Fly like an Eagle...but don't land like one

SpaceX Starship prototype SN8 had a (mostly) very successful first high-altitude test flight today, on (mostly) three engines.
Because most of the press today is a bit fixated on the final few seconds of the flight, I'm instead posting a photo from when it was still flying nominally. It was, in all, a very good test flight. And yes, in future flights, SpaceX will certainly improve on the final few seconds of flight as well, because they're also super important.

Hayabusa2 Returns

Japan's JAXA Hayabusa2 spacecraft has returned with pristine surface samples from the asteroid Ryugu. A cannister from the spacecraft parachuted to southern Australia earlier today.

Rock On, Chang'e

At 7:10am PST today, China's Chang'e 5 lander lifted off from the moon, bringing back 2 kilograms of rock samples from Oceanus Procellarum. This is the first lunar sample return since the Soviet Luna 24 mission to Mare Crisium in 1976.

Arecibo Telescope, 1963-2020

57 years. A pretty good run.

Rip van Winkle

Wow. It's been five years since I posted anything here. Did I miss anything?
Yeah, apparently. Crew Dragon has successfully gotten astronauts to the International Space Station and back, the US Navy has confirmed the existence of UFOs, and we went through an entire presidency. And there's a pandemic?
Okay, well, let me get some coffee going, and see where we go from here.