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Derek Richardson

@spacewriter.bsky.social
236 followers 182 following 47 posts

I am a space geek who loves to write and make videos! I'm @TheSpaceWriter on Twitter and Threads I also run Orbital Velocity on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@OrbitalVelocity

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Reposted by Derek Richardson
Loren Grush @lorengrush.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
NASA is awarding SpaceX three more Crew Dragon mission to continue sending astronauts to the International Space Station through 2030 www.nasa.gov/missions/sta...
nasa.gov
NASA Awards SpaceX Three Crew Flights to Space Station - NASA
To continue regular crew transportation to the International Space Station, NASA has awarded SpaceX three additional missions through a contract modification.
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Derek Richardson @spacewriter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I’m working on a detailed model of the Orion spacecraft, including the inside. Anybody have knowledge they’re willing to share? I’m currently trying to figure out what goes where in specific lockers -- like is there a dedicated spot for food, cameras, etc.
A low-poly 3D cutaway of the Orion spacecraft with 4 astronauts in their OCSS spacesuits. Viewed from the hatch side of the vehicle.A view of the Orion spacecraft pressure vessel, looking in through the side hatch to a low-poly model of the cabin interior.Looking down at the Orion spacecraft cabin from the docking tunnel to see seats, the floor and the 12 storage lockers.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 26/06/2026
Reid Wiseman just dropped this photo on his Instagram page. It's our homeworld, looking at the nightside, taken from inside the Artemis II Orion spacecraft through one of the windows. There's something so casual about it, about the reflections in the window, but outside IS A WHOLE PLANET HOLY SHIT
HHHHHHOOOOOLLLLLYYYYY SHIIIIIIIIT
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CosmoQuest @cosmoquest.org · 02/04/2026
There are now 10 toilets in Space International Space Station: 4 Crew Dragon Docked at ISS: 1 Soyuz Docked at ISS: 1 Tiangong Space Station: 2 Shenzhou Docked at TSS: 1 Artemis II on way around Moon: 1 This will be the first time a toilet has left low earth orbit!
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Derek Richardson @spacewriter.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Epic launch! Can't wait to see the Artemis 2 crew fly around the Moon in 6 days!
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Loren Grush @lorengrush.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
NASA's recap of a whirlwind day
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Loren Grush @lorengrush.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Pour one out for a space reporter today. We're getting a lot of info all at once and trying to translate it concisely in an understandable way.
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Gene J. Mikulka @genejm1017.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Ben Fiest, the man behind the "Apollo in Real Time " project, has launched for the International Space Station's 25th Anniversary. "ISS in Real Time" issinrealtime.org #ISS #ISS25 #ISSInRealTime
issinrealtime.org
ISS in Real Time
Explore 25 years onboard the International Space Station.
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Derek Richardson @spacewriter.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
HTV-X1 was captured and berthed to ISS today! There are now 7 vehicles docked/berthed to Station (tied record from 2024). If schedules hold, when Soyuz MS-28 docks in late November, all 8 available ports will be occupied for the first time -- a new record!
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Reposted by Derek Richardson
Pete Harding @spacepete.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Great to see HTV-X arrive at the ISS (and by my count, this is the last ever time we'll see a brand new type of Visiting Vehicle arrive at the ISS).
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Reposted by Derek Richardson
Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 08/10/2025
🎵 They did the Monster Slash 😭 @ellecordova.bsky.social
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KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.
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Dave Jorgenson @davejorgenson.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
These “agents” like doing this. They want to do this because it’s a legal way to feed their worst compulsions. And they’ve been given full authority to do it - verbatim - by Stephen Miller and President Trump.
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Derek Richardson @spacewriter.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Check out this video on the International Space Station Truss and how NASA built it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvhd... The Jared Owen Animations team did a phenomenal job on this one. It was a joy to help create this video, and a trip down memory lane for ISS construction!
youtube.com
Building the Space Station Truss (and the Solar Panel Tear)
YouTube video by Jared Owen
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Reposted by Derek Richardson
SpaceNews @handle.invalid · 16/06/2025
The administration’s anti-consensus Mars plan will fail The White House’s FY 2026 budget request for NASA proposes a radical shift in the agency’s direction, proposing extinction-level cuts to space science, severe cuts in other program areas and a dramatic pivot of human spaceflight focus to Mars.
spacenews.com
The administration’s anti-consensus Mars plan will fail
The White House’s FY 2026 budget request for NASA proposes a radical shift in the agency’s direction, proposing extinction-level cuts to space science, severe cuts in other program areas and a dramatic pivot of human spaceflight focus to Mars.
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Reposted by Derek Richardson
Ariel Waldman @arielwaldman.com · 15/06/2025
“I have friends everywhere.” 🙌
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Derek Richardson @spacewriter.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
The latest video for Jared Owen Animations is out! It's about Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket! The team did a fantastic job on this one. Each of our names (and others) show up on the New Shepard screens. Let me know if you spot my name. :D 🚀 youtu.be/O9E0Ljd2ML8?...
youtu.be
New Shepard Rocket: Space and Back in 10 minutes
YouTube video by Jared Owen
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Reposted by Derek Richardson
Loren Grush @lorengrush.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
As the world contemplates NASA's reliance on SpaceX
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Joe Williams @rikerjoe.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
I’ve worked for NASA since the Reagan administration, and I can’t recall a similar situation.
semafor.com
White House to pull NASA nominee Isaacman
Jared Isaacman was set for a vote next week, but now the president is yanking his nomination.
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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
Following the inspiration of @ohdearz.bsky.social @theplanetaryguy.bsky.social @jtuttlekeane.bsky.social here’s the NASA fleet with the proposed budget cuts. Red X’s will be fully defunded, green X’s will lose all NASA funding but have other funding sources, and exclamation point means >50% cuts
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perasperaadmars.bsky.social @perasperaadmars.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Musk spent $292M on Trump's campaign, became a scapegoat for killing thousands of African children to save a few $B for billionaire tax cuts and all he gets at the end is hate for the destruction of NASA's science program under his watch. Drugs destroyed his mind and made him Howard Hughes V-2.
nytimes.com
Opinion | Elon Musk’s Legacy Is Disease, Starvation and Death
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Robert Zubrin @zubrin.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Trump has pulled Jared Isaacman’s nomination to be head of NASA. He wants a NASA wrecker instead. This is a disaster for America.
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Derek Richardson @spacewriter.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Time to start learning Mandarin, I guess...
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Derek Richardson @spacewriter.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
media.tenor.com
a man in a white shirt and tie sitting at a desk
ALT: a man in a white shirt and tie sitting at a desk
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Jonathan McDowell @planet4589.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Jared 'Rook' Isaacman's nomination for NASA Administrator is being withdrawn. This is bad news for NASA but maybe a good thing for Jared himself though, since being NASA head right now is a bit of a Kobayashi Maru scenario. Rumour is he will be replaced by someone more gungho about slashing NASA
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 31/05/2025
SPACENEWS: NASA budget would cancel dozens of science missions, lay off thousands (But sets aside nearly $2 billion effectively earmarked for SpaceX) spacenews.com/nasa-budget-...
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Gene J. Mikulka @genejm1017.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
There's also a line from this movie: The Enterprise is dead in space, the Klingons ready to destroy the ship Kirk was informed his son has been killed. The no win situation is here. Kirk gets up and tells his team "I swear to you, we're not finished yet." Neither are we.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 30/05/2025
We're going to learn some tough stuff today about the White House's proposed budget for fiscal year 2026—including what they have in mind for NASA. I'll share what I hear, but remember: CONGRESS decides how much money NASA gets, not the White House. So whatever happens today, the fight continues.
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Sarah Hörst @handle.invalid · 30/05/2025
The Presidents Budget Request for NASA is out. It’s a bloodbath Canceled are DAVINCI, VERITAS, Juno, OSIRIS-APEX, US participation in ExoMars and EnVision… Huge cut to R&A. No funding to begin development of the Uranus Orbiter. If you’ve ever cared about NASA, time to contact congress.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 31/05/2025
Inspired by @jtuttlekeane.bsky.social and @ohdearz.bsky.social, here's what the White House proposed budget cuts to NASA would do to the entirety of the agency's Science Mission Directorate. Bloodbath is right.
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Spaceguy5 @spaceguy5.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
The text on here heavily sounds like the budget people were in bed with Elon. It can't be a coincidence that they wrote that shit, with Elon announcing a near term starship Mars test yesterday. NASA is compromised.
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NASAWATCH @nasawatch.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
What is the fastest way to make China Great In Space? Simple: just do this one thing to the #NASA budget. #Slash
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Josh Dinner @joshdinner.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Rose deserves better. I’m grateful she trusted me To tell her story.
space.com
NASA celebrated this employee's story of resilience, then tried to scrub it from the internet. Then fired her.
"It feels like everything that I worked for has been taken down little by little."
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Pete Harding @spacepete.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
Despite Musk's rhetoric that ISS is nearing the end of its life, that's far from the truth IMO - the US Segment has many years of life left I think. Its modular nature has allowed it to be upgraded over the years – for example, it has a fully upgraded system of batteries and solar arrays.
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Pete Harding @spacepete.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
In 2011, when Shuttle retired, NASA found itself dependent upon and beholden to a partner (Russia) whose behaviour was increasingly becoming belligerent and erratic. The irony is, nearly 15 years later, NASA now finds itself in exactly the same position - only this time the "partner" is Elon Musk.
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Pete Harding @spacepete.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
So, as expected, Trump's FY26 budget proposal effectively guts NASA and turns it into the SpaceX Contracting Agency. You know, it's almost as if Elon wrote the budget himself....
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SpaceKate @spacekate.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Imagine being the press officer being asked to spin $6bn of budget cuts into a ‘good news’ story. www.nasa.gov/news-release...
nasa.gov
President Trump’s FY26 Budget Revitalizes Human Space Exploration - NASA
The Trump-Vance Administration released toplines of the President’s budget for Fiscal Year 2026 on Friday. The budget accelerates human space exploration of
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Jeff Foust @jfoust.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
Political journalists are learning what those who cover the space and automotive industries have long known.
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Derek Newsome @derek.space · 20/04/2025
And an update from NASA regarding Don Petit. He is doing as expected after landing, so likely feeling some of the ill effects of returning to 1G but not in any particularly severe way.
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William Harwood @rocketksc.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
Soyuz MS-26/72S: All 3 Soyuz fliers have now been carried to a nearby medical tent, normal procedure for returning crews before they begin their trips home; we saw no additional shots of Pettit, who we assume was having a bit of difficulty re-adjusting to gravity
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William Harwood @rocketksc.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
Soyuz MS-26/72S: While we've seen plenty of shots of Ovchinin and Vagner, but we haven't yet seen any such views of Pettit. We briefly saw him as he was carried out of the descent module, raising his helmet visor, but he then tilted his head back and closed his eyes, making no additional movements
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NASAWATCH @nasawatch.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
nasawatch.com
Someone Just Ended Their Dream Job At NASA
This is from someone@nasa.gov. FWIW I was in the same mindset when I quit NASA civil service. It hurts.
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NASASpaceflight.com @nasaspaceflight.com · 04/04/2025
NASA celebrating the launch of the official Artemis II patch with a sunset presentation on the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center. nsf.live/spacecoast
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Derek Newsome @derek.space · 16/03/2025
I know many people are tuning out of spaceflight because of Elon Musk, however instead of turning away entirely, I encourage you to look beyond SpaceX at the rest of a truly incredible industry. So much of what is done here benefits everyone, and I hope you look to that instead of look away.
NASA's Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis II mission in front of the Vehicle Assembly BuildingBoeing's Starliner Spacecraft docked to the International Space Station during the CFT MissionULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket launching off of Launch Complex 41, with the two BE4 engines and two GEM-63XLs firing at full power.NASA's Perseverance Rover looks down at the Ingenuity Helicopter as it prepares for its first flight on Mars.
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Eduardo Suárez @eduardosuarez.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
This advice to students from Columbia Journalism Dean Jelani Cobb. We are truly entering a very dark age www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/n...
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Andrew 🚀🛰️ @cosmic-andrew1.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
The purge of the disloyal has begun at NASA I thought my predictions for NASA under trump would take a year to multiple years to play out and they are speed running its doom. Janet refuses to stand up for civil workers doing good work and research.
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Derek Newsome @derek.space · 10/03/2025
Leadership at NASA is rolling over and letting the agency get gutted. Janet Petro's "Embrace The Challenge" is a massively tone deaf statement to those who have dedicated their lives to studying the universe, only to be let go under the guise of "efficiency"
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Derek Newsome @derek.space · 10/03/2025
The nominated NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman does not appear positioned to fight for the agency. "People shouldn't waste heartbeats on rumor and speculation." followed just 2 days later by the exact rumors coming to fruition with the agency not even trying to fight back.
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Garrett Reisman @astro-g-dogg.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Today started out as a promising day for space but ended up like Groundhog Day. SpaceX did catch the booster for the 3rd time, but lost Starship at nearly the same point in the trajectory as last time. And the IM Athena moon lander touched down softly but likely tipped over, similar to last time.
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