22 | Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Major | Space/Spaceflight Enthusiast | Trombone Player | Caps Fan
Between VA and NC
Joined March 2025
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Matt retweeted
Tomorrow will kick off a busy 12 hours for spaceflight.
First, Vulcan will launch for the first time with six SRBs, a long fairing, and a LEO Centaur.
Later in the day, Starship will make its second orbital flight, attempting to catch the V3 Booster for the first time, as well as the Ship for the first time.
Soyuz 2.1b will launch roughly two hours later.
To round out the launches, Electron will make its 100th flight, marking a major milestone for Rocket Lab.
It’s sure to be a busy but exciting day!
Matt retweeted
🔥 Hot metal. Blue fire. Stage 2 completed its mission duty cycle on the first try: a 400+ second burn and coast demo including an igniter hot fire, demonstrating everything it needs to do in flight.
Matt retweeted
Vulcan VC6L is on the pad, and ready to launch 40 satellites for @AmazonLeo!
There's a few firsts for this mission:
- First launch with six GEM 63XL SRB's
- First launch with the 21.3m long fairing
- First launch with LEO Centaur V
- First launch in daylight
Looking forward to a successful launch tomorrow afternoon!
📸 - @LaunchHeavenX
Matt retweeted
SS United States wreck dive, November 12, 2026.
The top deck will be roughly 55 to 65 feet below the surface, with the bottom on the seafloor around 180 feet down.
Video credit Casey Walentowicz.
#ssunitedstates
Matt retweeted
Pssst... A Vulcan VC6L is on the pad ahead of tomorrow's Amazon Leo LV-01 mission.
6 GEM 63-XLs ✅️
2 BE-4 engines ✅️
Stubby Centaur V upper stage ✅️
Extended payload fairing ✅️
Beast mode ✅️
nasaspaceflight.com/2026/11/…
📷 @NASASpaceflight
Matt retweeted
60 years ago today, the "first space selfie" was taken.
Buzz Aldrin took the picture during his first stand-up spacewalk of Gemini XII, and, after photographing landmarks on Earth. “Okay, tell everybody down there to smile,” Aldrin said, snapping away.
ALT A close-up of astronaut Buzz Aldrin in a space suit helmet, with Earth visible in the background during the Gemini 12 mission.
Matt retweeted
They are building a 3 stage rocket with a reusable first stage and making it out of composites. Neutron but bigger and with 2 expendable stages.
Generally it's a good idea to pick 1 battle (like using an existing engine) not >5
Rockets are not hard, apparently.
“Of course rocket engineers are going to get mad with me, but you can simplify it as a big tank feeding engines,” he said of the rocket. “So big tanks—we know how to do them. We know how to do them in composite.”
arstechnica.com/space/2026/1…
Matt retweeted
@ulalaunch Vulcan @AmazonLeo 1 standing tall on its launch mount at LC-41. The launch window opens at 12:54 EST (1754Z) tomorrow 13 November.
@MaxQApp @TalkOTitusville
Matt retweeted
Stage two acceptance testing complete for Alpha Flight 8!
This successful test confirms our propulsion, avionics, and structural components are ready for flight. Next step: first stage acceptance testing.
This is the first test on our upgraded stage test stand that accommodates our taller Alpha Block II vehicle.
What’s Block II? A configuration upgrade focused on improving Alpha reliability and manufacturability with enhanced thermal protection, consolidated batteries and avionics, and stronger composite structures.
