Two of the world's richest men are launching rockets in Texas. What happens when Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos moves into your neighborhood? I visited Brownsville and Van Horn to find out.
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Andrea Leinfelder
@a_leinfelder
Space reporter . Foodie, adventure seeker and new mom. alumna. Send tips and favorite sci-fi references to andrea.leinfelder@chron.com.
Andrea Leinfelder’s Tweets
ICYMI: NASA tapped astronaut Joe Acaba to play a central role in selecting who goes to the moon.
Acaba is the first person of Hispanic heritage to lead the Astronaut Office, and he will help make crew assignments for future missions. houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t via
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Today, spacewalkers & finished installing a support structure that will house a solar array. As construction proved a little tricky at first, Mission Control brought out a model to help walk them through the installation.
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57 total launches from Florida last year from all providers is certainly prolific, without SpaceX's Starlink effort though that launch cadence would still roughly mirror that of 3-5 years ago.
This year so far, four of SpaceX's eight missions have been Starlink.
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This stat released today by @BryceSpaceTech is rather interesting:
About 50 percent of SpaceX launches supported deployment of the company’s Starlink constellation, reaching 3,300 operational satellites in orbit at the end of 2022.
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This stat released today by is rather interesting:
About 50 percent of SpaceX launches supported deployment of the company’s Starlink constellation, reaching 3,300 operational satellites in orbit at the end of 2022.
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has appointed veteran astronaut Joe Acaba as chief of the Astronaut Office . A decorated veteran of multiple spaceflights, as well a former U.S. Marine and former educator, Acaba is the first person of Hispanic heritage selected to lead the office.
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Where were you 20 years ago when you learned that #Columbia wasn’t coming home?
Houston Chronicle photographers and began taking pictures of the disaster so it wouldn’t be forgotten. They share their stories here:
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Listen as recounts being dispatched to Nacogdoches to cover the Columbia disaster for . Read more here: houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t
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Many of the pictures taken 20 years ago were by photographers still working at the Houston Chronicle, including @coomerchron, @MPhillip_hc and @karenwarrenHC. twitter.com/mrkmully/statu…
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We actually had and take a look back and share their memories of those fateful days. Watch and listen to their stories: houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t
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Many of the pictures taken 20 years ago were by photographers still working at the Houston Chronicle, including @coomerchron, @MPhillip_hc and @karenwarrenHC. twitter.com/mrkmully/statu…
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Many of the pictures taken 20 years ago were by photographers still working at the Houston Chronicle, including , and .
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Heartbreaking and fascinating article from @a_leinfelder on the legacy of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on its 20th anniversary. houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t
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Stories of the "green comet" are making its way around the internet. Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be closest to the Earth tomorrow. But remember, it won't actually look green with the naked eye.
Are you planning to look for it? Let me know if you spot it!
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20 years ago, the Columbia crew lost their lives in the pursuit of exploration and discovery. Today, we lift up their legacies, and embrace NASA’s commitment to safety and the lessons we’ve learned. May we carry their spirit with us as we venture out to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
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Today marks 20 years since space shuttle Columbia broke apart during reentry. Seven astronauts died.
“We have a duty to carry the memories of those that we lost,” said NASA’s , “and carry their dreams onward and upward.”
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On Tuesday, Jan. 31, Demo-2 astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken will receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor for bravery from @VP Kamala Harris. Live coverage is scheduled to begin at 4:15pm ET (2115 UTC) on social media and NASA TV: go.nasa.gov/40giU9m
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Colossal Biosciences (), the company working to bring back the woolly mammoth, has added a new species to his revival list: the dodo houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t via
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20 years have passed since the #Columbia space shuttle disaster, yet traces of these astronauts live on at home and at NASA.
Their families channeled grief into helping others and continuing the crew’s legacy. NASA transformed its safety culture.
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This would be exciting:
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"Maybe next week we'll have a 33-engine static fire" of the Super Heavy booster, SpaceX's Bill Gerstenmaier says at AIAA SciTech this morning.
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This weekend is a good time to try and spot a comet — but remember it won't actually look green to the naked eye!
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NASA's Lucy spacecraft is adding one more asteroid to its flyby list, bringing its total to 10 and giving scientists a close-up look 17 months sooner than expected. houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t via
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And so the Space Command drama continues:
Democrat threatens to hold up Pentagon nominees over Space Command HQ decision
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Starship is unstacked. Now SpaceX will prepare for a static fire of all 33 rocket engines.
A static fire is a test where the rocket is secured to the pad and the engines are lit for a short period of time.
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Woah. This will be very loud. Firing 33 engines at once! It’s a first for SpaceX.
And an orbital launch could be getting closer for South Texas.
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Boeing is preparing to launch astronauts to the International Space Station in April:
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It’s all coming together 
for #Starliner’s Crew Flight Test (CFT)!
Watch the mating of our crew and service modules and learn more about the production milestone here: starlinerupdates.com/starliner-spac
for #Starliner’s Crew Flight Test (CFT)!
Watch the mating of our crew and service modules and learn more about the production milestone here: starlinerupdates.com/starliner-spac
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We’re partnering with to demonstrate a nuclear thermal rocket engine in space. This new engine would allow us to do more science and reach destinations faster—key steps for sending the first crewed mission to Mars. go.nasa.gov/3DaNirN
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. houses the largest & most diverse collection of in the world, beginning with samples returned from Apollo. We look forward to managing the project that will receive Mars samples gathered by #GiantLeapsStartHere
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The agency will honor members of the family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration & discovery, leading up to, and during, the agency's annual Day of Remembrance Jan. 26.
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More details on why this seat liner was moved in my article:
houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t
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The @NASA_Astronauts moved a seat liner into the @SpaceX #Dragon crew ship today in case of an unlikely emergency evacuation. blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2
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The “astronaut” is coming home to Houston!
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Commander Moonikin Campos, a sensored stand-in for humans from NASA’s Artemis I mission, packed in its transport crate inside the Space Station Processing Facility at @NASAKennedy Jan. 10, 2023, for its trip back to Johnson Space Center in Houston.
MORE: go.nasa.gov/3GKnPGu
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I missed this yesterday! The Webb telescope has confirmed its first exoplanet.
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A whole new world!
41 light-years away is the small, rocky planet LHS 475 b. At 99% of Earth’s diameter, it’s almost exactly the same size as our home world. This marks the first time researchers have used Webb to confirm an exoplanet. go.nasa.gov/3VY5WK1 #AAS241
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The crew members, who remain healthy, will stay on the station for several additional months because the Russian Soyuz capsule that carried them into space was damaged by a micrometeorite roughly 1 millimeter in diameter.
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An empty spacecraft will be launched to the International Space Station to bring home one NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts.
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Texans can spot a recently discovered comet this month, but it won't appear bright green as photos (and many headlines) suggest. houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t via
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