SpaceKate
@SpaceKate
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Alter-ego of Broadcast Journalist @RadioKate , reporting the latest spaceflight and exploration news. Advocate for diversity and women in STEM. ISU SSP12.
London
Joined August 2010
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@remsisuhmazing
@MaryRobinette
Wow. I really struggle to fathom this. American health”care” is terrifying. I’m with the chap losing his shit about paying for ambulances. <Does not compute>
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So, today will hopefully see
@VirginOrbit
do its first international flight/launch, from Spaceport Cornwall. As a UK citizen, who is excited about space, I should be super-excited by this.. and I sort of am, but...
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Not the most amazing photo, but still kinda the most amazing photo. One of these bright dots is the Moon, the other is the SLS rocket, heading to the Moon. 🚀
#Artemis
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Having a bad day? Just google some Apollo transcripts and cheer yourself up! Apollo 17's first sunrise:
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“Everything looking great for the Inspiration 4 crew” 😊
#Inspiration4
Go go
@DrSianProctor
!
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A quiet note, to explain why I've been AWOL lately, even when space activity has been exciting.
I'm currently battling breast cancer. Which isn't great. I've had surgery, and kept positive, but I'm now also having to face chemo and radiotherapy too.
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TFW you do a radio interview and feel like you didn't say a bunch of cool stuff that you wanted to... like the fact that the JWST launch went so well, that there is hope that it has enough fuel to keep it going well past the original hopes of 10 years.
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I’m not a huge fan of early morning’s, but seeing a stunning crescent Moon and enormously bright Venus mas made this crisp London pre-dawn a little easier to deal with.
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..I've lost count of the times I've seen "first orbital launch from UK soil", which, as a pedant, irritates me. A modified 747 will take-off, as planes do, and will be well over the ocean before it drops LauncherOne, the rocket, which will then ignite & launch payload into orbit
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Search and recovery team has reached the landing site. Astronaut Nick Hague of NASA and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin are out of the capsule and will be getting ready for return to Moscow. Crew in good condition.
#SoyuzMS10
#Soyuz
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Remember TFW when you got brand new white trainers and then got them dirty on first wearing?
This is the space version!
#splashdown
#dragoncapsule
#demo2
#spaceX
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My concern is that this current hype is hiding some other achievements, and potentially stealing the thunder of the first actual rocket launch from UK soil. There are plans for vertical launches from sites in Scotland for example.
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Did I show you the wooden Falcon9 and Crew Dragon my dad made for my birthday? Not bad huh?!
#Crew1
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Wow - staggering fact from Alice Bunn: astronaut immune systems after six months on ISS are equivalent of that of average 70 year old. After 2-3 months returns to that of a 40 year old. Huge medical potential if we could understand mechanism of that.
#spaceconomy
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So technically the launch element happens in the air, there is no soil involved. I don't even know if it is still going to be in UK airspace, or if it's actually Irish, Spanish and Portuguese (trajectory is southward). They all had to be consulted.
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But let's be clear, this mission, while it will leave from Cornwall, is based on tech that was developed and tested in the US. It would be super exciting if there was a UK or ESA developed launch happening today.
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ARGH.
@BBCRadio4
@BBCNews
How many times? It is a *crewed* spaceflight, not a manned spaceflight. Check your editorial style guide. Check the date (we’re not in the 1960s). Heck - check the name of the flight test you’re reporting on, clue’s in the title: CREWED flight test.
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I wish you all a very happy new year from London. I know Twitter isn’t what it once was, but the space community here still has its magic moments and I thank you all for being part of it. Here’s to meeting even more of you in 2024 xx
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Am I being a grinch about this? I'm not sure. I'd like to tell you why I think that it matters. Excitement about space is great, excuses to talk about space and inspire people - fabulous, but what if the hype gets too much?
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@AndrewParsonson
They really called it that? No.. really? Is this legit? Sounds like something from The Onion.
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I'm so happy for Wally Funk - she was unable to make it to space in the 1960s due to sexism, but she never gave up, and at 82 years-old she finally gets her astronaut wings. That is the biggest story of today for me.
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So maybe I'm a grinch, but it's only because I don't want all the other achievements to be forgotten, and I don't want the first vertical launch to miss out on press coverage because people assume it's old news. There, I said it. Judge me as you please.
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Being a shy introvert at an event like
#iac2019
is tough. And if you don’t think I am one, then that’s just a sign of how much energy I put into pretending I’m not.
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Seeing clickbait-y headlines about Venus? Bypass them all and go straight to the source. Here's a video I made for
@royalastrosoc
featuring lead author of the study Prof Jane Greaves
@jgreaves6
of
@cardiffuni
.
#Venus
#VenusNews
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Vertical launch into polar orbits from Scotland - now that will be interesting. I will be very excited about that. And while this launch today is of interest, let's not let the coverage eclipse all that the UK has done in space already.
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Back at
@ExploreSpaceKSC
and just about to depart Gateway to Mars! so excited to be back here. And look! It’s Christmassy!
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Sometimes I have to just stop and realise how incredible it is that using a small device in my hand, while on a moving train, I can stream live video of three humans launching into space on a rocket. I mean really, it’s wild.
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Before this trip I’d never seen a night launch. In the space of eight days I’ve now seen two! Far less cloud this evening so we watched it soar high in the sky. Quite beautiful.
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Today is a triple
#OTD
!
- 60 years ago Yuri Gagarin became the first person to launch in to space
- 40 years ago NASA launched the first space shuttle mission
- 20 years ago
@LorettaWhtsides
launched the first
@YurisNight
party!
Happy cosmonautics and human spaceflight day! 🚀
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Like all good things, my latest
#SpaceNomad
adventure must come to an end. So me and Rupert the Space Armadillo are saying our goodbyes from MCO. It’s been a great trip - as always. The magic of the space coast makes me feel like anything is possible. 🧵
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I'm not saying that it's not exciting that Spaceport Cornwall finally has a space launch. It's taken a lot of people a lot of time and effort to get to this point. There are exciting things happening in Cornwall with space - notably
@goonhillyorg
- and that's great.
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Pretty disappointed with
@independent
's response to my email asking them to consider using "human/crewed/robotic" rather than "manned/unmanned" in their articles. Though "we will certainly bare your comments in mind"(sic) speaks volumes about their editorial standards.
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26 nations participated in a multilateral agreement with NASA on Artemis this week. There is no question, there is interest from India, says
@JimBridenstine
#iac2019
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Oh *seriously*
@BBCr4today
?!? We are NOT leaving
@esa
when we we leave the EU - thankfully. Come on. Do your research.
#bbcr4today
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Exciting new space patch for the collection! Also good opportunity to mention my new job with
@fdleurope
- where I’ll be project lead for Frontier Development Lab Europe 2019! 🚀
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Made it to my spot for viewing and I’m the only person here so far. Saw a bit of lightning across the water and hoping that doesn’t affect tanking. Getting a positive vibe about launch so far. The bright spot on the left is the VAB, on the right is SLS!
#Artemis
#WeAreGoing
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Douglas Adams was right (of course):
"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is."
And on that note, I bid you goodnight.
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But, playing Devil's advocate here, Virgin Orbit has only flown five times so far. Only twice last year - compared to SpaceX's 61 orbital launches. So unless they are able to pick up the pace a bit I don't seeing it being a massive gamechanger yet.
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Let's not forget all that in the grip of today's launch fever. And headlines stating it's the "first European satellite launch" are dangerously misleading imho. Europe has a fantastic space heritage, many active satellites, built in Europe, launched on European rockets..
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John Logsdon looks at the numbers in the build-up to Apollo, NASA’s budget went up by 89% in the first year of the programme. Will the same happen to make Artemis possible?
#IAC2019
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We were the third country in the world (after USSR and US) to operate our own satellite - the ill-fated Ariel-1, launched in 1962. We were the sixth country in the world to develop an orbital-class rocket. Poor ol' Black Arrow.
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This photo (and tweet) is everything 😍😍😍
What it looks like from
@Space_Station
when your best friend achieves her lifelong dream to go to space. Caught the second stage in progress! We can’t wait to welcome you onboard, crew of Soyuz 61!
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Happy New Year from London to everyone in my space family! Happy New Year ISS! 🥂
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Amazing! Sergey Krikalev gives a lesson in how to drill in space. A water bubble over the place you want to drill will catch all the chips and you can just mop them up. Shaving foam also tested, but inconvenient because you can’t see through it!
#IAC2019
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Okay, it’s time to have a little chat about
#Starliner
. Apologies for the delay on this video, was busy checking out the
#Banksy
that appeared in my hometown this morning! 😄
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Have you managed to spot
#cometNEOWISE
yet? It's pretty cool to see - I managed it (albeit at 3 am) the other day even with the glare of a streetlight in London!
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Spotted an awesome cardboard-box-rocket in someone’s front garden at the end of my run today and so had to say hello to the owners. I’ve made a little pack for this a future member of the space family and I’m going to drop it round on my way to the shops! 🚀
#payitforward
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The Virgin Orbit approach is pretty cool - launching a rocket from an aeroplane is not simple! I just worry that from the headlines I've seen, a lot of people will be expecting the roar and light of a vertical launch.
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Whatever you think of Elon Musk - you can't deny that
@SpaceX
have got the whole branding and image thing down for these events. The
#CrewDragon
astronauts arriving at pad 39A in Teslas.. it's the little details..
#ISSBND
#LaunchAmerica
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After the Falcon 9 launch yesterday one of the students was overheard recording something on his phone. He said “Today is a special day that I will remember. 20th June, 5.35pm I saw my first rocket launch. This was an important day.” 🥰
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Oh my goodness! What joy! What delight! My hand painted postcard arrived from
@MiniGirlGeek
and it is AMAZING! Just look at this! I LOVE IT! 🥰 Thank you thank you! What a great talent you are! Thank you!
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Fabulous day rounded off with yummy Mexican meal with
@RocketCaley
who has set me up with two of my favourite things - Triscuits and space swag! I am a happy
#SpaceNomad
!
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We were a founding member of the European Space Agency. We have excellent skills in satellite building and robotics.
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I totally understand why
@NASA
has gone with
#LaunchAmerica
- I just find it a little harder to tag all my tweets with that, since I'm not American, and I believe that exploration is/should be an international collaboration.
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(Unsure exactly what Brexit and loss of contracts for Galileo has done to our progress, but doubt it's good). Anyway, what I'm trying to say is the UK has got a decent space sector to be proud of. Small sat manufacturers, excitement around spaceports, ESA membership, Goonhilly..
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.
@BBCNews
NO! Boeing’s soace capsule was not “unmanned” it was “UNCREWED”. Check you own editorial guidelines and for goodness sake at least try to get it right.
@BBCAmos
can advise.. again. 😡
@bbcradio4
#DoBetter
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Okay - so I've been thinking about starting a YouTube channel, but I usually prefer to be behind a camera than in front of it. I told a couple of friends, thinking (hoping?) they would talk me out of it. They all said they thought it was a great idea.
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So excited about the cupola on crew dragon! Instead of the ISS docking mechanism they have put in a cupola so the crew will get totally epic views in space. Waiting for the nose cone to come off and reveal it
#Inspiration4
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Okay, all the stress, I think I’m going to have to crack open whatever the heck this is
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No
@BBCr4today
! We don’t use manned/unmanned for spaceflight anymore. Use more inclusive language please. Take a lead from
@BBCAmos
- he gets it right!
#r4Today
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I'm making a list of online space and astronomy/geophysics things that are going on during lockdown time - what should I add?
@timmermansr
@rjmlaird
@Taraustralis
@drspacejunk
What you got for me? xx
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I reckon we haven't thought enough about the psychological effect of Earth becoming a small speck in the sky - with the added comms delay at that distance the crew will be - and feel - very alone.
What challenges will astronauts face when they go to Mars? The deadly radiation? The time away from their families (i.e., cabin fever)? What challenges are we not considering? 🚀🚀👨🚀👩🚀🔴🔴
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Is there anything better than a spacey birthday card?
Yes! When it has this inside! 😍😍😍
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Will this be a big step for the UK Space sector? Let's see. If it leads to regular launches from Cornwall that will certainly attract investment. There is a waiting list for launches, we know that.
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Project manager Bill Ochs confirms that they are officially done with commissioning activity for Webb, and have 20 years of fuel left.
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Walking round the central market in Kuala Lumpur and I stumble across this! 😃
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Argh. Finally trying to catch up with non-space news and I tuned into
@BBCRadio4
Midnight News only to hear them mention “manned” spaceflight. No! It’s “Crewed” *Crewed* *Crewed* Looks like we’ve still some work to do
@BBCAmos
! Take note
@BBCScienceNews
@BBCNews
!
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Rocket dress was definitely the right option. Not one, but two people broke the “no talking to strangers on the tube” unwritten rule to tell me they liked it. One of them, bedecked in stars and silver skirt is also heading to
#SpaceShambles
🚀🎉
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First night in Florida and my first ever night launch! Sure it’s 5am in my timezone, but I am grinning!
#SpaceX
#SpaceCoast
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@AJamesMcCarthy
@DrChrisCombs
@elonmusk
Super easy to say that knowing that the bet on SpaceX paid off. But that’s the thing - you don’t know the future when you place your bets.
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OMG - I’m huge!
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Finally made it to the Air and Space museum in Dulles! What a trek! Grabbing a bite and then to say hello to Discovery - the finest orbiter there ever was. 😍
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Ha - I was going to do an explainer video about Starliner, and why, despite headlines to the contrary, Astros Butch and Suni are not “stuck” or “stranded” in space. Then
@SkyNews
called and asked me to come on air this evening to discuss it! ☺️ (I’ll still do my own piece too.)
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This is what has been keeping me RIDICULOUSLY busy the past few weeks.. I made videos! yay! :D
#VenusNews
So that's it for the press conference for now - you can catch-up on all you've missed by re-watching it at this link: and find our press release here:
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Woohooo! The student launched their rockets today and it was super fun! Plus I got to launch mine too! 😁 Look at it go!
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Crikey - all drama in space with Nauka thrusters firing unexpectedly after it had docked with ISS earlier. Temporary loss of station attitude control - now been restored and corrected and crew were not in danger - but still. Station was off by 45 degrees from normal..
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ZOMG! My breakfast companion just got awarded second prize in the
#nam2019
poster competition and I am so proud! 🤗 Go
@heidi_teaman
! Love your happy face!
@rasnam2019
@royalastrosoc
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It's great news for
@astra
, though I think if I were producing the
@NASASpaceflight
livestream I would have suggested the lady in the USSR t-shirt was not front and centre in the crowd, given current world events.
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It’s official..
#spacenomad
adventure has begun. 10:42 BST NE London. Part one: get to airport..
#WeAreGoing
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