The Space Pundit

Talk is Cheap

New NASA administrator Jared Isaacman promises the moon and more, but doesn't say how to pay for it. That's the same failed recipe that's doomed NASA…

Jan 1 • Stephen C. Smith

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December 2025

The Ups and Downs of Gravity

Is it possible to turn off gravity while on Earth? Not yet. You still have to leave the planet to float.

Dec 22, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

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November 2025

The Bottom Falls Out

Russia's orbital capability is in question after a collapse at its Soyuz launch pad in Baikonur.

Nov 28, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

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September 2025

The State of NASA

Nearly eight months after Donald Trump resumed the presidency, the space agency still has no permanent administrator, no direction, and no discernable…

Sep 8, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

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July 2025

The Muskian Bargain

Elon Musk once sued to break ULA's launch monopoly. Twenty years later, the US government is nearly as dependent on SpaceX as it once was on ULA.

Jul 2, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

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June 2025

Jared, We Hardly Knew Ye

The Trump administration withdraws Isaacman's NASA nomination just days before the Senate was to confirm him.

Jun 1, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

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May 2025

Kennedy's Urgent National Need

Sixty-four years ago today, President Kennedy proposed the United States land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.

May 25, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

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Losing NERVA

Project Apollo's road not taken might have used a nuclear engine to send astronauts to the moon. Six decades later, NASA still dreams of nuclear…

May 11, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

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The Myth of the Mercury 13

This article was originally published on my old blog on July 12, 2021. It's being reprinted here on Substack for posterity.

May 9, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

April 2025

In Defense of Gateway

NASA's lunar space station may be targeted for budget cuts. Here's why that's a bad idea.

Apr 16, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

You Don't Say

The headlines reported Jared Isaacman's failure to directly answer a question about Elon Musk, but the real question is if he'll have any real…

Apr 14, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith

March 2025

The Oldest Satellite

Project Vanguard was labeled a "flopnik" by the press, but Vanguard 1 remains the oldest artificial satellite orbiting Earth.

Mar 17, 2025 • Stephen C. Smith