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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk

@nik-proxima.bsky.social
1.1K followers 213 following 61 posts

Managing Editor of Space Scout Space Policy PhD Student Believer in a Better Tomorrow

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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
András Gáspár @andrasgaspar.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Congrats to the PRIMA team for being selected to move forward! www.nasa.gov/news-release...
nasa.gov
NASA Selects Far-Infrared Telescope as First in New Mission Class - NASA
NASA announced Wednesday a mission to explore the history and evolution of the universe, PRIMA (PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics), is advancing to
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
SpacePolicyOnline @spacepolicyonline.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Croatia became the 74th Artemis Accords signatory today (Sept 23) at a ceremony in Zagreb. www.nasa.gov/organization...
nasa.gov
NASA Welcomes Croatia as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory - NASA
The Republic of Croatia became the 74th signatory to the Artemis Accords on Wednesday during a ceremony in the capital city of Zagreb with NASA and U.S.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Debjit Dutta @debjitduttaart.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
"Power Station" Painting study
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Echoes in the Sky @exoticaviation.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
“Concorde - 001's solar rendezvous", by Simon Cattlin (www.simoncattlin.com/gallery/001s...) a tribute to an actual event: this aircraft - still in the process of being tested - chased a solar eclipse over Africa for 70 minutes in 1973 (www.vice.com/en/article/t...)
oil painting. head-on aerial view of a Concorde high above the clouds. in the background, an eclipse in a jet-black sky casts a long shadow over the clouds under the aircraft, alongside a vivid blue horizon
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
A poem for Artemis II. By yours truly.
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
What an incredible machine. This is the power of NASA Science and Technology in action, improving life on Earth for all of us. Congrats to the X-59 team on a successful first flight! 📸 by Jared M Hamilton.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
SpaceNews @spacenewsinc.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
H3 launches first HTV-X cargo spacecraft Japan launched the first of a new generation of cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station, with potential applications beyond low Earth orbit.
spacenews.com
H3 launches first HTV-X cargo spacecraft
Japan launched the first of a new generation of cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station, with potential applications beyond low Earth orbit.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Derek Newsome @derek.space · 28/09/2025
With Artemis II approaching I know a lot of news outlets are starting to look for in depth photos and knowledge of this mission. I have a significant backlog of photos already available from the Artemis Program and will be on site covering the mission in the lead up to the launch in February.
SLS Core Stage #2 in Front of NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Three T-38 Jets fly into Kennedy Space Center ahead of the Starliner CFT MissionThe Artemis I mission lifting off from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39BA panorama of Launch Complex 39B showing the Artemis I rocket on the pad along with the large ramp up to the the pad surface used by the Crawler Transporter.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Alex Turnbull @alejandroturnbull.space · 11/09/2025
Check out my new article for @spacescout.bsky.social! www.spacescout.info/2025/09/afte...
spacescout.info
After Biosignature Announcement, Mars Sample Return Remains in Limbo
Ambitious plans by NASA and the European Space Agency to return samples of the Martian surface to Earth continue to remain in limbo even as the Agency has announced the collection of a potentially …
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
We face an uncertain future with spaceflight in the next 10 years, but do not forget that in our exploration of space we must continually reflect on who we are and why we go. Do our motivations for space accurately guide us, or lead us astray?
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Where are America's space stations? The CLD program continues to hit snags in its development, threatening future leadership. Read more here: www.spacescout.info/2025/06/wher...
spacescout.info
Where are America’s Commercial Space Stations in 2025?
The ISS is aging rapidly, and a replacement is desperately needed. As America’s posture in low Earth orbit threatens to slip away, where are its commercial stations in 2025?
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
vsamsondc.bsky.social @vsamsondc.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
Everyone's dogfighting in space. These RPOs were separate from the SPADEX. Speaking of, the SPADEX included a power transfer from 1 sat to the other; it "involved operating a heater element in one of the satellites through power from the other satellite" www.ndtv.com/india-news/i...
ndtv.com
Indian Satellites Practising "Dogfights" In Space. What It Means
India is conducting a rare and very sophisticated "dogfight" in space between a 'chaser' and 'target' satellite orbiting nearly 500 kilometers above the Earth.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
AAS Press Office @press.aas.org · 04/05/2025
NASA: TRACERS Mission Now Targeting No Earlier Than Summer for Launch science.nasa.gov/blogs/tracer...
science.nasa.gov
NASA’s TRACERS Mission Now Targeting No Earlier Than Summer for Launch - NASA Science
NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) now is targeting no earlier than summer 2025 for launch in order to give the mission spacecraft team additional ...
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Marwella Zhang @marwellaspaceart.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
First Quarter Moon on Sunday evening at 6.21 PM (UTC+7).
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
NASAWATCH @nasawatch.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Rep. Chu Sounds Alarm on White House’s Proposed Budget Cuts to Mars Sample Return chu.house.gov/media-center... #Mars #NASA #Astrobiology
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
The launch of Minotaur this afternoon from Vandy is a powerful reminder of non-proliferation. When that vehicle was built, it was hopefully never going to be used - a delivery mechanism for nuclear warheads now turned into an orbital launch vehicle.
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Planetary Defense remains a policy area with an incredible degree of unknowns. We must engage in proactive, multilateral cooperation to ensure the safety of the planet against hazardous NEO threats.
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Attempting to spin up the writing gears for a new Medium article, stay tuned folks....
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Derek Newsome @derek.space · 24/03/2025
This weekend NASA lifted the Core Stage of the second SLS rocket into place on Mobile Launcher 1. This 212 foot tall stage is the backbone of the SLS rocket, and is responsible for the majority of the energy needed to reach orbit. 📸NASA
The Artemis II rocket sits inside VAB High Bay 3. The core stage is surrounded by work platforms shortly after being mated to the twin solid rocket boosters.The SLS core stage suspended in the air by a crane as it is positioned above the solid rocket boosters. This aligns the stage prior to lowering and mating with the rest of the rocket.
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
2024 YR4’s odds of hitting Earth continue to go up. It is not a certain impact yet, but it is a reminder that planetary defense requires a global response with a wide range of impact studies. The impact and potential deflection are only a part of a critical chain of events.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
I wrote about a tragedy that was way too close to home. The crash of AA5432 and PAT25 is a watershed moment. Read more here: nikproxima.medium.com/a-reflection...
nikproxima.medium.com
A Reflection on Human Factors
After a tragic crash on the Potomac River, the time for a reckoning looms.
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
It is a fundamentally strange experience living in DC and experiencing the culture shift. Space policy work continues, but to what end? It feels beyond bizarre to be here.
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
I wrote about a tragedy that was way too close to home. The crash of AA5432 and PAT25 is a watershed moment. Read more here: nikproxima.medium.com/a-reflection...
nikproxima.medium.com
A Reflection on Human Factors
After a tragic crash on the Potomac River, the time for a reckoning looms.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Gene J. Mikulka @genejm1017.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
#SBAG - What HWO might look like keeping in mind too that what we thought JWST would look like when it started was a far cry from what got launched.
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Well. I feel like I’ve been thrown in a new direction. Two possible paths forward: a skycrane derived, JPL led approach or a commercial option to get the MAV to the surface. A watershed moment for science policy, that’s for sure.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Zando @zandoarts.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
Chromata, one of the four Diamond Cities of the Cassini Dependencies. While most Saturnian void cities are made from parked asteroids, Chromata and her sister orbitals are built out of deconstructed moonlets within Saturn's ring system. #hibourverse
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
I don’t pretend to know what’ll come of the Jan. 7 MSR announcement, but it is absolutely a shift for planetary science. This flagship mission is now an experiment for how we conduct the kind of cutting edge research required by a sample return mission, and execute on programs.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Space Scout @spacescout.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Astranis has launched their first operational batch of MicroGEO satellites, beginning a wave of deployment in GEO. Read more from @nik-proxima.bsky.social here: www.spacescout.info/2024/12/astr...
spacescout.info
Astranis Aims to Breathe New Life into GEO
On December 29, 2024, a new breed of geostationary satellites took flight – powered into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. From One to Many, the first Astranis Block 2 mission, is the first …
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 28/12/2024
New Glenn was successfully static fired last night in preparation for its maiden flight, now targeting early 2025. This vehicle is a behemoth, the largest and most powerful rocket fired at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station since Titan IV. Can’t wait to see this monster spread its wings.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
Almost a year ago (Jan 20, 2024) one little JAXA lunar lander made a successful soft Moon landing... on its nose... 🛰️. And then promptly refused to stop analysing rocks through 3 lunar night that should have frozen it solid 🔭. SLIM mission operations are now over, and here is a summary 🧪.
isas.jaxa.jp
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Tod Lauer @todlauer.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
A stack of 3 New Horizons images of very different depths, showing the bright solar-illuminated and faint Jupiter-shine hemispheres together. Deconvolved to bring out fine detail.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
The Alternate Histoween 🎃 @althistorian.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Happy #MapMonday. Here is a map of the 2028 US presidential election from a future where there was a meteor impact off the west coast.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Kevin Rooney @kevinrooney.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
The moon briefly in the DC area around midnight. Beautiful! My smart NASA astrobiologist friend @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social said something about the “23° degree arc.” So I googled it: “A ‘23 degree arc moon’ typically refers to a halo around the moon, specifically the edge of a ‘22 degree halo’..."
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Nuclear fission surface power has been selected for a future crewed mission to Mars, as presented in the ACR24 White Papers released this morning. These crucial early decisions help the agency begin to plan a future expedition to the Red Planet
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Focusing once again on writing weird futures, got to cook up this weird election map…
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
DSCOVR 🔴 EPIC (Unofficial) @dscovr-epic.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
7:53:15 AM on Saturday, December 7, 2024, over the Indian Ocean.
Earth from space, centered on the Indian Ocean, captured on Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 7:53:15 AM by NASA's DSCOVR EPIC camera.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Foundational Thoughts @druidorbital.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
Japan, Poland to join U.S. military satellite network Both nations have reached new agreements with the U.S. to gain access to the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite system #ローアース軌道 #satellite #japan #poland #WGS
spacenews.com
Japan, Poland to join U.S. military satellite network
Both nations have reached new agreements with the U.S. to gain access to the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite system
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
I do miss Alternate History immensely, but I do not miss the anxiety that writing to that caliber generated. Future projects from me will be much more relaxed, I think.
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Artemis II will proceed in a crewed configuration - with a modified entry trajectory
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Heading to NASA HQ today to sit in on the Artemis Campaign update, stay tuned folks!
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
"Astroscale UK is preparing for a critical design review early next year of a servicer that will attempt to remove a OneWeb broadband satellite from low Earth orbit (LEO) in 2026." Interesting piece on on-orbit servicing and active debris removal. #OOS #ADR #ISOS spacenews.com/astroscale-a...
spacenews.com
Astroscale approaches critical design review for OneWeb de-orbit mission
The British subsidiary of Japan’s Astroscale is preparing for a critical design review early next year of a servicer that will attempt to remove a OneWeb broadband satellite from low Earth orbit in…
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Also, if any of you lovely SciComm folks needs someone to talk to about space policy, my DMs are open! Happy to help out :)
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Whatever happens in Space Policy in the next four years, I know that we need to get serious about an ISS successor. The transition away from a continuous human presence in space is one we certainly cannot afford in this ever changing geopolitical sphere.
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Space Voyaging @spacevoyaging.com · 01/12/2024
🛰️ Today, #BepiColombo performed its fifth flyby of #Mercury. The ESA/JAXA mission used the MERTIS radiometer and thermal infrared spectrometer for the first time. It will help scientists reveal what types of minerals are on the planet’s surface. Read more: www.spacevoyaging.com/news/2024/12...
spacevoyaging.com
BepiColombo Performed its Fifth Mercury Flyby | Space Voyaging
Today, BepiColombo flew over the surface of Mercury for the fifth time, completing the second of three flybys of the planet in just five months
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
The Spaceshipper 🚀 @thespaceshipper.com · 20/11/2024
Alien (1979): Patches by Ron Cobb
A collection of futuristic patches and flags made for Alien (1979). The patches include:

    Farside Lunar Mining Lifting: A circular patch with a blue background, a white moon, and the text "Farside Lunar Mining Lifting."
    Red Star Lines: A circular patch with a pink background, a red star, and the text "Red Star Lines."
    UK7 Patch: A triangular patch with a blue background, a red star, and the text "UK7 PATCH [UNITED KINGDOM, 7 UNION 2088-2102]."
    United States Tricentennial Patch: A circular patch with a red, white, and blue design and the text "UNITED STATES TRICENTENNIAL PATCH 1976-2076."
    Flag of the U.A. (United Americas): A flag with a blue background, a white star, and red and white stripes.

The image also includes a grid background and handwritten notes about the patches.
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 30/11/2024
The ACR is a really wonderful look into the ways in which NASA’s lunar strategy is evolving, with some fun twists along the way. Go check it out!
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Reposted by Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk
Space Scout @spacescout.bsky.social · 30/11/2024
Ahead of ACR24 product release, Bev takes a look at what we might expect to see from NASA’s Moon to Mars architecture. Read more here: www.spacescout.info/2024/11/nasa...
spacescout.info
NASA Set to Update Moon to Mars Architecture with ACR24
NASA is developing the latest version of its overarching vision for space exploration: the Moon to Mars Architecture. Amid an environment of questions about the Artemis Program, the agency’s year-l…
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 30/11/2024
A part of me is drawn to writing another CLPS op-ed but Jesus, the semester’s remaining few weeks are daunting
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Something I have realized is that Space Policy is neither predictable nor consistent, and the hard pivots we can see in the field come as a shock to many. It is, however, worth keeping a very close eye on to measure and respond to.
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Nik Proxima - Space Policy Wonk @nik-proxima.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Getting cracking on a long piece for Space Scout about some potential trajectories for space under the next administration- stay tuned folks this’ll be a long one!
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