Covering All Things Florida
Despite no rockets heading to space this weekend from the Eastern Range, it was still quite a busy weekend for both SpaceX and Blue Origin at Cape Canaveral.
A festive holiday drone show in the skies over Orlando’s Lake Eola Park took a frightening turn Saturday night. As spectators were watching a beautiful drone formation of red and green lights, several of the drones fell from the sky, injuring a 7-year-old child.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced an updated launch license for Starship IFT-7. This update could mean that a launch attempt is on the horizon.
Despite recent assurances from NASA that Artemis II will be safe to fly, at least one former astronaut still has his doubts.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have had their missions extended yet again, this time until at least March, and possibly April 2025. Originally planned as an eight-day mission, Williams and Wilmore’s straightforward task was to take Boeing’s Starliner on its debut flight with crew, dock at ISS for a brief visit before returning home. That was not meant to be.
Whatever it is, it’s big. On December 18, 2024, Space Florida’s board of directors approved a substantial investment in “Project Hinton,” signifying a major development for Florida’s Cape Canaveral Spaceport.
HOUSTON, Dec. 18, 2024 – Axiom Space announced today an ambitious revision to its assembly plan for Axiom Station, enabling the world’s first free-flying commercial space station to operate as an independent orbital platform as early as 2028—two years ahead of schedule.
Blue Origin announced today that the payload for the first launch of their New Glenn orbital-class rocket is ready, and that the company still plans to launch the flight this year — which has only 22 days remaining.
An FAA launch license and approval from the US Space Force are still needed for that to happen.
FMN congratulates our own Richard Gallagher on his award-winning shot of the Starship Heavy booster return at Boca Chica, Tx on October 13th. Competing against a slate of world class photographers who submitted over 800 entries, Gallagher’s work placed second in Aviation Week’s annual photo contest in the “Photo Illustration” category.
On December 4th, word began leaking out that President-elect Trump may be considering Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for a cabinet post. While the move is far from certain as of this writing, what would happen if he did appoint DeSantis? That would leave some big shoes to fill in the Governor’s office.
In an announcement that has sparked widespread interest in both political and aerospace circles, former President Donald Trump has nominated billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX partner Jared Isaacman as the next NASA Administrator. The announcement was made during a press conference today at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where Trump praised Isaacman’s leadership in private space exploration and innovation.
