Stephen C. Smith
wordsmithfl.bsky.social
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. .. more

Business 25%
Philosophy 17%
🚨BREAKING: In a sweeping victory for voters, a Utah court struck down the GOP-controlled legislature’s congressional gerrymander and a companion law designed to entrench partisan power — restoring a fair map for the 2026 elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Utah Judge Strikes Down GOP Gerrymander, Restores Voter-Approved Fair Map
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com

#Politics #ICE

From #LATimes: An #ICE agent pulled a gun on a female civilian in a car trailing him. A passing Fullerton police officer intervened to stop the ICE agent from threatening the woman.

www.latimes.com/california/s...
Fullerton police stop man pointing gun at female driver, only to learn he is ICE agent
A Fullerton police officer told the agent he couldn't help 'with someone following or recording him if no crime had occurred.' Under state law, local police cannot enforce federal immigration law.
www.latimes.com

Eight Democratic senators took ownership. The rest, including the party leadership, were opposed.

Now it's on to the House.

The promised vote in December will never happen. These senators are such rubes.

"Ikea law." 🤣🤣🤣

The Zoltar reference is a close second.
A new cartoon! It's an Ambulatory Circulatory System Walking Through the Kitchen Day miracle!

www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...
Cartoon: The aftermath
IMPORTANT NOTE TO KICKSTARTER BACKERS :�Your pledges were processed on October 31, and now we need to collect postage and sales tax, and also get your shipping address.�You should have received a ...
www.dailykos.com

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA #Mars

The #BlueOrigin webcast just went into a hold so that means they're scrubbed for the day. No official announcement though.

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA

#BlueOrigin has resumed the #NewGlenn countdown, targeting the end of the launch window at 4:13 PM EST. Any delay scrubs the launch for the day.

The webcast says they're working an issue with ground equipment, but the weather has cleared.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Wp...
New Glenn Mission NG-2 Webcast
YouTube video by Blue Origin
www.youtube.com

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA #Mars

#BlueOrigin is running out of time to launch #NewGlenn today. The launch window closes at 4:13 PM EST. With a 20-minute hold, that means they have to resume the countdown by 3:53 PM EST.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Wp...
New Glenn Mission NG-2 Webcast
YouTube video by Blue Origin
www.youtube.com

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA #Mars

The #BlueOrigin #NewGlenn countdown went into a hold at T-20 minutes due to weather. No word on a new target launch time.

Watch live at the link.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Wp...
New Glenn Mission NG-2 Webcast
YouTube video by Blue Origin
www.youtube.com

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA #Mars

The #BlueOrigin #NewGlenn webcast countdown shows it's been pushed back to about 3:18 PM EST.

Watch live at the link.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Wp...
New Glenn Mission NG-2 Webcast
YouTube video by Blue Origin
www.youtube.com

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA

The #BlueOrigin #NewGlenn webcast has begun.

Still targeting 2:45 PM EST for launch.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Wp...
New Glenn Mission NG-2 Webcast
YouTube video by Blue Origin
www.youtube.com

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA

#BlueOrigin has now released their YouTube livestream link for today's #NewGlenn launch attempt. The livestream should start at 2 PM EST unless there's a delay.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Wp...
New Glenn Mission NG-2 Webcast
YouTube video by Blue Origin
www.youtube.com

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA

Propellant loading is underway for the #BlueOrigin #NewGlenn second test flight. The payload is two #NASA satellites to orbit Mars, a program called ESCAPADE.

Their webcast will begin at 2:00 PM EST on Blue's website at the link.

www.blueorigin.com/missions/ng-2

#Space #SpaceCoast #NASA

#BlueOrigin is targeting 2:45 PM EST for its second #NewGlenn test flight from #CCSFS. The payload is NASA's ESCAPADE mission, twin satellites that will study the #Mars magnetosphere to determine what happened to the planet's atmosphere.

science.nasa.gov/mission/esca...
ESCAPADE - NASA Science
ESCAPADE will use two identical spacecraft to investigate how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment.
science.nasa.gov

#StarTrek

I've posted my latest #Substack article in "The Written Trek" series about the writing behind each episode of the original Star Trek series.

Episode 13 is "The Conscience of the King." #Shakespeare in space! Read for free at the link.

www.thewrittentrek.com/p/the-consci...
The Conscience of the King (Episode 13)
Shakespeare in Space!
www.thewrittentrek.com

From @juliabergeronnsf.bsky.social ...

Starting Monday November 10, the #FAA will restrict commercial space launches and landings to 10 PM - 6 AM local time. The initial impact most likely will on #SpaceX #Starlink launches.

The image is out of context. If you watch #TheHill video, RFK Jr. appears to go get help, probably the White House physician. Trump gets up from his chair and says, "Is he okay?"

I'm not going to be as bad as Trump and MAGA by circulating falsehoods.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRdw...

#Space #NASA

Out and about today at #KSC. The photos in order:

(1) Construction at #SpaceX Roberts Road site.

(2) Pad 39A, with the existing launch infrastructure and the new tower for SpaceX #Starship.

(3) Pad 39B, Space Launch System.

(4) The new mobile launcher ordered by Congress for SLS.

#Space #NASA

Anyone care to guess what this is?

They've done a couple episodes taking shots at #Trump. Mayor Vaughan clearly was a metaphor for Trump.

In the latest episode, the Borden imposter was actually working for Russia, which was trying to break up cordial Canada-US relations. So again, another Trump metaphor.

#Politics #Trump #ICE

From #WaPo: DC jury finds Sean Dunn not guilty of assault charges for throwing a sandwich at a border patrol agent.

wapo.st/4nL899o
Jury finds D.C. ‘sandwich guy’ not guilty of assaulting officer
Sean C. Dunn admitted he flung the hoagie at a federal agent. His attorneys called it a “harmless gesture” of protest as Trump commandeered D.C. police.
wapo.st

This week's episode of "Murdoch Mysteries" in the US had the new Canadian prime minister Robert Borden planning to annex the US as the next province, as part of his "Project 1925." 🤣🤣🤣

(Spoiler ... it was an imposter ...)

#Space #SpaceX #SpaceCoast #CCSFS

In which a rocket, not a cow, jumps over the moon.

Reposted by Stephen P. Smith

CNN @cnn.com · 5d
BREAKING: The FAA will cut air traffic by 10% at 40 airports across the country starting Friday if shutdown continues. https://cnn.it/3Xfbhzs

#Space From #ArsTechnica: A crewed #China spacecraft may have been hit by space debris while docked at their space station.

arstechnica.com/space/2025/1...
Space junk may have struck a Chinese crew ship in low-Earth orbit
The three-man crew was supposed to return to Earth on Wednesday to wrap up six months in space.
arstechnica.com

Here's the Louisville Courier-Journal on the #UPS MD-11F crash at their airport. No indication of a possible cause.

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...
'You’d think the world was ending': UPS cargo plane crashes at Louisville airport
The crash of the UPS cargo plane near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport happened around 5:15 p.m. Nov. 4.
www.courier-journal.com

#Space #Politics #NASA #Trump

From #CNBC: After firing him in May, Trump has renominated Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Trump's announcement made no mention of the May withdrawal.

www.cnbc.com/2025/11/04/t...
Trump renominates Musk ally Jared Isaacman to run NASA months after withdrawal
President Trump has renominated Jared Isaacman to run NASA after pulling his prior nomination in May.
www.cnbc.com

#Politics #Trump

From #LATimes: No surprise, #California voting isn't even over today but Trump is already claiming the election is rigged and a big scam.

www.latimes.com/california/s...
California officials push back on Trump claim that Prop. 50 vote is a 'GIANT SCAM'
Gov. Gavin Newsom dismissed the president's claims on X as ]the ramblings of an old man that knows he’s about to LOSE.'
www.latimes.com