video call to answer their questions.

In May, Insider reported that a flight attendant said had Mr. Musk propositioned her for a sexual massage during a flight to London in 2016. The flight attendant said he had also exposed himself to her and offered her a horse, according to the article, the details of which were not verified by The Times.

Mr. Musk called the accusations utterly untrue and joked about horses and his genitalia on Twitter. Last month, Ms. Shotwell said in an email to SpaceX employees that she personally believed the sexual harassment allegations against Mr. Musk were false.

At SpaceX, Mr. Musk is rarely challenged by his own workers, said the three employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He notified the companys workers via email this month that they must spend at least 40 hours in the office or face firing.

The open letter asked that SpaceXs leaders publicly address and condemn Elons harmful Twitter behavior and define and uniformly respond to all forms of unacceptable behavior.

In her email to staff, Ms. Shotwell wrote, Blanketing thousands of people across the company with repeated unsolicited emails and asking them to sign letters and fill out unsponsored surveys during the work day is not acceptable.

Please stay focused on the SpaceX mission, and use your time to do your best work, she continued. This is how we will get to Mars.

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SpaceX Said to Fire Employees Involved in Letter Rebuking Elon Musk - The New York Times

File photo of a Globalstar second-generation satellite. Credit: Thales Alenia Space

A spare satellite for Globalstars data relay and messaging constellation will launch from Cape Canaveral on a Falcon 9 rocket later this month, multiple sources said, in a previously-undisclosed mission on SpaceXs schedule.

The launch will be the first for a Globalstar satellite since 2013, and adds capacity for the companys commercial network providing data connectivity for satellite phones, asset tracking, and internet-of-things applications.

Globalstar has said in quarterly financial filings, most recently last month, that it plans to launch one of its spare satellites in the near future. The company did not identify the launcher for the spare satellite.

Sources told Spaceflight Now the spacecraft, designated Globalstar FM15, is booked to launch on a Falcon 9 rocket as soon as mid-June. The mission will be the next Falcon 9 launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral after the liftoff of the Egyptian Nilesat 301 geostationary communications satellite Wednesday.

Globalstar operates a fleet of dozens of communications satellites in low Earth orbit. The company did not respond to multiple requests for details on the upcoming launch.

The company launched 60 first-generation satellites, built by Space Systems/Loral, on Delta 2 and Soyuz rockets from 1998 through 2007. Globalstar added 24 second-generation satellites, manufactured by Thales Alenia Space, on four Soyuz rocket missions from 2010 through 2013.

Our constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites includes second-generation satellites and certain first-generation satellites, Globalstar said in a quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month. We also have one on-ground spare second-generation satellite that we plan to launch in the near future.

A recent regulatory filing with the Federal Communications Commission doesnt match any other launch on SpaceXs schedule, but is apparently for the Globalstar mission. SpaceX requests authority from the FCC to operate vehicle transmitters for each Falcon 9 flight.

The recent filing is for a Falcon 9 launch that will head to the northeast from Cape Canaveral, with an offshore first stage booster landing on one of SpaceXs drone ships.

The Thales-built Globalstar satellite weighs about 700 kilograms, or 1,543 pounds. The Globalstar fleet orbits about 878 miles (1,413 kilometers) above Earth at an inclination of 52 degrees to the equator, an orbit reachable with a launch to the northeast from Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX and Globalstar have not confirmed if the upcoming launch will be a dedicated ride for the Globalstar payload, or if other satellites might be on-board the Falcon 9.

An online flight tracking website showed anIlyushin Il-76 cargo plane arrived at the Launch and Landing Facility runway at the Kennedy Space Center last month, delivering a shipment from Rome, Italy, where Thales built the second-generation Globalstar satellites.

The Globalstar satellites provide data connectivity for customers between 70 degrees north and south latitude, and the companys second-generation spacecraft are designed for operational lifetimes of 15 years.The Thales-built Globalstar satellites are trapezoidal in shape and feature 16 transponders in C-band and S-band and 16 receivers in L-band and C-band.

Globalstar is a competitor in the satellite phone and data relay market with companies like Iridium, Inmarsat, and Orbcomm. Globalstar announced in February it is purchasing 17 new satellites from an industry team led by MDA and Rocket Lab to extend the life of its constellation.

The company expects all of the 17 new satellites will be launched by the end of 2025. A launch service provider for the new satellites hasnt been announced.

The $327 million contract for the 17 new satellites, along with the launch this month of Globalstars spare second-generation spacecraft, is being primarily funded by an unnamed potential customer for Globalstars services.

The Globalstar launch in mid-June is one of up to six Falcon 9 missions on SpaceXs launch schedule this month.

The Falcon 9 schedule this month has been shuffled after the delay of a space station resupply mission to investigate a possible fuel leak on a SpaceX cargo ship. The resupply mission, designated CRS-25, was set to lift off this week from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, but is now scheduled no earlier than June 28.

Heres a snapshot of the Falcon 9 launch schedule for June, as of Tuesday:

June 8: Nilesat 301 from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

Mid-June: Globalstar FM15 from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

June 18: SARah 1 from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California

Mid-June: Starlink 4-19 from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida

June 28: CRS-25 from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida

June 28: SES 22 from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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Globalstar spare satellite to launch on SpaceX rocket this month Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

SpaceX's satellite internet service is embroiled in a new regulatory spat, this time over plans to let customers use Starlink dishes on moving vehicles, including cars and boats.

In a Tuesday letter(Opens in a new window) to the FCC, Dish Network argues SpaceX breaks the commissions rules by allegedly tacitly encouraging Starlink customers to use their dishes on moving vehicles.

An increasing number of Starlink users are acting on SpaceXs call to unauthorized activity, and are using their Starlink terminals in motion; and some of them are enthusiastically telling the world about it, further propagating the idea that nothing is wrong with this violation of Commission rules, Dish wrote in the letter, which follows a separate complaint(Opens in a new window) sent last month.

SpaceX is still waiting for FCC clearance that would allow consumers to operate Starlink in moving cars, boats, and planes. However, Dish Network claims SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been encouraging users to try their Starlink dishes on moving vehicles, citing his tweets.

Most notably, Musk wrote(Opens in a new window) last month: Starlink does work on vehicles in motion, including planes, but not yet reliably, after the company launched Starlink RV, which is officially designed only for stationary purposes.

Dish Network alleges these statements actively encourage and solicit Starlink customers to break these rules. The company is also concerned any unauthorized mobile Starlink use will interfere with Dishs own satellite TV service.

Starlink ESIMs (Earth stations in motion) may activate Starlink beams in areas where satellites would not otherwise have been active, threatening satellite television customers in the area, the company added.

As additional evidence, Dish Network pointed to how Starlink customers have been posting photos on social media showing their dishes being used on moving boats and vehicles. Many others are likely doing the same without posting about it on social media, and many among the viewers are likely to emulate the unauthorized operations, the company added.

Dish Network letter to the FCC

Dish is asking the FCC to require SpaceX to publicly clarify that using Starlink in a moving vehicle is illegal. The letter also calls on the commission to crack down on the violations.

SpaceX is pushing back. On Wednesday, the company sent its own letter(Opens in a new window) to the FCC, which notes that SpaceXs customer agreement(Opens in a new window) for Starlink clearly states IN-MOTION USE PROHIBITED, and that doing so will void the warranty.

SpaceX also says Dish takes Musks tweets out of context. SpaceX has an experimental license to test Starlink on planes, and this is what Musks tweet was referring to, the letter says.

Dish then claims the American public does not have the aptitude to understand whether the new RV service can be used while in motion, while also recognizing that the SpaceX website(Opens in a new window) specifically states that 'Starlink for RVs is not designed for use while in motion,'" SpaceX adds.

The letter goes on to urge the FCC to approve its application to operate Starlink dishes in moving vehicles. The regulatory spat coincides with a separate Dish and SpaceX feud over securing 5G 12GHz spectrum to run their satellite services.

The Commission should put a quick end to Dishs feeble publicity stunts, SpaceX added. Dish has made clear that it will continue these time-wasting antics so long as the Commission fails to close the 12GHz proceeding or to grant SpaceXs applications to provide high-throughput, low-latency broadband service to American consumers in motion.

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Dish Feuds With SpaceX Over Starlink Dishes Being Used on Moving Boats, Cars - PCMag

If the stars align right, SpaceX and NASA may make 2022 the year of the heavy-lift rocket. The Starship/Superheavy and the Space Launch System (SLS) are two different launch vehicles, the first pushing the envelope of rocket design, the latter hearkening back to the past. Both are designed to, at long last, open the moon, then Mars, then beyond, to human exploration.

According to Space.com, NASA has announced that it intends to roll out the Space Launch System to launchpad 39B on June 6. The space agency intends to conduct a second wet dress rehearsal on the launch vehicle, which will constitute the steps needed for an actual launch, including the filling then draining of the fuel tanks. If the test is successful, NASA plans to launch the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission around the moon as early as August.

When the Starship/Superheavy might launch on its first orbital test flight is unknown. On May 31, when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had promised to issue the Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA), the agencyissued another delay, for two weeks.The excuse this time is the need for ongoing interagency consultations. Besides environmental considerations, SpaceX must meet safety, risk and financial responsibility requirements before the FAA will sign off on orbital launch tests.

SpaceX COO and President Gwynne Shotwell recently opined that the company might be able to launch an orbital test in June or July.Teslarati suggeststhat June is extremely unrealistic, even before the latest delay of the PEA. July may be possible. August seems more likely, but only if there are no more delays from the FAA and the Starship/Superheavy passes all the ground tests, including cryogenic tank filling and static firing.

Another fly in the ointment has arisen in the form of a lawsuit filed by a number of entities, including the Sierra Club.According to Space.Com, the suit was filed, against the Texas General Land Office, Texas land commissioner George P. Bush and Cameron County in Texas for closing Boca Chica Beach periodically forSpaceXoperations during Starship tests. The suit claims that the amendment to the Open Beaches Act that allows SpaceX to close the beach violates the Texas state Constitution.

In any case, should the FAA finally grant the authority for SpaceX to start orbital flights, and should a judge not take that authorization away, Elon Musks company will finally be able to proceed with tests of its giant rocket ship. Both the SpaceX Starship/Superheavy and the NASA Space Launch System may fly by the end of 2022, perhaps even by the end of summer.

The Artemis 1 missionwill be the more ambitious of the two, the SLS will loft an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to the moon. The spacecraft will pass about 62 miles over the surface of the moon before going into a retrograde orbit 40,000 miles above the lunar surface. After six days, the Orion will return to Earth, passing 60 miles over the lunar surface before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California, if all goes as planned.

The first Starship/Superheavy flightis planned to be more modest. The Superheavy will loft the Starship into low Earth orbit before splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico. The Starship is expected to fly part-way around the Earth before being brought down in the Pacific near the Hawaiian Islands.

Both tests are planned to be followed by others, leading to the day, as early as 2025, when the Orion is expected to dock with the Starship in lunar orbit, transferring two astronauts. Then the Starship would take the first humans from the planet Earth to the lunar surface since 1972 during the mission of Apollo 17.

The Space Launch System was expensive to develop and will be expensive to operate. The SLS is likely the last of the totally expendable rockets that the United States will ever build. Nevertheless, NASA plans on flying the rocket for at least 30 years.

The Starship/Superheavy constitutes a quantum leap in space technology. Each stage of the launch vehicle is designed to land back on Earth, much like the first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9, to be refurbished and reused in short order. With refueling, the rocket can deliver 100 metric tons of cargo and passengers to the moon, Mars and beyond. It will be the very first true spaceship.

Two very different rockets, the SLS and the Starship/Superheavy, will restart human deep space exploration.

MarkR.Whittingtonis the authorofspace explorationstudiesWhy is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?as well asThe Moon, Mars and Beyond,andWhy is America Going Back to the Moon?He blogs atCurmudgeons Corner.

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Will SpaceX and NASA make 2022 the year of the heavy-lift rocket? - The Hill

Dave Tremper, who oversees electronic warfare from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, recentlysharedthe Department of Defense was impressed with SpaceXs ability to rapidly thwart a Russian electronic attack on their Starlink constellation.

He said that from the EW [electronic warfare] technologists perspective, that is fantastic, and that how they did that was eye-watering.

He later stated that this agility is something the US military needs. I agree with that; however, with his earlier comments, not so much.

Were SpaceXs efforts impressive? Yes.

Was this eye-watering? No.

Was this even EW? Debatable.

To be blunt, SpaceXs actions have been learned and relearned by numerous EW warriors over time. Those lessons, however, never seem to generate traction beyond observation and then a distant memory.

As one of many examples: on September 1, 2001, I pinned on Major and was appointed Wing Weapons Officer to the 355thfor the EC-130H Compass Call. Just days later, our nation was attacked.

As the Wing Weapons Officer, I pointed out that one of our newly installed jammers had the physical ability to counter a heavily used Taliban communications system.

However, the air force had not paid for the associated software, inhibiting the operator from employing the systems full range. My point was noted and appeared to be dismissed.

We were soon flying combat missions over Afghanistan. I continued to raise the issue until someone with enough power heard my plea.

Quickly, Air Combat Command, Air Staff, and others scrambled to respond. They sent the software engineer who designed the weapon system. Before each mission launch, he cracked open the operational flight program normally taboo.

He rewrote the code daily, creating an opportunity for the aircrew to use the system to its full ability. I had never seen such a thing.

Through my time deployed, I truly enjoyed speaking with this man. He was nearly a doppelganger of the Grateful DeadsJerry Garcia. During our talks, hed share stories of the amazing capabilities of this jammer (and others) and how other engineer friends lamented over true EW possibilities. I ate up every word.

After months deployed, I returned to the US and was asked by the lead weapon system contractor to speak to their engineers.This request raised massive red flags across senior military staff, far senior to my position as a major.

Their concern? An operator speaking directly to engineers could only mean one thing: more money. To this day, some associated with the weapon system at the military commands are still angered by this.

Thats my Starlink story, and while it may be new to some, it likely isnt all that different to many others across the EW world. Ive personally heard many.

Id also say the tactic employed by SpaceX wasnt all that unique. They employed the mass Principle of War; they flooded the zone, a tactic used in football, basketball, chess, checkers, and many others.

In fairness, Tremper is justified in raising the issue of SpaceX and Starlink, albeit, I think for different reasons.

First, the distance between operators and engineers at SpaceX is extremely short. From my experience, this is quite different in the US military.

As a young officer, I was often stifled from even commenting on capabilities engineers would discuss. It was akin to a child told to ignore all the candy in Wonkas Chocolate Factory.

Perhaps this is different in other military communities outside of electronic warfare, I can only speak from my experience.

Secondly, while I was happy to seeElon Muskand Starlink rapidly thwart Russian jamming, its worth pointing out it took a guy with (forgive my language) FU Money to make it happen.

More to the point, consider this hypothetical. Suppose Starlink was a military program, and the DoD asked the contractor to flood satellites over Ukraine.

Id suggest this is how that unfolds. After a few days, a well-prepared stack of papers laying out the cost of contracting, engineering, satellite recoding, satellite movement from optimum orbits, etcetera would be placed on a high-level officials desk in the Pentagon.

The total cost would likely exceed what the DoD would be willing to resource. Even if the DoD wanted to take such action, they probably wouldnt have immediate access to funds to execute.

The result? The departments answer would be, Thanks, but we will just work through the jamming.

Third, SpaceX engineers compensations are far better than the vast majority of their counterparts working for or in support of the DoD.

It also appears that there are far fewer engineers at SpaceX, relative to mission size and scope. Most have decision-making authority and are not blanketed under layers and layers of bureaucracy. Money, however, is only a portion of the issue.

For newly graduating engineer students, two of the top three companies identified as their dream job were Tesla and SpaceX. These companies get their pick of the litter and the chance to groom the cream of the crop.

While SpaceX has a vertically integrated, leaned out manpower, gave decision-making authority to the lowest levels, and created a competitive market for highly specialized skills, what has DoD EW done?

Arguably, gone the other way. Specific to the US Air Force, there are no longer Electronic Warfare Officers intensely trained on theelectromagnetic spectrum (EMS); instead, there are now hybrid Combat Systems Operators who receive generalized training across various disciplines.

At the DoD, there are more people associated with EW, however, most of them are tangential and have other higher priority responsibilities. Additionally, most personnel are horizontally integrated, and few have decision authority.

My point is not to criticize the US Air Force or DoD. There are benefits and reasons for the steps theyve taken.

However, Im pointing out that DoD leadership likely cant have their cake and eat it too. Specifically, they cant expect to mimic Starlinks EMS warriors if they arent willing to mimic SpaceXs from and funding, organizational, and staffing perspective.

While I realize some will see this article critical of those currently in EW leadership, Id ask they see past my harsh tone. Im appreciative theres an EW discussion at Trempers level and that it made it into media. On some levels, thats a win.

I am also hopeful conduits between operators and engineers can be fostered, with Congressional appropriators or authorizers creating funding for good ideas beyond the bounds of those in the Pentagon and the Major Command who only see turmoil when operators and engineers meet.

And my final hope, if my EW Jerry Garcia is still out there, Id love to link back up and hoist a beer. I truly miss our discussions and enjoyed every minute we had together. You know who you are, even if the world doesnt, and your efforts made the Taliban a lonely, isolated bunch. Our nation owes you a huge debt for being a plain-clothes civilian who came forward to fight.

Colonel (Retired)Jeffrey H. Fischer(@JeffFisch), US Air Force, is a 30-year Military Aviator, Electronic Warfare Officer with seven combat tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans.

He flew both the Air Forces EC-130H Compass Call and the EA-6B Prowler while on a joint exchange with the US Navy, seeing considerable combat time in both airframes.

Additionally, Jeff served as a Defense Official at the US Embassy in Kosovo.

Jeff holds a masters degree from National Defense University and is the author ofLIVE RANGE. All royalties fromthis fiction thrillerwill go to Ukrainian Relief Efforts.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the US government.

The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Defense Post.

The Defense Post aims to publish a wide range of high-quality opinion and analysis from a diverse array of people do you want to send us yours?Click hereto submit an op-ed.

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Russia, SpaceX, and Electronic Warfare: Its Dj Vu All Over Again - The Defense Post

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. Families from around the country will be watching SpaceXs upcoming ride-share mission tomorrow with special interest.

Thats because its also a memorial flight.

On Wednesday, SpaceX will launch its latest ride-share mission, Transporter-5, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Among the numerous small satellites headed into orbit is a Celestis memorial spaceflight mission, called the Ascension Flight.

Celestis is set to fly a portion of the cremated remains of 47 people into space.

Participants will be launched into Earth orbit with a satellite. Theyll stay attached to that satellite that orbits the Earth for at least a decade, said Celestis CEO and co-founder Charles Chafer.

On Tuesday, those families held a memorial service to honor their loved ones before tomorrows mission.

Read: Brevard family honors a loved one, plans to launch his remains into space

A small portion of Marjorie Duftons cremated remains will be making the trip. Her son Michael told Channel 9 she was a trailblazer.

She had been invited to participate in the womens space program for the Mercury Program back in the early 60s. Before she was actually able to get into the program itself, they disbanded the entire womens program. That was one of her biggest disappointments in life although she went on to achieve many, many, things. She was a real adventurer. And this is my way of fulfilling that last wish, said Michael Dufton.

Read: Texas school shooting live updates: 14 students, 1 teacher, gunman dead in Uvalde

Melissa Teston hopes to do the same for her brother, Derek Yanes. The Tampa native would watch the Florida skies for rocket launches. Yanes was born with a condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia that kept him from joining the space program.

While he never would have met the physical capabilities of an earthly astronaut, hes able to become a heavenly astronaut, said Teston.

Read: Check your ticket: Unclaimed Florida Lottery ticket worth $100K set to expire in a week

For families, flights range from about $2,500 to $12,000, depending on the journey.

Wednesdays launch is scheduled to lift off at 2:35 p.m.

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

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SpaceX launch will send cremated remains of loved ones into space on Wednesday - WFTV Orlando

NASA and SpaceX are targeting Tuesday, June 7, 2022, for the launch of the 25th cargo resupply services mission (SpaceX CRS-25) to the International Space Station (ISS).

The cargo Dragon will lift off on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the crew aboard the space station. This includes studies of the immune system, wound healing, soil communities, and an instrument to map the composition of Earth's dust, among others.

The SpaceX Dragon will carry the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) instrument that measures the mineral composition of dust in Earth's arid regions, creating a map that could improve understanding of how dust affects people and communities. Developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, EMIT will be installed on the exterior of the space station to map mineral dust blown into the air.

Other studies include:

More information can be found here.

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SpaceX's 25th cargo mission to ISS launching early next month: All you need to know - Devdiscourse