Tanner Branham

Proud Hoosier. I spend way too much time dreaming about space. Working to get awesome democrats elected.

[Tanner Branham @Tdbranham93]

We won! Say hello to your next Monroe County Commissioner, Bloomington!

#indiana #btown #bloomington

[Centrism Fan Acct 🔹 @Wilson__Valdez]

*me ranting like a coked up super villain*

HAH GET FUCKED LIBS. IT'S OUR PARTY NOW. WE'RE COMING FOR EVERY ONE OF YOU! GET OUT OF THE WAY, OR GET DESTROYED!!!

*me, when I face the tiniest bit of criticism for my words/actions*

Uwu. I'm just a smol little bean who just wants healthcare and believes that better things are possible. Why are people being so mean to little ol' me?

[maddy catgirlprostate @catgirlprostate]

It's so scary to think we have to find somewhere to store the dangerous waste like a desert or underground or something, which is a major problem unlike with fossil fuels where we safely store the waste in the atmosphere and our lungs

[NASA @NASA]

We're thinking about it.

[f4mi ‼️ @f4micom]

in 2012 the whole internet pretty much just Felt Like This

[perigeeaero.shop inc (STRAIGHT) @Orbital_Perigee]

Atlas F. One of my favorites.

[Slazac 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇹🇼🌐 @TrueSlazac]

Nothing will make you lose faith in leftism more than arguing about rent control

They simply refuse to learn about the consequences of the policies they support, they can’t conceive second order effects

[sam @sam_d_1995]

YIMBY policies are so awesome: we can literally make neighborhoods nicer, more sustainable, and affordable by simply making it legal to build dense housing

[Majority Democrats @MajorityDems]

“I hate to say it, but for a Democrat? I thought her ideas were pretty amazing.”

Senator Elissa Slotkin talked to four Trump voters — and their conversation might surprise you.

Watch:

[Jeremiah Johnson 🌐 @JeremiahDJohns]

One of the things I mourn the most in the current political era is that we've lost an important idea - that people who run for office should, at the very least, be competent people and good people. Not crazy. No major scandals, no outright evil views.

Nobody cares any more.

[Tanner Branham @Tdbranham93]

@Kyle_Carlson_19 @BSakbun Ritchie Torres won his primary against a DSA candidate 70-20. I still wouldn’t call him the future of the party because I don’t think one off elections in a very specific electorate of a single city is indicative of the entire nation.

[Tanner Branham @Tdbranham93]

@Kyle_Carlson_19 @BSakbun Mamdani barely got 50% of the vote in one of the most left leaning electorates in the nation. He was the worst performing dem in the city in the 2025 general. In what way is that the “future of the party?”

[Tanner Branham @Tdbranham93]

@BSakbun I think you typoed this and meant Darializa Avila Chevalier. Adriano Espaillat was the democratic incumbent who lost to Chevalier.

But yes, it is horrifying that she won.

[Armand Domalewski @ArmandDoma]

Avila Chevalier genuinely crosses the line from "policy positions I disagree with" to "has opinions that make her a genuinely repugnant human being" and she's about to become a Congresswoman. fucking insane

[Caleb Hammer @sircalebhammer]

Nah bro, fuck this shit.

This housing bill is one of the most ACTUALLY effective (non performative) pieces of legislation that will directly affect real cost-of-living for the majority of Americans in a LONG time.

Fuck. This. Shit.

[New Liberals 🇺🇦🇹🇼🌐 @CNLiberalism]

Chevalier is sympathetic to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is critical of interracial relationships, called Joe Biden a rapist and believes COVID-19 began in France.

She has no business being in Congress and the voters who are putting her there are making a terrible decision.

[Democrats Deliver @DemzDeliver]

🚨 Homicides in Baltimore are now at a 50-year low under Mayor Brandon Scott.

[Brandon Sakbun @BSakbun]

What's incredible is the establishment spent 4 years tolerating Diego's antics.

They replaced Diego because of polling data NOT because of morals or ethics.

Now the same people in charge want to rotate in a new candidate and turn a blind eye to years of corruption.

[Sir Humphrey 🇺🇦 @bdquinn]

The formula for Dems winning big in swing states is to be basically a nonparticipant in the culture wars and being just a touch left of center on fiscal and economic issues.

[sid 🌹🔆🇨🇦 @lilbabygandhi]

Why is every DSA candidate so cagey about Ukraine. There has never been a more clear cut country to support than Ukraine. If you valued democracy at all you should be unequivocal in your support of them.

[NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman @NASAAdmin]

Starting with some energy, and my inability to write brief updates, I am just extremely proud of the NASA crew, our industry, and our international partners. We are getting into a rhythm here at NASA. Earlier this year, setbacks put the Artemis II rocket back in the VAB for repairs, and we determined it was necessary to add another mission, Artemis III in 2027. Since then, we have unveiled the Ignition plans to build a Moon Base and nuclear-powered spaceships, launched a highly successful mission around the Moon, brought the crew home safely, and now watched the torch pass to Artemis III. There will be no shortage of major milestones to celebrate in the months ahead as we build the Moon Base and launch the Nancy Grace Roman telescope. I am beyond proud of the team and all the momentum and excitement around the space program.

I do want to take this moment to address two of the questions I have been seeing since the crew announcement.

Why are there no women assigned to Artemis III?

I have seen reactions ranging from disappointment to outrage. I have personally been to space twice with 50% female crews. My closest advisors and some of the smartest engineers I know are women. In our latest NASA leadership organization, nearly 50% of the Center Directors and Mission Directorate leadership are women. The last astronaut candidate class selected under this Administration was majority female because they were the best of the best, including one astronaut I previously went to space with.

In a world with so much controversy, I hope this can be a moment where we celebrate the astronauts selected, respect the integrity of the process, and recognize the extraordinary depth of talent across the entire corps. The crew selection does not involve any political appointees. The Astronaut Office assigns the crew that gives the mission the best chance of meeting its objectives, taking into account many factors, including the background and expertise of the astronauts, such as test pilot experience, development work on specific programs, and availability. For example, those raising this concern may not be aware of the pipeline of crews already preparing to launch to the Space Station, or those who have been undergoing lunar-specific training that would be a better fit for a future surface mission.

The Artemis III astronauts are experienced, qualified, and deserve to be celebrated for the mission they have been assigned, just as the crews that follow will be celebrated when their time comes. We have an extraordinary astronaut corps, and every mission and every crew is part of a larger campaign to get America back to the Moon and to build the future we all dreamed about as children.

What are the objectives for Artemis III if both landers will not be fully ready?

Coming off a highly successful lunar mission like Artemis II, it is not surprising that the bar is set high for Artemis III. I think it is important to understand how difficult and dangerous it is to land astronauts on the Moon. We have not done it in a very long time, and we want to draw from a past playbook for success. That means getting into a cadence of launching, learning, and rolling improvements into the next mission.

First and foremost, it is imperative for SLS to be flying with some frequency for operational currency and, honestly, safety. Earlier this year, it was very clear across NASA leadership that an additional mission was necessary in 2027. It is also imperative to gain interoperability data from rendezvous and docking with landers in Earth orbit. We do not need those landers that are still in development to be fully capable and certified for landing on the Moon on Artemis III, but we do need to test certain systems and controllability. Not to mention, we are moving quickly into a future where we do not require a single rocket to bring everything necessary for a mission to space, and as such, gaining experience with multi-launch campaigns and on-orbit assembly is directionally correct.

The Blue Origin test lander for Artemis III will incorporate many of the most important systems and subsystems that have not previously been operated by the provider, including ECLSS in a crew cabin, and other avionics. With SpaceX, they have demonstrated many of those capabilities continuously on Crew Dragon, but other controllability tests are important based on the negative-X axis acceleration that will be necessary when Starship undertakes the TLI burn to the Moon with a docked Orion.

After Artemis III, we will learn a lot and roll in further improvements, be that hardware, software, or procedural updates, as both providers undertake end-to-end uncrewed demonstrations to the surface in 2028, in advance of Artemis IV, where NASA astronauts will finally complete the grand return to the Moon.

As I said in my remarks yesterday, when Gene Cernan left the lunar surface on Apollo 17, he said, “We leave as we came, and, God willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.” We are returning, and we are doing so with the fire carried forward from Apollo, the lessons learned from Artemis II, the crew of Artemis III, and all those who will follow. NASA will send the very best crews for the right missions. If the composition of our astronaut corps and our latest class of candidates says anything, it is that we have exactly the talent required to get the job done.

Godspeed Artemis III, and all those who will follow.