Astronut099

Mad rocket scientist at Kennedy Space Center. My opinions are my own...my exwife can't even have them :-P

[Mor Edge Insight @MorEdge_Insight]

Holy shit, this is wild.

A massive blue jet just shot straight up from a thunderstorm in Texas like some kind of purple lightning sword into space.

The guy filming loses it… “Holy s– I just got a jet!”

Nature really said hold my beer. Rare as hell and absolutely beautiful.

Massive credit to @pecoshank.
Wow, what incredible photography 🔥⚡️

[Breaking911 @Breaking911]

BREAKING: Blue Origin’s New Glenn exploded at Launch Complex 36 during a static fire test attempt.

[Reid Wiseman @astro_reid]

The view from inside Integrity as recovery forces pop open the hatch…watching the helicopter pass over their shoulders and hearing all the joy, it was as good as it gets.

[House Science Committee @housescience]

At today's hearing, Chairman @RepBrianBabin questioned how NASA plans to balance its workforce directive shifting roles from contractors to civil servants.

Administrator Isaacman discussed how the agency is approaching workforce and staffing decisions ⬇️

[The Hill & Valley Forum @HillValleyForum]

"75% of the NASA workforce is contractors. Our launch operations are outsourced. Mission control is outsourced. That's not going to work."

NASA Administrator @rookisaacman on revitalizing NASA:

"We're bringing thousands of contracts from contractors to civil servants, which frees up a ton of resources for more science and discovery. Measured in thousands, and achieved in months, not years, but separate from that, NASA has an amazing pipeline of talent.”

"We get over 200,000 applications every year for our internship program. We take 2,000."

"NASA Force allows us to take term-based employment from the industry so you can send people from your company or Blue Origin, or SpaceX can come into NASA for a couple of years, serve their country.”

The Hill & Valley Forum 2026

@HillValleyForum @zebulgar @NASA @NASAAdmin @skupor @USOPM

[Reid Wiseman @astro_reid]

Jesse, Steve, Laddy, and Vlad….such an incredible feeling to welcome you aboard Integrity after a nearly 700,000 mile journey. Forever thankful for your service to our crew and the nation.

[Vikranth @VikranthJonna]

I think this is the best launch tracking ever. Really glad SLS threaded the needle to launch in daylight.

Just amazing!!

📸: NASA

[Techniques Spatiales @TechSpatiales]

Le lancement d'Artemis II vu en proche infrarouge.

La recirculation sous l'étage principal de la SLS est impressionnant. Ce phénomène est renforcé par la poussée des boosters qui diminue la pression de l'air sous le lanceur, par effet Venturi.

[Berke Gökce @brkgkc_16]

Near-Infrared camera view of the Artemis II launch.

https://t.co/0GkjayRRVP

[🚀conspiracy_slayer🌕 @conspiracyslyr]

Artemis II Launch Abort System Jettison

[🚀conspiracy_slayer🌕 @conspiracyslyr]

Orion Camera View of Artemis II Liftoff

[🚀conspiracy_slayer🌕 @conspiracyslyr]

Orion Camera View of Artemis II Climb to Orbit

[NSF - NASASpaceflight.com @NASASpaceflight]

Artemis II: All engineering cams from launch now available! 44 minutes of goodness!

https://t.co/qMPSAbM7e4

[go4gordon 🌕 @go4gordon]

Service module fairing and LAS jettison

#ArtemisII

[Taylor @TaylorHose]

Take a ride up to a fully fueled SLS on launch day with us!

[Dan Huot @danhuot]

Hell yeah

[Yatharth Mann @yatharthmann]

ABSOLUTE CINEMA

[David Willis @ThePrimalDino]

Something that I wasn’t able to truly internalize with Artemis I, due to the night launch, was just how unreal this rocket looks in flight.

Like, that thing isn’t supposed to do that. It’s supposed to sit on the pad looking pretty, yet there it is, flying away.

[Erik Kuna 🚀 @erikkuna]

This is the shot you can’t get from the press site. This camera was sitting a few football fields from the SLS rocket at Pad 39B for days before launch, baking in the Florida sun, surviving rain, humidity, and whatever else the Cape threw at it. No photographer behind the viewfinder. Just a camera, a sound trigger, and a bet.

The way pad remotes work: you set your camera up days in advance, dial in your composition, lock everything down, and walk away. You don’t touch it again until after the launch. The shutter fires on sound activation
with a @MiopsTrigger smart+ trigger. With SLS, the four RS-25 engines ignite six seconds before the solid rocket boosters, so the camera is already firing before the vehicle even leaves the pad. You get home, pull the card, and find out if you nailed it or if a bird landed on your lens two days ago and left your a present and you got 400 photos of soemthing crappy.

There’s no formula for protecting your gear this close. Some photographers build wooden boxes with doors that pop open. Some use plastic bags and tape. Some do plastic or metal barn door rigs on hinges. I tend to leave mine open just in plastic rain covers because boxes limit my composition and setup time, but that means your cameras are more exposed to the elements and whatever energy and debris comes off the pad. You’re basically gambling a camera body every time you set one.

That’s what I love about this genre. There’s no playbook. You make it up as you go. Every time is an adventure.

📸 credit: me for @SuperclusterHQ - Artemis II pad remote | ~1,000 ft from Pad 39B | Kennedy Space Center