SpaceKate

I’m at the Defence in Space conference in London, and I have to admit I’m out of my comfort zone here. I’m more about science, exploration and wonder than militarisation.

As expected, the Prime Minister's promise to sort out the mess of funding for Jodrell actually meant nothing - it seems the government would like it to be some sort of heritage theme park when you can go and see where we used to do science. 🔭

Splashdown! Welcome home! Will miss Sophie Adenot’s videos from the ISS! #Crew12

Kinda weird to hear SpaceX talking about all the things Dragon/F9 can do that other spacecraft can’t when they are also talking about retiring it even if there are customers like NASA and Vast. #Crew12

Goodness. What an exhausting but fulfilling week. Two SpaceWise Academy courses delivered. Two more cohorts graduated and plenty of excitement. Only just catching up on news and I see Margaret Hamilton has died. RIP, coding legend. www.theregister.com/software/202... Now to watch Crew 12 splashdown

SECO! Nominal orbit insertion’ congrats #Crew13

Always happy to hear calls for “nominal trajectory”, or “nominal” anything tbh. #Crew13

And they’re off!

We are GO for launch #Crew13

🚀ROCKET LAUNCH ALERT🚀 SpaceX Falcon9 with Crew13 is due to launch in just under 20 minutes (weather/tech allowing). You can watch the live coverage here: www.youtube.com/live/7ZiUbT1... currently tracking no issues and right now weather is Go! #Crew13

Congratulations SpaceX on getting Starship orbital for the first time. They are deploying Starlink satellites now and already made contact with the first two. Still - a few more Raptor 3 issues that need ironing out, but not enough to mean another hard splashdown for the Super Heavy booster.

I was walking on Hornsea beach today and I found a cool rock - I’m sure you bonafide space nerds can guess what space object/mission it immediately brought to mind… Answers on a postcard! 😉

Did they set-up the booster landing camera on the wrong landing site?! We saw one come in, I heard the sonic booms of the second, but nothing appeared of the second pad they were filming. Kinda odd. They did confirm good landing though…

And we have lift off!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wq3...

Ooh cute - you can adopt a pixel from one of Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s first images. Check out go.nasa.gov/adoptapixel - they just launched the site during the launch livestream. You get a little certificate too - great for kids (and big kids!).

Under 20 minutes until the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. They are at 70% go (I assume due to weather) and hopeful of a good launch on a Falcon Heavy. Tune in on NASA’s YouTube channel now!

It’s one week until the eclipse! You’ve still got time to sort out your glasses! Many good brands available, just make sure they have the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard! www.theastroholic.co.uk/august-solar...

Do we have any images from Danuri yet? How long until LRO passes over the SpaceX upper stage impact site?

Nada, niente, nichts, nothing, niets...... T +1 min, T + 2.5 min (during brief moments of cloud clearing) (but we knew this would be a long shot - certainly during daylight)

SpaceX moves Starship launch attempt to Thursday reut.rs/4vA7ZWf

A ‘hold’ was triggered on the booster and there was an abort on the start/up of the booster. It’s a scrub for today.

Just over 25 min until potential launch of Starship 13. Let’s see what this flight has in store shall we?

RE: https://social.heise.de/@heiseonlineenglish/116871871889687701 The increasing 📈 number of rocket launches is leading to a growing number of dangerous objects in space, as shown by a recently published analysis #SpaceDebris

I just can't get my head around the fact that this bizarre object is whizzing through space at insane speed.

The JAXA press conference on the Hayabusa 2 flyby of asteroid Torifune will stream at 7:00 UTC on www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptnV...

relevant size comparison:

This is the image I've been waiting for! This is Earth's current quasi moon! There is a chance, this is a chunk of Moon that was cast off during an asteroid impact. YAY <insert muppet flail gif>

Okay - who can tell me more about the lunar Frankenrover ‘Promise’? “a hybrid engineering development version of the Mars Perseverance and Curiosity rovers”?! www.nasa.gov/news-release...

No gongs for me last night, but some delightful conversations and new connections made. Super proud of Anushka Sharma for winning her category and inspired by Motion House dance troupe to try regain some core strength post surgery! #TheHazels

Ok you guys. Here’s the deal. The M7.1 in Venezuela was upgraded to a M7.2. AND it was followed shortly by a M7.5. Not good.

Oh crikey this looks bad. :(

“Humans beat robots hands down when it comes to adaptability” says Helen Sharman. #TheHazels

Great to hear from first British astronaut Helen Sharman at #TheHazels. “Talking as an astronaut..” - what a way to start a sentence! 😍

UNOOSA Launches African Space Law Initiative #UNOOSA & #ASI will run a space law mission in #Kenya to build regulatory frameworks. 🔗 https://spacewatch.global/2026/06/unoosa-announces-space-law-advisory-mission-in-kenya-later-this-year-in-partnership-with-the-italian-space-agency/ #SpaceWatchNews

France reports first Ebola case after doctor returning from DR Congo tests positive

I’ve officially resigned as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. It used to be a reputable journal, but became a case study in how forced automation destroys academic integrity. 👇

I am now dashing to see a friend to watch Maisie Adams be funny, please keep me updated on anything that I missed in the announcement (scrawled some notes ahead of radio i/v but then on-air and dashing out of house. Any press Qs or just fancy event and done? #ArtemisIII

“Luca is precise, composed, and determined” says ESA DG Josef Aschbacher of newly announced Artemis III pilot Luca Parmitano.

Commander Randy Bresnik, Pilot Luca Parmitano, and Mission Specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas - welcome to your new Artemis III crew. Ad Astra!

Woohooo! So pleased for Luca Parmitano! Great to see him named on the Artemis III crew! Also great to be on air on BbC World Service with ESA reserve astronaut Meganne Christian.

Getting excited to hear what will be said in the #ArtemisIII crew announcement… will we get a target date? Update on Blue Origin? Axiom suits? Quite possibly not, but I’m sure the journos in the room will try asking…

🌕 Our third European Service Module's journey so far, from Europe to Florida… now ready to power humankind's next great journey 🚀. 📢 Tune in at 17:30 CEST 🔗 t.co/633lVaJuv6

Actually looks like they have delayed to 4.30pm - and ESA is also streaming on their YouTube. Looks like an ESA astronaut will be part of the crew - shame they don’t get to go as far as the Moon. #ArtemisIII

NASA is announcing the #ArtemisIII crew tomorrow (4pm UK time) - do you think we will get more information on the mission? Orbit? Whether astronauts will be able to enter the HLS? Axiom Moon suit testing? And importantly - whether the Blue Origin explosion is likely to cause delays?