Stephen C. Smith

Stephen C. Smith

@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

Writing about space policy and politics, from the Space Coast of Florida. Now retired after ten years doing public education at Kennedy Space Center. You can also find me on Counter.Social at the same handle, and on Substack at TheSpacePundit.com.

656 followers163 following2.5K posts

Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

From #TMZ: Actor Walter Koeing has passed away at age 90. He was best known for his roles on #StarTrek and #Babylon5. He was also a prolific author. I met him a few times. He was good friends with Joe Straczynski, B5 creator. If you knew Joe, you knew Walter. www.tmz.com/2026/10/26/w...

tmz.com'Star Trek' Actor Walter Koenig Dead at 90Walter Koenig -- the TV star best known for playing Ensign Pavel Chekov in the original "Star Trek" series -- has died ... TMZ has learned.
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump #Russia #Ukraine My latest #Substack. Four years ago today, Elon #Musk strolled into #Twitter carrying a sink to symbolize how he was going to break the company to see what happened. Four years later, he broke #Starshield to see what happened. wordsmithfl.substack.com/p/starblame

wordsmithfl.substack.comStarblameUkraine’s Starshield defense system appears to have been restored after a ten-day outage. White House officials blame Elon Musk, who says it’s up to the president.
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Baseball We're not seeing the World Series here in Florida because Fox Sports thinks it's more important to show us a college football game's overtime than to show us the World Series pregame show. Fox Sports seriously has their priorities wrong.

Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Musk #Ukraine #Russia The evil one has finally spoken. He says Ukraine had #Starshield throttled because it violated his terms of service. He still doesn't quite say it was him or Trump or the US military who did it.

Stephen C. Smith reposted

Marc Elias
@marcelias.bsky.social

🚨BREAKING: On behalf of Mary Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Elias Law Group has filed to fight DOJ's lawsuit to rig the Alaska Senate election. We will win this case, Mary will win this election, she will be certified and seated.

Stephen C. Smith reposted

Marc Elias
@marcelias.bsky.social

🚨BREAKING: The Trump administration’s campaign to obtain states’ unredacted voter rolls suffered its 27th consecutive district court loss Friday, this time at the hands of a judge appointed by President Donald Trump. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

democracydocket.comTrump-appointed judge delivers DOJ its 27th straight loss in voter roll crusadeBarlow, whom Trump nominated to the federal bench in 2019, ruled that Utah’s statewide voter registration list falls outside the scope of Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 — the law DOJ has re...
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump #Ukraine #Russia BREAKING from @nytimes.com: Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner have been secretly negotiating for a Russian energy company to have #Alaska gas mining rights, with a #UAE company as a cover, as part of a Ukraine war settlement. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/u...

nytimes.comIn U.S. Gas Talks With Kremlin, Hidden Financing for Alaska Project Emerges (Gift Article)Interviews and documents show a Russian energy giant secretly funded a U.S. firm. The deal has been discussed in talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump #Ukraine #Russia Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X-Twitter says that they have an agreement with Kushner-Witkoff to hold a trilateral meeting "at the team level" with the US and Russia in November. There was a similar agreement for October but Russia bailed. x.com/ZelenskyyUa/...

x.comVolodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) on XMy team and I spoke with President Trump’s envoys – Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. We talked about the results of the meetings in Oslo and St. Petersburg, and how we can move diplomacy forward this ...
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump #Musk #Ukraine #Russia Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X-Twitter says that #Starshield still hasn't been restored over Ukraine. "The speed limits on Starlink and Starshield are still there. The speed has not been restored." x.com/ZelenskyyUa/...

x.comVolodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) on XThe speed limits on Starlink and Starshield are still there. The speed has not been restored. And the delivery of interceptors to protect us against Russian ballistic missiles is still delayed. We’re ...
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump #Musk #Ukraine #Russia From #Politico: "Ukrainian interceptors still cannot use the internet at high speed to shoot down Russian attack drones or conduct mid-strike operations as of Friday morning, Ukrainian officials and a drone operator said ..." www.politico.eu/article/star...

politico.euStarlink still restricted for Ukraine despite Trump saying Musk lifted speed limitsAlthough some Ukrainian drone pilots have reported a marked improvement, there are still “constant connection interruptions.”
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump #Musk #Ukraine #Russia Multiple media reporting this morning that #Starshield still isn't working properly over Ukraine. Which has me wondering if whatever tweak they made to throttle Starshield can't be fixed as easily as Elon thought. Typical.

Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics From @cbsnews.com: Uniformed federal agents are going door to door in several states demanding people tell them their residency status and their voter registration status. www.cbsnews.com/news/federal...

cbsnews.comFederal agents knock on doors to track down possible noncitizen voters ahead of midtermsArmed and in uniform, agents from the Department of Homeland Security have been knocking on doors to ask residents about their immigration status whether they're registered to vote.
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump Breaking from @nytimes.com: Former Trump lawyer Alina Habba took $50 million from a billionaire seeking a presidential pardon for his campaign finance conviction. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/20/u...

nytimes.comA Billionaire Wanted a Trump Pardon. His Family Gave Alina Habba a $50 Million Deal. (Gift Article)Julio Herrera Velutini, a prominent Venezuelan, was seeking clemency. He got it not long after his daughter gave Ms. Habba, a lawyer close to President Trump, an extraordinarily lucrative job.
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump #Ukraine #Russia Mediaite has a report that's not behind a paywall on the #WSJ article. The gist of it is that Trump and Musk collaborated on the decision, but Musk ordered the slowdown. If a CEO can give a military order, we have a problem. www.mediaite.com/media/news/e...

mediaite.comElon Musk Starlink 'Slowdown' Caused 'Confusion' in AdminElon Musk ordered a "slowdown" to Starlink in Ukraine that set off a "panic" in the country and "confusion inside" the Trump administration.
Stephen C. Smith@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump #Ukraine #Russia Breaking: #WSJ reports that Elon #Musk was the one who ordered the slowdown of #Starlink / #Starshield. It's behind a paywall so awaiting confirmation from elsewhere. (Archive.ph doesn't have it yet.) www.wsj.com/world/ukrain...

archive.pharchive.ph

Stephen C. Smith reposted

Marc Elias
@marcelias.bsky.social

President Donald Trump has no legitimate grounds to order the seizure of ballots or voting machines during this year’s midterm elections. But the dismal reality is he may try anyway. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

democracydocket.comSeizing ballots would be an illegal attack on democracy. Trump might try anywayIn bitter irony, disrupting the chain of custody would enable the very kind of “Deep State” vote-count rigging that the pro-Trump conspiracy theorists say they fear.

Stephen C. Smith reposted

Marc Elias
@marcelias.bsky.social

The Trump administration launched a sweeping operation in California Monday, arresting 11 people and charging 28 lawful permanent residents with election and immigration-related crimes as it seeks to bolster a lawsuit targeting more than 20,000 voters. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

democracydocket.comTrump DOJ’s California crackdown rests on 25 potentially illegal votes out of 45 million ballots castThe potential illegal voting identified by DOJ is painstakingly microscopic.
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump Breaking from @latimes.com: Department of Homeland Security has begun arresting #California voters, charging them with voting illegally. www.latimes.com/california/s...

latimes.comFeds arrest alleged noncitizen voters in California amid broader election fight with stateFederal authorities have charged 28 people from across California with illegally registering to vote or casting ballots in federal elections despite not being U.S. citizens — escalating an election ba...
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Space #NASA For those interested in ordering my space book (and others), the University Press of #Florida has a 50% off sale through December 18. One of these books might make a nice stocking stuffer. Use the promo code 31SHOT26 at checkout to get 50% off. floridapress.org/31shot26/

floridapress.orgSociety for the History of Technology Sale - University Press of FloridaShop our book sale for the 2026 conference of the Society for the History of Technology.

Stephen C. Smith reposted

Anatoly Zak
@anatolyzak.bsky.social

A classified Russian spacecraft makes unprecedented close approach to an imaging satellite supporting Ukraine. Context: russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft-m...

russianspaceweb.comSoyuz rocket launches a military payloadMilitary launch on April 17, 2026
Jonathan McDowell@planet4589.bsky.social

This afternoon's orbital data suggests - subject to confirmation - that Russia's Kosmos-2612 has carried out a rendezvous with the US ICEYE X36 radar sat, within a few km. To my knowledge this is the first LEO rendezvous of two active sats where the owner of one of the sats did not give approval.

Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump #Russia #Ukraine In the video, Rubio claims Ukraine doesn't have a contract for #Starshield. That is a lie. The contract was signed in December 2024 by the #Biden adminsitration. archive.ph/tPGdp

archive.pharchive.ph
Stephen C. Smith@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Russia MUST WATCH: Marco Rubio tells CSPAN that #Starshield is "unavailable" to #Ukraine at this time. Rubio claims no one in the US government ordered Starshield to be limited for Ukraine. Rubio also says Zelenskyy doesn't know what he's talking about. www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2ZE...

youtube.comSecretary Rubio Says Starshield Not Available to UkraineYouTube video by C-SPAN
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump From @washingtonpost.com: #Russia should have its own #Starshield sometime in 2027, posing a major threat to #Ukraine. Comment .. Elon #Musk still hasn't commented on the Telegraph report that he told Trump to cripple Starshield. No other media have confirmed it. wapo.st/4yPx0PD

wapo.stAs Ukraine worries about Starlink access, Russia is developing a system to match itKyiv is pushing President Donald Trump for continued access to the military version of Elon Musk’s satellite internet service.
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

From Zelenskyy on X: "A U.S. sanctions blackout, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin – all of this only encourages him to keep attacking. We must not give up ground. We must keep trying to end the war. To end it, not give Putin every reason to continue it indefinitely."

Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump #Russia #Ukraine From Christopher Miller of the Financial Times, posting on X. "Interceptor drones can't function, logistics and operations hobbled." #Starshield restrictions remain over Ukraine but not the European Union.

Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Russia #Ukraine I've just posted my latest #Substack about how the US military Starshield system throttled Ukraine's defenses. We also look at the breaking news that perhaps Elon #Musk suggested to Donald #Trump that the US throttle Starshield. wordsmithfl.substack.com/p/shields-down

wordsmithfl.substack.comShields DownSomeone in the US government restricted Ukraine’s use of Starshield, a military communications satellite network, to defend itself during a Russian attack.
Stephen C. Smith
@wordsmithfl.bsky.social

#Politics #Trump #Ukraine #Russia Breaking: #Reuters confirms the US News and World Report article that the order to restrict Ukraine on #Starshield came from inside the White House. www.reuters.com/world/europe...

reuters.comEXCLUSIVE: Order to limit Starshield for Ukraine came from inside White House, sources sayThe order to limit a satellite system used by Ukraine ​for battlefield communications and drone operations came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a Western official briefe...