Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy will welcome a team from SpaceX to the Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia on Monday as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) looks to Elon Musk&#8217;s company for advice on making &#8220;a new, better, modern and safer system.&#8221;
SpaceX, the leading rocket and spacecraft company in the world, will visit the FAA&#8217;s command center shortly after multiple deadly plane crashes sent shockwaves through the United States in recent weeks. In a <a href="https://x.com/SecDuffy/status/1891310401800872114" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on X on Sunday, Duffy said he wants to seek &#8220;advice from the brightest minds in America&#8221; to follow through on President Donald Trump&#8217;s desire to improve the country&#8217;s air traffic control system.
&#8220;I’m asking for help from any high-tech American developer or company that is willing to give back to our country,&#8221; Duffy wrote. &#8220;Tomorrow, members of @elonmusk’s SpaceX team will be visiting the Air Traffic Control System Command Center in VA to get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system.&#8221;
Musk replied to Duffy&#8217;s post, writing, &#8220;The safety of air travel is a non-partisan matter. SpaceX engineers will help make air travel safer.&#8221;
As the Trump administration continues to give Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project more power and oversight of federal government agencies, Duffy attempted to get ahead of any criticism over his invitation to the SpaceX team.
&#8220;Because I know the media (and Hillary Clinton) will claim Elon’s team is getting special access, let me make clear that the [FAA] regularly gives tours of the command center to both media and companies,&#8221; he wrote.
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The Trump administration fired around 400 probationary FAA workers over the weekend, according to the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, a union representing FAA and Department of Defense employees. Those terminated included environmental compliance workers, aeronautical information specialists, maintenance workers, and mechanics, USA Today <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/17/faa-workers-fired-trump-plane-helicopter-collision/78956241007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
On January 29, just over a week after Trump took office, an American Airlines flight with 64 people on board collided midair with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River. All 64 on the American Airlines flight, along with three servicemembers on the helicopter, died in the crash, marking the first deadly commercial plane crash on U.S. soil since 2009. Days later, a medical jet with six people on board crashed in Philadelphia, killing everyone on the plane and one person on the ground.
Federal investigators are trying to determine the cause of the midair collision over the Potomac. On Friday, the National Transportation Safety Board said the Black Hawk helicopter could have had bad data, making one pilot believe they were flying at 300 feet while the other pilot thought they were at 400 feet. The NTSB added that air traffic control&#8217;s instructions for the helicopter to go behind the incoming American Airlines flight could have been missed if one of the pilots keyed her radio at the same time as the message from air traffic control came through, ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/dc-plane-crash-new-details-emerge-ntsb-investigation/story?id=118820142" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Following the collision, President Trump said his administration would &#8220;restore faith in American air travel,&#8221; adding that air traffic controllers must be &#8220;our smartest people.&#8221;
&#8220;It doesn’t matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are. &#8230; They have to be talented, naturally talented. Geniuses. Can’t have regular people doing their job,&#8221; Trump said in a White House press briefing.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-initiates-review-of-all-faa-workers-in-critical-safety-positions">Trump Initiates Review Of All FAA Workers In &#8216;Critical Safety Positions&#8217;</a>

Elon Musk

SpaceX Team To Visit FAA Command Center, Advise Transportation Secretary On ‘Safer System’

Air and Space

Air Travel

Department of Transportation

Politics

Sean Duffy

SpaceX

Transportation

Trump Administration

President Donald Trump has tasked SpaceX founder Elon Musk with returning two stranded veteran NASA astronauts to Earth after their Boeing Starliner — the company’s first manned spacecraft — <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/astronauts-on-boeings-first-manned-craft-have-been-stuck-in-space-for-2-months-nasa-still-isnt-sure-when-it-will-get-them-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">malfunctioned</a> while approaching the International Space Station (ISS) last June.
In a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113909188940119917" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on Truth Social Tuesday night, Trump blasted former President Joe Biden for &#8220;virtually abandon[ing]&#8221; astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams and said he asked Musk to focus on sending a spacecraft to the ISS to retrieve the American astronauts.
&#8220;I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to &#8216;go get&#8217; the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration,&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!&#8221;
Wilmore and Williams initially left Earth for the ISS on June 5 for what was supposed to be an eight-day mission. The Boeing Starliner carrying them, however, sprang leaks and lost multiple thrusters as it approached the ISS. After initially considering returning the astronauts on the Boeing Starliner — which Boeing insisted would be safe — NASA ultimately decided against it and hatched a plan late last year to use Musk&#8217;s SpaceX Dragon capsule to retrieve the astronauts. That plan was delayed in December when NASA and SpaceX mission teams said they needed more time to prepare the SpaceX craft, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/28/science/elon-musk-stranded-astronauts-spacex/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
A mission to return Wimore and Williams was pushed back from February to &#8220;no earlier than late March,&#8221; NASA said in a <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-10/2024/12/17/nasa-adjusts-crew-10-launch-date/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> in December. It&#8217;s unclear if Trump asked Musk to bring the astronauts back to Earth sooner than what NASA outlined in its December statement. Musk said on X on Tuesday that Trump requested the astronauts be brought home &#8220;as soon as possible.&#8221;
&#8220;The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so,&#8221; Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1884365928038563880" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. &#8220;Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.&#8221;
During an interview with former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson earlier this month, Wilmore and Williams said they &#8220;have plenty of clothes&#8221; and &#8220;are well fed.&#8221;
“It’s just a great team and — no, it doesn’t feel like we’re castaways,&#8221; said Williams, adding, “Eventually we want to go home because we left our families a little while ago, but we have a lot to do while we’re up here.”

Donald Trump

Trump Asks Elon Musk To ‘Go Get’ NASA Astronauts Stuck On Space Station

Executive

International Space Station (ISS)

NASA

Elon Musk&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/spacex" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpaceX</a> successfully caught its Super Heavy Booster for a second time after the launch of its Starship megarocket — the largest rocket in the world — on Thursday.
The launch for Starship&#8217;s 7th test flight at its Starbase in south Texas took place in clear conditions. Just seven-and-a-half minutes after launching Starship into orbit, the Heavy Booster, which is 232 feet tall, returned to the launch pad and was caught by two massive metal arms that Musk calls &#8220;chopsticks.&#8221; The feat marks the second time SpaceX has caught its rocket with the chopsticks after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/looked-like-magic-spacex-successfully-launches-super-heavy-booster-returns-it-to-launch-tower" target="_blank" rel="noopener">making history</a> with the new engineering achievement in October.
&#8220;We caught the rocket!!&#8221; Musk posted on X.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
We caught the rocket!! 🚀 
<a href="https://t.co/gVv34W9l2n">pic.twitter.com/gVv34W9l2n</a> <a href="https://t.co/o0vA3XXi8L">pic.twitter.com/o0vA3XXi8L</a>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1880025214463144071?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="SpaceX Catches Super Heavy Starship 7 Rocket Booster" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NMgPE7frhMw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Catching the rocket is important for the space company as it hopes to eventually catch the Starship spacecraft itself, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/science/live-news/starship-test-flight-7-launch-spacex/index.html?t=1737068722896" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported,</a> a development that could save SpaceX money and time as it pushes forward to achieve Musk&#8217;s goal of colonizing Mars.
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Shortly after Starship launched into orbit, SpaceX lost communication with the spacecraft, and it was lost.
&#8220;We can confirm that we did lose the ship,” said SpaceX engineer Kate Tice, according to CNN.
Starship, which was on a test flight, was supposed to go around Earth and splash into the Indian Ocean.
“We obviously need to go through all the data. It’s going to take some time. In the next hours, days — we’re going to figure out exactly what happened, come back, fly the next one, get farther,&#8221; Communications Manager Dan Huot said. “Reminder, it’s a test of an experimental vehicle.”
The launch was initially scheduled for Monday, but was moved back to Wednesday and then moved again to Thursday over inclement weather.

WATCH: SpaceX Successfully Catches Second Super Heavy Booster

Outer Space

U.S.

President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> said in an interview published this week that he has no concerns about any potential conflicts of interest related to Elon Musk leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) because Musk loves the U.S. more than his companies.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with TIME that was published when the magazine announced that it had named Trump the &#8220;Person of the Year.&#8221;
Trump was asked if Musk advocating for cuts at NASA could constitute a conflict of interest since that could benefit SpaceX, Musk&#8217;s space company.
&#8220;I think that Elon puts the country long before his company,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;I mean, he&#8217;s in a lot of companies, but he really is, and I&#8217;ve seen it. He considers this to be his most important project, and he wanted to do it. And, you know, I think, I think he&#8217;s one of the very few people that would have the credibility to do it, but he puts the country before, and I&#8217;ve seen it, before he puts his company.&#8221;
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Trump said that cuts were desperately needed to get federal spending under control and to encourage economic growth.
&#8220;Look, we have a country that is bloated with rules, regulations and with, frankly, people that are unnecessary,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We are going to need a lot of people in a lot of other jobs. We&#8217;re looking to get people into private sector jobs where they can do better and be more productive. We&#8217;re going to see what happens. We have some interesting months coming up, at the beginning. We&#8217;re going to see what happens. But this country is bloated.&#8221;

Donald Trump Watches SpaceX Launch Its Sixth Test Flight Of Starship Spacecraft

Trump On Musk Leading DOGE: He ‘Puts The Country Long Before His Company’

Economy

Tesla

President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> said during an interview over the weekend that he will not give special treatment to ally Elon Musk over Musk&#8217;s competitors.
Trump made the remarks during a Sunday NBC News interview with Kristen Welker on &#8220;Meet The Press&#8221; when asked about Musk, who was the largest donor during the 2024 election.
&#8220;Will you favor Elon Musk over other leaders of competitor companies, like Jeff Bezos?&#8221; Welker asked.
&#8220;No, Jeff Bezos called me. We’re having dinner,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;As you know, Mark Zuckerberg came in. We had a really nice dinner. He asked to have dinner. I had dinner with him. I’m having dinner with everybody. People like me now, you know? It’s something going on that people &#8212; I said, &#8216;Would you have come to dinner with me if I lost?&#8217; I think the answer is no.&#8221;
&#8220;You know, I said, kiddingly, of course, because I don’t want to sound foolish. But I say jokingly, &#8216;Would you have been here at dinner if I lost?&#8217; And the answer was, &#8216;Probably not,'&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Look, I’m getting called by everybody.&#8221;
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WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Donald Trump tells NBC News’ Kristen Welker that he won’t give Elon Musk special treatment over other tech leaders. <a href="https://t.co/BVk8S5svUu">pic.twitter.com/BVk8S5svUu</a>
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) <a href="https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1865885556527517899?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2024</a></blockquote>

Trump Vows To Not Give Elon Musk Special Treatment Over Competitors

SpaceX tested its massive Starship rocket for the sixth time on Tuesday as President-elect Donald Trump watched alongside company CEO Elon Musk.
Starship launched from SpaceX’s headquarters, Starbase, in Boca Chica, Texas, at 5 p.m. ET. Musk, the world’s richest man, watched the test flight with Trump — whom Musk helped to elect by investing hefty sums of his own money into the Trump reelection effort and running significant portions of the campaign’s ground operation in swing states.
Trump announced his visit to SpaceX’s Texas headquarters in a post on X, Musk’s social media platform.
“I’m heading to the Great State of Texas to watch the launch of the largest object ever to be elevated, not only to Space, but simply by lifting off the ground. Good luck to @ElonMusk and the Great Patriots involved in this incredible project!” Trump wrote.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I’m heading to the Great State of Texas to watch the launch of the largest object ever to be elevated, not only to Space, but simply by lifting off the ground. Good luck to <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ElonMusk</a> and the Great Patriots involved in this incredible project! <a href="https://t.co/UVpVSkpEyu">https://t.co/UVpVSkpEyu</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1858956663711256605?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The latest rocket test featured an updated propulsion system to the Super Heavy booster used to launch the rocket. The updates were supposed to ease the booster into the arms of “Mechazilla,” the launch pad that can double as a landing pad – provided the conditions are right. Weather conditions were not optimal on Tuesday, and SpaceX chose to have the booster fall offshore rather than attempt to catch it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NEWS: Trump has officially arrived in Texas to watch <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a>&#39;s Starship launch today. He will be the first U.S. President, past or present, to attend a launch of Starship—the most powerful rocket ever built—in person. <a href="https://t.co/CHmDKAWYQF">pic.twitter.com/CHmDKAWYQF</a>
&mdash; Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) <a href="https://twitter.com/SawyerMerritt/status/1858980810122293464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> Starship🚀🇺🇸🦅 <a href="https://t.co/hiliGwkW9p">pic.twitter.com/hiliGwkW9p</a>
&mdash; Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanScavino/status/1858995829014753522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
On the previous Starship test flight in October, the SpaceX crew managed to “catch” Starship’s Super Heavy booster in Mechazilla’s arms. The historic effort was nearly aborted, according to SpaceX internal audio that Musk later posted online with gameplay of a videogame.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl%3D1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1732116649686000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1x0AiGEF9DtmJHK1OHTWGh">MATT WALSH&#8217;S &#8216;AM I RACIST?&#8217; NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
“I want to be really upfront about scary s*** that happened,” a SpaceX engineer <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-diablo-iv-starship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Musk. “We had a misconfigured stem gas support that didn&#8217;t have quite the right ramp-up time for bringing up stem pressure, and we were one second away from that tripping and telling the rocket to abort and try to crash into the ground next to the tower.”
Watch the launch here:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Daily Wire carries live coverage of SpaceX&#39;s sixth Starship test flight. Watch live and witness the next pivotal moment in space exploration. <a href="https://t.co/3PbFNC0umM">https://t.co/3PbFNC0umM</a>
&mdash; Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1858988894500618551?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Elon Musk, Donald Trump

Trump, Musk Witness Successful Sixth Launch Of Starship At SpaceX HQ

Texas

Elon Musk&#8217;s SpaceX is set to conduct a sixth flight test of Starship on Tuesday, culminating in another attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster in midair as it returns to earth.
According to a <a href="https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release</a> posted on the SpaceX website, a 30 minute launch window opens at 4 p.m. CST. Live broadcasts will be available on the website, on the X TV app, and on X via @SpaceX. The schedule is fluid and could change at any time.
Noting the success of the fifth flight test — which saw the Super Heavy booster caught successfully by the &#8220;chopsticks&#8221; — the release stated that the sixth flight test aimed to expand on SpaceX&#8217;s achievements.
&#8220;The next Starship flight test aims to expand the envelope on ship and booster capabilities and get closer to bringing reuse of the entire system online. Objectives include the booster once again returning to the launch site for catch, reigniting a ship Raptor engine while in space, and testing a suite of heatshield experiments and maneuvering changes for ship reentry and descent over the Indian Ocean,&#8221; the release read.
&#8220;The success of the first catch attempt demonstrated the design feasibility while providing valuable data to continue improving hardware and software performance,&#8221; it continued. &#8220;Hardware upgrades for this flight add additional redundancy to booster propulsion systems, increase structural strength at key areas, and shorten the timeline to offload propellants from the booster following a successful catch. Mission designers also updated software controls and commit criteria for the booster’s launch and return.&#8221;
SpaceX has additional flight tests planned, and predictions for a seventh include a Starship that &#8220;will fly with significant upgrades including redesigned forward flaps, larger propellant tanks, and the latest generation tiles and secondary thermal protection layers as we continue to iterate towards a fully reusable heat shield.&#8221;
The ultimate goal is to increase the reliability and reusability of multiple components within the Starship system, SpaceX said.
&#8220;Learnings from this and subsequent flight tests will continue to make the entire Starship system more reliable as we close in on full and rapid reusability.&#8221;

Space X’ Account Displayed On The X Social Network Platform

SpaceX Plans 6th Starship Flight Test, Repeat Midair Rocket Catch

SpaceX Plans 6th Starship Flight Test With Repeat Of Midair Rocket Catch

Rockets

Elon Musk&#8217;s many successful companies have reportedly faced at least 20 federal investigations and reviews in recent years.
Tesla and SpaceX especially have faced heavy scrutiny, red tape, and fines over the course of their operations, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/20/us/politics/elon-musk-federal-agencies-contracts.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
These two companies also contract heavily with the federal government — last year, Musk&#8217;s companies secured nearly $3 billion across 100 contracts with 17 federal agencies.
The Times declared that Musk&#8217;s &#8220;influence over the federal government is extraordinary, and extraordinarily lucrative&#8221; although it acknowledged that his companies are &#8220;increasingly facing regulatory battles and overlapping federal investigations from all corners of the government.&#8221;
SpaceX has been slapped with violations and fines by both the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. It was also slapped with a discrimination lawsuit by the Justice Department and accused of OSHA violations by the Labor Department. The Department of the Interior also conducted a review of Starbase, the company&#8217;s rocket launch facility in Texas, and the Federal Communications Commission <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-reaffirms-decision-reject-starlink-application-nearly-900-million-subsidies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rejected</a> subsidies for Starlink, the company&#8217;s satellite internet network.
Tesla has been under investigation by three entities, the Justice Department, Transportation Department, and Securities and Exchange Commission. The electric car company has also been hit with OSHA violations by the Labor Department and has faced oversight by the National Labor Relations Board. Tesla was also hit with a lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It also saw enforcement actions from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Neuralink, Musk&#8217;s brain implant company, was fined by the Transportation Department and saw an investigation by the Agriculture Department.
X, formerly Twitter, which Musk bought two years ago, has seen investigations and a court order from the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as oversight and a consent decree from the
Musk has openly expressed frustration with the heavy regulation of his companies.
Last week, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shamelessly-breaking-the-law-elon-musk-blasts-california-officials-denying-spacex-launches" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> a lawsuit against a California regulator that cited his politics in their decision to reject more SpaceX rocket launches.
&#8220;It is illegal for them to make decisions based on what they (mostly wrongly) think are my politics,” Musk said. “Yet here they are shamelessly breaking the law!&#8221;
This election cycle, Musk has thrown the full weight of his financial power and celebrity behind former President Donald Trump, even campaigning with Trump in person earlier this month. The tech mogul has also hosted multiple town halls by himself to promote Trump in Pennsylvania, the most crucial swing state, and has repeatedly urged swing state residents to register to vote.
Musk has offered to head up a &#8220;government efficiency&#8221; commission under a potential second Trump administration to slash bureaucratic waste.
However, because of all the federal oversight on his companies, Musk has an &#8220;enormous conflict of interest,&#8221; the Times declared, although the outlet acknowledged that Musk&#8217;s formal power would be quite limited as historically Congress has refused to agree to ideas from business outsiders like Musk.
&#8220;But a suggestion from Mr. Musk could still be damaging to an agency, if he singled it out to Mr. Trump as an example of waste or mismanagement,&#8221; the Times warned.

Milken Institute’s Global Conference Held In Beverly Hills

Elon Musk’s Companies Have Faced At Least 20 Federal Probes

Elon Musk's Companies Have Faced At Least 20 Federal Probes

federal regulation

Trump 2024

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> is threatening legal action after California officials cited his politics in their decision to reject more SpaceX rocket launches.
On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission rejected the U.S. Space Force&#8217;s request for more frequent SpaceX rocket launches. The Space Force had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-launches-california-coastal-commission-2024-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> that SpaceX be allowed to do 50 launches a year of its Falcon 9 rocket at Vandenberg Space Force Base, up from 36 launches.
The commission denied the request in a six-to-four vote.
During a hearing on the issue, commissioners griped about Musk&#8217;s political views, as well as his campaign stop with former President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Caryl Hart, the commission chair, sparked accusations of illegal regulatory lawfare when she distinguished between SpaceX and other companies.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not the other companies. This is about SpaceX increasing their launches, not the other companies increasing their launches,&#8221; Hart said.
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The Coastal Commission has one job – take care of the California coast. 
It is illegal for them to make decisions based on what they (mostly wrongly) think are my politics. 
For example, I have done more to advance sustainable energy &amp; help the environment than maybe anyone… <a href="https://t.co/x5CF2WkVdA">https://t.co/x5CF2WkVdA</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1846281675430334854?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;We&#8217;re dealing with a company the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race and made it clear what his point of view is,&#8221; she said.
Hart also <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/company-news/2024/10/11/california-commissioners-reject-expansion-of-spacex-launches-a-non-binding-rebuff-of-musk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared</a> to forget that SpaceX Director of Government Affairs Matthew Dunn had participated in the hearing via Zoom earlier.
Commissioner Mike Wilson said at the hearing that politics and science &#8220;mix in these spaces.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729077615157000&amp;usg=AOvVaw17Kprl74oE9DYOLREdiBPU">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ COMING TO DAILYWIRE+ OCT. 28</a>
Wilson complained that Musk was &#8220;speaking about political retribution on a national stage, and it was very glib, but yet he was standing next to a person, a candidate that openly promotes and is working to normalize that language, and we have to push back against that.&#8221;
Commissioner Gretchen Newsom accused Musk of &#8220;hopping about the country spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking FEMA while claiming his desire to help the hurricane victims.&#8221;
Musk skewered the Commission in comments posted to X.
&#8220;The Coastal Commission has one job – take care of the California coast. It is illegal for them to make decisions based on what they (mostly wrongly) think are my politics,&#8221; Musk wrote.
The SpaceX founder added that he has done &#8220;more to advance sustainable energy &amp; help the environment than maybe anyone ever, which is not exactly a &#8216;far-right&#8217; position.&#8221;
&#8220;Yet here they are shamelessly breaking the law! They should resign immediately and face the appropriate legal consequences for their actions,&#8221; Musk said.
Musk has been outspoken in his support of Trump this election cycle.
During his October 5 campaign stop with Trump in Pennsylvania, the tech mogul urged people to register to vote and cast their ballot for Trump in the crucial swing state.
Trump is locked in an extremely close race with Vice President Kamala Harris. Several polls this month have shown her tiny national lead starting to shrink.

7th Viva Technology Conference In Paris – Day 3

‘Shamelessly Breaking The Law!’: Elon Musk Blasts California Officials Denying SpaceX Launches

'Shamelessly Breaking The Law!': Elon Musk Blasts California Officials Denying SpaceX Launches

California

First Amendment

General

United States Space Force

Less than a week ago, as engineers at SpaceX prepared to achieve something that had never been done before in human history, a dozen bureaucrats at the California Coastal Commission assembled to do something that&#8217;s been done many, many times before. The commissioners — a group that mostly consists of liberal women — set up a massive regulatory roadblock to impede people who are actually doing real, important work. And these commissioners established this roadblock in a way that made it extremely obvious to everyone that the root of their frustration was their own jealousy and bitterness.
The following clips come from a meeting of the California Coastal Commission to consider SpaceX&#8217;s plans to launch as many as 50 rockets every year from Vandenberg Space Force Base, which is located in Southern California&#8217;s Santa Barbara County. This is a plan that was formally proposed by the Air Force and the Space Force, because SpaceX is a military contractor — and everything SpaceX does either directly benefits the Defense Department, or more broadly advances the interests of this country. But the California Coastal Commission, in its infinite wisdom, disagrees. They <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-10-11/la-me-spacex-coastal-commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted down</a> the proposal for more launches. So why did they do that, exactly?
Here&#8217;s one of the commissioners, Gretchen Newsom (no relation to Gavin Newsom), explaining her reasoning. Pay attention not only to what she says, but also how she says it. Watch:
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Once all the crazy talks from the public are over, the even crazier talks from government officials start. Now it REALLY becomes clear as to what the actual reasons are. 
Here is <a href="https://twitter.com/GretchenNewsom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GretchenNewsom</a> spewing a load of bullshit about Starlink. The quoted post explains just how wrong… <a href="https://t.co/iVqI9AP0jI">pic.twitter.com/iVqI9AP0jI</a>
&mdash; Robin (@xdNiBoR) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdNiBoR/status/1845895750204436736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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She&#8217;s practically snarling over the fact that Elon Musk provided internet access to people in a storm. This is internet access that the federal government denied these people, because the Biden-Harris administration cut Starlink out of a funding program for rural broadband access. And as you&#8217;d expect, many of these people voluntarily — and gratefully — accepted this internet access from Elon Musk in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
But somehow this is all a &#8220;sick ploy,&#8221; says Gretchen Newsom. And she makes that claim because, if they wanted Starlink, people had to pay a couple hundred dollars for the Starlink unit — the normal cost of the device — followed by a monthly fee after 30 free days of service (which has since been extended, for free, to the end of 2024). In other words, according to the California Coastal Commission, it&#8217;s not enough for Elon Musk to swoop in and provide basic services that the Biden administration failed to provide. He also has to do it for free. And if he doesn&#8217;t, the government will retaliate against him by blocking permits to launch rockets.
There&#8217;s so much to going on in that clip, it&#8217;s not even clear where to begin. But I wanted to start with Starlink, because it highlights the anti-human ideology that&#8217;s consumed so much of the Left. They don&#8217;t care if Elon Musk is saving lives in disaster zones in states like North Carolina. They don&#8217;t care if people are voluntarily paying him money so that they can access a vital service like the internet. They only care about damaging Elon Musk as much as possible.
And from that clip, it&#8217;s pretty clear why they want to damage Elon Musk. Gretchen Newsom says that Musk has made &#8220;bigoted&#8221; remarks about the &#8220;transgender community.&#8221; She claims he&#8217;s &#8220;spewing and tweeting political falsehoods about FEMA.&#8221; First of all, it would be hard to imagine a more direct and obvious violation of the First Amendment than these statements. Elon Musk has already said he&#8217;s suing the California Coastal Commission over this, and he absolutely should. On top of that, the things Elon Musk was saying are true. Men can&#8217;t become women. And FEMA did waste more than a billion dollars on services for illegal migrants. If the Constitution protects anything, it&#8217;s statements like these.
That&#8217;s how the Constitution is written, anyway. But obviously that&#8217;s not how things work in places that are run exclusively by Democrats, like California. We saw that just a couple of weeks ago, when the governor, Gavin Newsom, tried to ban satire and memes. He didn&#8217;t like how people on social media were talking about Kamala Harris being a DEI hire, so he tried to outlaw it. He just came right out and said it. And Gretchen Newsom (again, no relation, surprisingly enough) has taken the exact same approach, right out in the open.
There are a few other things that Gretchen Newsom said that I could quibble with. For example, no, Musk isn&#8217;t requesting &#8220;government support.&#8221; This meeting, again, is about a request by the Air Force and Space Force for the California Coastal Commission to get out of the way. No one wants the &#8220;support&#8221; of this commission. They want this commission to stop bothering them. Of course, technically, the military can override this commission if it wants to. But right now they&#8217;re working to find some kind of compromise solution. That may not last for very long, though.
That&#8217;s because it&#8217;s not just Gretchen Newsom who thinks like this. The majority of the Coastal Commission in California is the same way. Here for example is Caryl Hart, the chair of the Commission. And this clip may be even more embarrassing than the previous one. Watch:
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Next, here is Dr. Hart, the chair of the CCC, forgetting about Mathew Dun and she has to be interrupted. I think this shows how much she cares and how much attention she pays to everything. 
She&#39;s also scared about her position. Lol. <a href="https://t.co/JKHDvIQsjK">pic.twitter.com/JKHDvIQsjK</a>
&mdash; Robin (@xdNiBoR) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdNiBoR/status/1845895764154716191?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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So she tries to ding SpaceX for not showing up on Zoom during the meeting. And then she&#8217;s told that, in fact, SpaceX did show up by Zoom. In fact, someone named Mathew Dun, the Director for Government Affairs at SpaceX, gave a whole presentation. He explained that SpaceX is currently supporting the Defense Department, Boeing and NASA. He pointed out that SpaceX is the only operational U.S. provider for astronaut transportation to the International Space Station — which is kind of a big deal, because astronauts are trapped up there at the moment. He went into detail about how Starlink assists the Pentagon, in addition to disaster victims.
But somehow, the chair of the California Coastal Commission missed all of this. And when she&#8217;s informed that SpaceX had shown up and done a whole presentation, she instantly waves it off. She says it wasn&#8217;t enough for her. So obviously, she made up her mind long before this hearing. And again, it&#8217;s clear what she&#8217;s really upset about. She complains that Musk has, &#8220;aggressively injected himself into the presidential race and made it clear what his point of view is.&#8221; So, in other words, he&#8217;s exercised his First Amendment rights in a way that the California Coastal Commission doesn&#8217;t approve of.
For good measure, Caryl Hart also complains that Musk has, &#8220;managed the company&#8221; in a way that&#8217;s &#8220;very disturbing.&#8221; It&#8217;s hard to know exactly what that&#8217;s a reference to. Maybe she&#8217;s complaining about that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hostile-work-environment-elon-musk-becomes-the-latest-target-of-left-wing-lawfare" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> by some former SpaceX employees, which accused Musk of posting insensitive memes on X. Those memes were allegedly very traumatizing to these employees — particularly the meme depicting Bill Gates as a pregnant man emoji. It&#8217;s very disturbing stuff.
Or maybe she&#8217;s referring to how SpaceX was <a href="https://spacenews.com/faa-fines-spacex-for-launch-license-violations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fined</a> several hundred thousand dollars because of alleged &#8220;launch license violations&#8221; last year — even though those &#8220;launch license violations&#8221; wouldn&#8217;t have been violations at all, if the FAA had responded to SpaceX&#8217;s various applications in time. Maybe that&#8217;s what the commissioner finds &#8220;disturbing.&#8221;
Or maybe she&#8217;s talking about how SpaceX is doing things that no one has ever done before in all of human history. Maybe she finds that disturbing. Maybe she doesn&#8217;t see any benefit to reusable rockets, or colonizing Mars, or rapidly deploying satellites to provide internet access to millions of people. Maybe the idea of human progress upsets this particular bureaucrat. That would explain a lot.
You can go through the whole hearing and you won&#8217;t find a serious explanation for the commission&#8217;s ultimate vote, which was to deny SpaceX the additional launches. But you will find a lot of hysteria. 
There&#8217;s a user on X using the handle &#8220;Robin&#8221; who assembled some of the better examples. Here&#8217;s two of them. The first clip is a commissioner named Dayna Bochco, who announces that the Air Force and Space Force are wrong, and that really, SpaceX has nothing to do with our national defense. She just comes out and unilaterally declares that SpaceX doesn&#8217;t benefit the government in any way. She knows more than the Pentagon and all of the engineers on this point. Watch:
The second clip is a woman — a member of the public — complaining about sonic booms from the launches. Watch:
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Then, we have this absolute gem. She doesn&#39;t think that the launches are needed for the federal government or defense. <a href="https://t.co/mhT7mDkaKV">pic.twitter.com/mhT7mDkaKV</a>
&mdash; Robin (@xdNiBoR) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdNiBoR/status/1845895766591610884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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This next clip is a woman — a member of the public — complaining about sonic booms from the launches. Watch:
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I suppose we shouldn&#39;t expand humanity&#39;s presence in space because Leah finds a sonic boom &#39;terrifying&#39; and claims she &#39;felt it through my bones.&#39;
Then she talks about the recent landing failure as if that has anything to do with it. 🤦 <a href="https://t.co/5gRxlKgfk0">pic.twitter.com/5gRxlKgfk0</a>
&mdash; Robin (@xdNiBoR) <a href="https://twitter.com/xdNiBoR/status/1845895745213202744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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There&#8217;s all sorts of back-and-forth on this sonic boom issue. SpaceX disagrees on how many of these booms are audible in populated areas, and how loud they are, and so on. But let&#8217;s just put all that aside for a moment. Let&#8217;s concede, for the purposes of argument, that every now and then there&#8217;s briefly a loud noise from a SpaceX launch, and that some people can hear it for a second or two. In what universe does this justify denying SpaceX the ability to launch rockets at all?
This would be like denying construction crews the ability to work, at all, at any time. Imagine if people like this had their way during any other significant moments in this country&#8217;s history. Imagine if someone like that lady was bothered by all the noise they were making in Los Alamos, and had the Manhattan Project shut down. Imagine being the kind of person who hears a couple seconds of a sonic boom, and feels &#8220;terrified&#8221; as a result. When this woman says &#8220;sonic boom,&#8221; this is what we&#8217;re talking about here, to give you some idea. Watch:
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Tracking footage of Falcon 9’s first stage booster landing and sonic boom <a href="https://t.co/HNohw3oCCp">pic.twitter.com/HNohw3oCCp</a>
&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1820562095613898976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
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So the rocket makes a loud noise — that&#8217;s reason number 10,000 to shut down SpaceX, apparently. And I haven&#8217;t even gotten into the DOJ&#8217;s lawsuit against SpaceX for not hiring enough &#8220;asylum seekers,&#8221; which is what they&#8217;re calling illegal aliens now. And of course, the European Union has about a million of their own issues with SpaceX as well.
The only positive thing to come out of this pathetic meeting at the California Coastal Commission is that it established, by sheer contrast, how useless all of these &#8220;regulators&#8221; and critics really are. They couldn&#8217;t have picked a worse day to hold this hearing. Less than a week later, Elon Musk demonstrated that unlike his critics, his companies are actually accomplishing things. They&#8217;re benefiting humanity in very real and tangible ways. It&#8217;s maybe the least flattering juxtaposition in the history of juxtapositions. On the one hand, you have useless, bitter bureaucrats trying to slow human progress. And on the other hand, you have this:
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Starship rocket booster caught by tower <a href="https://t.co/aOQmSkt6YE">pic.twitter.com/aOQmSkt6YE</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1845467052443828579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
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What SpaceX just accomplished will make interplanetary travel — in particular travel to Mars — an order of magnitude cheaper. They proved that they can catch their rocket boosters in-mid air. They also proved that they can precisely land the ship itself in the water. As Elon Musk put it last night, when you can re-use extremely expensive equipment like this, and then rapidly re-deploy it, you make it literally 1,000 times easier and less expensive to colonize a planet like Mars. And when you&#8217;re talking about trillions of dollars, that&#8217;s a big difference. It&#8217;s the difference between colonizing Mars and staying on this planet forever.
The reason Musk&#8217;s critics don&#8217;t care about this is that, when you get down to it, they&#8217;re not just bitter and jealous and unhappy. They&#8217;re also anti-human. They don&#8217;t want humans to colonize another planet anymore than they want humans to have free speech on the internet, or to reproduce above replacement level. Pretty much the only issue these people are passionate about is abortion, because it means fewer humans will exist.
That&#8217;s why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris didn&#8217;t bother to congratulate Elon Musk or SpaceX on their achievement, even though it altered the trajectory of civilization forever. It&#8217;s why they&#8217;re engaging in open lawfare to shut his companies down. These people do not want to save this country, or civilization for that matter. They want to destroy it. And they&#8217;ll complain about any pretext imaginable — whether it&#8217;s &#8220;sonic booms&#8221; or &#8220;launch licenses&#8221; or &#8220;hiring asylum seekers&#8221; — in order to achieve that end.
The only reasonable response is to dismantle the vast web of bureaucratic agencies like the &#8220;California Coastal Commission&#8221; along with the Biden-Harris administration. This election isn&#8217;t really even about Democrat or Republican anymore. It&#8217;s a choice between unimpressive, profoundly cynical bureaucrats, and people who advance civilization in meaningful ways. After what SpaceX accomplished this week, that fundamental distinction is now clear to everyone with an internet connection or a television. That&#8217;s what they&#8217;re actually upset about. And it&#8217;s why, in just a few weeks, there&#8217;s a very good chance they&#8217;re going to lose the power that they never deserved to have in the first place.

Celebrities Attend The 2024 US Open Tennis Championships – Day 14

Why The Left Is Willing To Do Anything They Can To Take Down Elon Musk

Matt Walsh

Opinion

U.S. Air Force

NASA spacecraft Europa Clipper, sitting aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, launched into orbit shortly after noon ET on Monday and is now on its way to investigate the potential for life on one of Jupiter’s largest moons. 
The Europa Clipper launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, becoming the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary science mission, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/nasa-launch-europa-clipper-mission-icy-moon-jupiter-rcna171706">reported</a>. Its mission is not to find life but to determine if life could exist on Europa, the fourth largest of Jupiter’s 95 moons. Scientists believe that beneath Europa’s icy surface lies a vast saltwater ocean and “chemical elements that are key ingredients to life.” 
“We are looking for a habitable environment,” the mission’s deputy project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Bonnie Buratti, said. “We’re trying to look for the necessities for life, which are liquid water — and we’re pretty sure that’s there — the right chemistry and energy, whether from active geology or something else, that acts almost like a battery to push life along.”
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Leaving our water world, to explore another 🚀<a href="https://twitter.com/EuropaClipper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuropaClipper</a> launched from <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASAKennedy</a> at 12:06pm ET (16:06 UTC) on a <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> Falcon Heavy, beginning a 1.8-billion-mile journey to explore the mysteries of Europa, Jupiter’s ocean moon. <a href="https://t.co/IQ7uRSviMb">pic.twitter.com/IQ7uRSviMb</a>
&mdash; NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1845859399178264640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Europa Clipper’s launch was initially scheduled for Thursday, October 10, but was delayed due to Hurricane Milton which made landfall in Florida late on Wednesday, October 9. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles over five-and-a-half years before entering Europa’s orbit in 2030. The mission, which began as a concept in 2013, cost $5.2 billion, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/14/science/europa-clipper-nasa-launch/index.html">CNN</a>. 
“It feels surreal,” said Jordan Evans, the mission’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, according to NBC News. “There have been battles at every level, from early on with the initial concept for the mission, through getting approved, through each milestone and overcoming various problems along the way. To be at this point, watching the team get ready, is incredible.”
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH&#8217;S &#8216;AM I RACIST?&#8217; COMING TO DAILYWIRE+ OCT. 28</a> 

NASA said that the launch was successful and the Europa Clipper was traveling through space on its own after separating from the rocket. 
“@EuropaClipper is now sailing through space on its own, bound for the Jupiter system. This ‘message in a bottle’ carries the names and hopes of millions, as we voyage together to search for a habitable world beyond Earth,” NASA posted on X. 
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Separation confirmed! <a href="https://twitter.com/EuropaClipper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuropaClipper</a> is now sailing through space on its own, bound for the Jupiter system. This &quot;message in a bottle&quot; carries the names and hopes of millions, as we voyage together to search for a habitable world beyond Earth. <a href="https://t.co/iL3e7O916g">pic.twitter.com/iL3e7O916g</a>
&mdash; NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1845876722178175356?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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In 1972, scientists made <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/moons/europa/europa-facts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spectroscopic observations</a> through a telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, that Europa&#8217;s surface appeared to be mostly made up of water ice. Following more information and pictures being relayed to Earth by NASA&#8217;s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft, scientists believe that &#8220;Europa may be one of the most promising places in our solar system to find present-day environments suitable for some form of life beyond Earth.&#8221;
Instead of landing on Europa’s surface, the NASA spacecraft will conduct 49 flybys of the moon. The flybys are planned to ensure that the Europa Clipper won’t have to endure Jupiter’s radiation for more than a day at a time, CNN reported. Each of the flybys will take place every two to three weeks.
“If we were to just go into orbit around Europa and study it, the radiation would likely kill off even the most radiation-hardened electronics within one to two months,” Evans said.
“So, every six times that Europa goes around Jupiter, or every 21 days, we’ll be in the exact spot in the universe to be right next to Europa,” Evans added. “And every flyby will be different, so we can get near global coverage of the moon.”

Europa Clipper

NASA Launches Spacecraft To Investigate Potential For Life On Distant Moon

Space

Two astronauts have been stuck on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nasa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Space Station</a> (ISS) since early June after their Boeing Starliner — the company&#8217;s first manned spacecraft — sprang leaks and lost multiple thrusters while approaching the space station.
Veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams were supposed to be in space for a total of eight days when they left Earth on June 5, but the Boeing Starliner&#8217;s mechanical issues have prolonged their stay, and NASA is still unsure of when the Americans will come back home. NASA has even suggested that Wilmore and Williams might have to stay at the space station until February, turning their eight-day mission into an eight-month stay.
NASA has been considering greenlighting a return flight in the Boeing Starliner, and Boeing remains confident that its spacecraft could complete the trek back down to Earth, <a href="https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/nasa-delays-boeing-starliner-return-flight-again-amid-major-discussion-about-astronaut-safety" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Live Science. Boeing said it would bring its ship back empty if NASA decides to leave the astronauts at the International Space Station instead of risking a return trip on the plagued Starliner.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a fairly major discussion to decide whether or not we&#8217;re going to have crew on board for Starliner&#8217;s return,&#8221; Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA&#8217;s Space Operations Mission Directorate, said at a news conference on Wednesday. &#8220;We&#8217;re expecting that the data analysis will be ready for a program board by the middle to end of next week, and will be ready for a flight readiness review around the end of next week.&#8221;
The Boeing Starliner had issues even before it launched with Wilmore and Williams on board on June 5 when it sprang a leak in the propulsion-related plumbing. Five of Starliner&#8217;s thrusters also failed as it approached the space station. After conducting tests from the ground and in space, all but one of the spacecraft&#8217;s 28 thrusters appear to be working, the Associated Press <a href="https://www.wesh.com/article/astronauts-stuck-nasa-boeing-iss/61857685" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The thrusters are vital to keep the capsule in the right position during its deorbit burn.
NASA is considering bringing Wilmore and Williams home on a SpaceX Dragon capsule, a spacecraft made by Elon Musk&#8217;s space exploration and rocket company. The Dragon capsule would usually go up to the space station with a four-man crew, but if seats are needed for Wilmore and Williams, it will carry two astronauts of Crew-9 to the ISS. Under that plan, Wilmore and Williams would have to remain at the ISS until February 2025 as that is when Crew-9 is scheduled to return on the SpaceX Dragon capsule.
<a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1722714742764000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1XzmEsRwzti1RFNuISwYgd">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a>
&#8220;I do want to keep this in perspective, if Butch and Suni do not come home on Starliner, they will have about 8 months in orbit,&#8221; Russ DeLoach, NASA&#8217;s chief of safety and mission assurance, said at the Wednesday news conference.
NASA assured that its astronauts are still healthy and safe aboard the ISS and have enough food and water to stay there for the long haul. Astronauts have stayed at the ISS for months at a time. Recently, Frank Rubio and his Russian crewmembers were at the ISS for over a year after their spacecraft was damaged by space junk after it had docked, the Associated Press <a href="https://www.wesh.com/article/astronauts-stuck-nasa-boeing-iss/61857685" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Russia sent an empty capsule to bring them back home in September 2023.
The Boing Starliner fiasco adds another item to the list of recent issues plaguing the aerospace company. Earlier this year, a door plug flew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max shortly after it had taken off. More than seven months after the incident, Boeing still doesn&#8217;t know who was responsible for replacing the door plug before it flew off the Alaska Airlines plane, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/07/business/boeing-ntsb-hearing-alaska-airlines-door-plug/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>. In a separate case, the aerospace company <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/boeing-to-take-plea-deal-with-justice-dept-over-deadly-plane-crashes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pled guilty</a> last month to conspiracy to defraud the United States after it was charged over two crashes involving the company’s planes in which hundreds of people died.

Boeing Crew

Astronauts On Boeing’s First Manned Craft Have Been Stuck In Space For 2 Months. NASA Still Isn’t Sure When It Will Get Them Home.

Astronauts On Boeing's First Manned Craft Have Been Stuck In Space For 2 Months. NASA Still Isn't Sure When It Will Get Them Home.

Boeing

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