This Week in Space (Audio) TWiS 190: Holiday Special 2025 - A Look Back at 2025 in Space!
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Dec 19, 2025 In this festive roundup, the hosts reflect on the thrilling highs and lows of space exploration in 2025. They discuss the appointment of Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator and what it might mean for the agency's future. The interstellar comet ATLAS captivates public imagination, while concerns rise over a Starlink satellite breakup. Exciting updates on the Artemis II mission and Perseverance's potential Mars biosignatures add to the year’s highlights. Plus, a remarkable new moon is discovered around Uranus!
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Executive Order Raises Ambitious Space Goals
- The Ensuring American Space Superiority order sets aggressive national goals like a 2028 lunar return and stronger cislunar and missile defenses.
- Tariq Malik and Rod Pyle note the order mostly formalizes existing aims but puts pressure on NASA and military partners.
Starlink Anomaly Created New Orbital Debris
- A Starlink satellite ruptured its propulsion tank, vented, and released trackable debris into crowded orbits.
- Rod and Tariq warn that unscheduled failures increase collision risk amid tens of thousands of new satellites.
Seeing A Recovered Falcon 9 At The Beach
- Rod Pyle describes attending a Florida launch and spotting a Falcon 9 booster on a barge at Jetty Park.
- He uses the scene to show how visible and routine booster recovery has become.