SpaceX and Polaris Dawn just made history! Next up, Starship!

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Welcome back to an absolutely incredible week, my friends! I hope you’ve got a coffee or snack in hand because there’s just so much exciting stuff to dive into today. SpaceX and Polaris Dawn just made history! We’ve got our usual Starship updates, a fresh look at NASA's upcoming mission plans. But we can’t forget the latest frustration surrounding the FAA and Starship Flight 5. That’s right, we have SpaceX’s Starship Plans Thrown Off Course! What’s Really Going On? Let’s unpack it all!
😍 Stardesk - Mini venting Falcon 9, Starship or SLS
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SpaceX Update Article regarding Flight 5 Approval with the FAA
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[@MarcusHouse]

Go to ground.news/marcus to stay fully informed and get global perspectives on SpaceX, Starship and more. Subscribe through my link for 40% off unlimited access.

[@MrComfyAustralia]

i heard space smells like burnt toast?

[@glennsmith3199]

Also... Coincidentally has mishap after mishap. As if to hurt or discredit his work.

[@salty_berserker_channel]

Texas just needs to go rogue and become it's own country again. Then they can lead the space industry and protect their borders and citizens simultaneously.

[@AndyOO6]

@markushouse sadly these are slap suits to slow down spacex lies and attention seeking and backing from people that want to see spacex fail fuel this push of hate and lies. every year they try to delay spacex half a year so they can say see his timeline is so off, but it's off because of them. lol '-.-' remember natural predators can ravish ecosystems and releasing them into protected habitats is a crime... a crime that can destroy the natural wildlife and create extinction level events ;)

[@AndyOO6]

@@dungeness99 This is not about justify the .. this is dealing with people that want wast time for personal reasons similar to slap suits to get even or punish

[@claireclausing3286]

Wife of the guy who makes the 3D printed rockets here! Thanks so much for sharing Stardesk, it means the world!

[@julianfp1952]

@claireclausing3286 - Cool! I just visited the site thanks to Marcus's link. What your husband has created looks amazing - really inventive and well-implemented - but the web site didn't have any contact details (at least none that I could find) so I hope you don't mind if I ask you a question to pass on to him .... For the venting Starship model I was wondering if there is any plan to make a version 2 of that model with the vertical tank farm replaced by a few horizontal "hot dog" tanks. For the total Starship nerds among us (and I suspect there are a lot more of them here than just me!) that would feel a bit more true to the current launch site configuration now that all of the vertical tanks have now been removed.

[@Mikael-jt1hk]

@@julianfp1952 who cares?

[@devoof]

​@@Mikael-jt1hksmart people

[@harrythompson6977]

@@Mikael-jt1hk as he said the star base/star ship nerds? you forget how to read?

[@Shattered3582]

@@Mikael-jt1hk us

[@Magnaraptor1836]

"Back at home we all have alot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world." Hits different when you're mid-graveyard shift trying to watch the livestream on a tiny phone screen. I understand what my Grandma meant by Niel's quote making people cry.

[@nsfitter3134]

It’s impressive how you get these videos produced with up to date content religiously every Saturday. I don’t worry about missing things during the week because I know I can catch up every Saturday through your videos. Please don’t ever stop doing this! Things are only getting more interesting!

[@MarcusHouse]

Thank you! This was a particularly busy week too.

[@nsfitter3134]

@@MarcusHouse Yes it does feel that way! I feel like most weeks are busy though. Perhaps it feels busier because of the historical nature regarding the first commercial spacewalk. It was so cool to see those spacesuits in action.

[@RobertCraft-re5sf]

​​@@MarcusHouseThanks, Marcus! You and Scott manley always keep us informed.

[@EmergingEvents]

My primary goto source!

[@waynemasters8673]

Gives me a boost on all my unfinished projects.

[@mdeasy]

Marcus, it's interesting that you noticed the softer landing of Falcon 9. Some of the other landings seem softer than usual as well. Seems that after the recent mishap, they are further optimizing the landings. SpaceX is relentlessly improving!!!

[@robaust3049]

Always depend on our reliable Saturday report from Marcus. No horrible headlines, no AI, no over excitement. Just upto date details. Thank you.

[@MarcusHouse]

Thank you!

[@spooders8424]

No ai, unlike wAI

[@ascherlafayette8572]

Yes . . . I'm so glad that's a standard some folks live up to

[@riogrande5761]

Well, he is pretty excited.

[@eeehan77]

Marcus, the second 75% that EVA was visible thanks to a SpaceX ground station receiving the video stream from the Dragon module back down here in our beautiful Tasmania! The first 25% or so of the EVA I believe was from a ground station somewhere in WA. What I found most surprising is the video stream of the EVA cut out just off the Northern tip of NZ just as EV2 was rounding up. This confirms the feed was still being received in Tasmania, and hence no working SpaceX ground station in NZ. To be sure, I computed the distance to the horizon was 2680km for a Dragon module at a 549km altitude at the time, which when drawn on Google Earth is the exact distance from the ground station in central Tasmania at 640m altitude to the shown position just off the NE tip of New Zealand when it cut out.

[@mycophyle]

It's too bad they couldn't use the Parks (PKS) dish as was used during the Apollo 11 moon walk. I'm sure the reception would have been perfect!

[@eeehan77]

@@mycophyle massive dish size isn't the primary issue as it's not like they're attempting to receive a signal from beyond the solar system. Line of sight is the issue. I'll be interested to hear how SpaceX space laser communication tests with the Starlink network went. This will be their future, however it will require a spare laser on the Starlink satellites to talk to, rather than disconnecting a laser from their mesh for this experiment, which is what I presumed they did. Obviously Starlink network is no good if you are in a particular orbital inclination at too high a relative speed to the sats for Doppler corrections, but more so in this case also orbiting well above the network for the most part (noting that they have successfully used Starlink for the Starship flight tests for large percentages of very low Earth orbit and re-entry). Also any Starlink sats on the horizon require too much of an acute angle for the phased array antennas to beam form nearly sideways communication to the plane of the satellite antenna. So I guess that leaves a couple of options: some reserved non-directional radio spectrum with dedicated transceivers on a large percentage of the Starlink satellites for some "near field" comms in any direction, which I'm not sure is an allowed option given potential impacts of the lack of signal direcivity on Earth spectrum and interference; or really ramp it up with some high speed space lasers which will have no interference issues. I mean if Starlink already has so much experience with space lasers, why not pursue this as the primary option for spacecraft comms in the future?

[@mycophyle]

@@eeehan77 Thanks for the detailed explanation. I appreciate the time and effort you took to put the laser experiment in lay men's terms!

[@DjokerNole42]

Thanks for all your hard work in making this video and keeping us informed

[@MarcusHouse]

You are most welcome!

[@wk8219]

27min 35sec, a new length record. When you started I wondered how you would find enough content for a weekly 20min video. Now I’m surprised that you can keep in under a half hour with everything happening. Great work as always and thanks for a Saturday morning highlight.

[@marki7661]

Mr. House, I must say, this may certainly have been your best update yet. The combination of this weeks space related activity, achievements and records, combined with your ever pleasant and enthusiastic demeanour as always displayed in your presentations is hard to beat. Then with the stunning footage compiled and incorporated in the editing process, man, you gave me goose bumps a couple times through out. This one was a masterpiece!!!

[@remaincalm2]

How I laughed when Marcus said it takes the FCC longer to do their paperwork than it takes SpaceX to prepare the largest rocket in the world for its next flight. True words.

[@wyattnoise]

How often does the FAA's paperwork suffer a "Rapid, Unscheduled Disassembly? You billionaire bootlickers are something else...

[@ThatOpalGuy]

regulations are necessary. starship??? debatable

[@gospyro]

@@ThatOpalGuyyes, but at what point do regulations become weaponized?

[@longshot7601]

If there was an EPA in the early 20th century might have lost WW2 because Hoover Dam would never have been built (or any dam for that matter). Hoover dam power much of the war production on the west coast that would not have been possible without electricity.

[@MrMadsci7]

@@gospyroAt what point were regulations not intended to be weapons? The entire purpose of regulations is to stand in the way of private corporations and prevent those corporations from doing what they want. Feature, not bug.

[@NavyDood21]

Watching the Polaris Dawn launch and then EVA was amazing. That first view outside the capsule made me cray a bit, cant imagine actually being up there.

[@silverrfire]

Great to see a fellow Australian with such an amazing content! It's always informational and exciting to watch your videos!

[@MarcusHouse]

Thank you!

[@wackbirdz]

When every other SpaceX focused KZbinr(other than Tim Dodd) has devolved into grasping at straws and Clickbait content, i’m continuously blown away how rich, interesting, and relevant the content is in every one of your videos. Keep up the good work!

[@DarwinsChihuahua]

He's only one of a few that I subscribe to. I stay away from the stock pumpers and UFO nutcases.

[@robnobert]

Fr... even NSF has fallen into this trap as of late. They're decent about clickbait - but lately they're just PURE unadulterated speculation while they're all jizzing over each other about how much they think they don't speculate. Honestly don't mind some amount of spec, it's useful sometimes, but only when you have the self-awareness to not take your assumptions to seriously. Plus they're just SO HEAVY with the banhammer for anyone who disagrees with their weird Elon-hate sessions they devolve into occasionally.

[@arturoeugster7228]

Do not forget Scott Manley, he is the most knowledgeable about orbital dynamics..

[@dez7852]

Guys! Thanks so much for diving into that crane a bit! I was really wondering these past couple of weeks about how that thing actually works! Giving us content and context is really what makes this channel stand out!

[@TroyRubert]

The process is the punishment. Change my mind.

[@TiberiusMaximus]

VOTE!

[@dancingdog2790]

@@TiberiusMaximus *Crazy* *Party* or *Stupid* *Party* (It works either way)?

[@ThatOpalGuy]

@@dancingdog2790 in this case, one party is both.

[@robobloxgamer524]

Agreed. Musk supports Trump, which cannot be tolerated.

[@00kt86]

The head and the deputy head of the EPA are Democrats. Democrats hate Trump. Elon supports Trump. Elon owns SpaceX. Enuff said.

[@mdeasy]

Marcus buddy, you and your team put out the best SpaceX content. Always happy to see your videos pop up!

[@papapiers1588]

I can’t praise the Marcus House channel high enough. Superb work. I downloaded and subscribed to that Ground News last month… super APP also. Thanks

[@DavidGalich77]

Looking back at this vid is such a huge break through. Space X can do it and the stars and beyond are the target. Go Space X

[@n00bnetrum]

Late November, huh. I wonder what could be happening in November that the government wants to sit out.

[@JeffreyBue_imtxsmoke]

yep

[@LeafBoye]

​@@JeffreyBue_imtxsmokebro you're everywhere good lord

[@MichaelWinter-ss6lx]

NewGlenn was scheduled soon, but again is indefinitly delayed.

[@byssmal]

US presidential election November 2024

[@JohnVanderbeck]

At this point I wouldn't put it past Elon Musk to intentionally delay so that he doesn't made the Biden admin look good. Guy has gone full kool aid drinking cult mode.

[@Siriusastronomy]

Marcus you make Saturday special- thanks for all you do. Bureaucracy is just awful - I hope this latest round of the few malcontents gaming the system passes quickly.

[@ajctrading]

Will be lucky if flight 5 happens before 2025

[@brianmangan15]

Gotta elect Republicans if you want to see more launches. Democrats have banned them

[@MarcusHouse]

That may be true. Something needs to change. These regulatory steps can hold things up for any amount of time.

[@JordonBeal]

@@brianmangan15 Funny, Space X has had their most successful launches during this current Democratic term. That would seem to poke holes in your argument. But judging by your comments, you’re just a blind right-wing nut job who can’t stop screaming into the void about it. So sorry that you decided the back the wrong hose, my guy.

[@recoilrob324]

@@MarcusHouse What needs to change is the people inhabiting the White House....which...not coincidentally is why the launch is being delayed until AFTER the election. Elon is supporting President Trump which then means the current usurpers will do anything they can to delay and hopefully destroy him. Don't put actually charging him with false crimes out of the equation as this 'lawfare' seems to be one of their favorite methods to attack perceived enemies.

[@kwichzwellbreck697]

It will happen in January 2025 ... 5 minutes after Trump is inaugurated the FAA will grant the license.......any questions?

[@iamaduckquack]

Everyone has become so impatient. We've been spoiled.

[@johns5558]

The first reasonable comment Ive read on this subject. Just consider that the Space X Booster on flight 3 touchdown was travelling at upwards of 1000 km per hour...!? So thats 7.7 Gigajoules of Kinetic Energy. The Hiroshima bomb was 65 Gigajoules ... register that! The FAA is not only entitled to check Space X and Musk its their absolute duty to do so. They have an obligation to check that three REAL layers of reliable redundancy are in place. And they dont need to ask they need to tell them whats what.

[@tedg1609]

Paper pushers so spoiled they can’t do a tiny amount of pointless pretend work in 6 weeks.

[@SteveBueche1027]

Meantime, NASA needs billions more to develop a space suit

[@MarcusHouse]

There is a pretty big difference between a full suit for a moonwalk, but even still, the cost for the new suits by Axiom is extremely high.

[@rh906]

Because there is no purpose to NASA anymore. It's just a means to paying keys.

[@JeffreyBue_imtxsmoke]

...and a mobile launcher... NASA can't seem to do ANY project without going 10X over original budget.

[@ThatOpalGuy]

a suit with a 12 foot leash is gonna be super useful.

[@invisible468]

@@ThatOpalGuydon’t worry the blue tooth version will be here soon enough

[@josephwisniewski3673]

Don’t forget that Anna and Sarah also now hold the record for the biggest hair in space.

[@jarretta2656]

Ok. Here’s their award. 🏆.

[@tactileslut]

From watching Suni, that hair looks really dangerous on a personal level for getting a suit to seal securely and on a mission level for wrapping fan axles in a source of friction.

[@roberttuinstra5494]

Where does NASAs boosters splash down? Is faa getting nit picking?

[@8jn9]

This is one of the most un-clickbait video titles from Marcus

[@worldwideroach]

It’s nice to see SpaceX’s confidence in its own StarLink to cellular technology that they’re happy to launch their competition.

[@TheArtikae]

I don’t think they’d be allowed to say no. Anti-competitive behavior and all that jazz.

[@julianemery718]

​@@TheArtikae Isn't anti-competitive more about actively preventing others from doing stuff?

[@onedaya_martian1238]

Great Work Markus !!!!!! Thanks so much to you and your crew !!!

[@time-lapseseb1141]

Of course we watch till the end! You've got a terrific attitude, and while the information by itself is interesting enough, you and your team deliver it in a way, that I don't want to miss even a bit. 😁

[@MarcusHouse]

Thank you!

[@robfive2555]

Wow its certainly been a busy week Excellent roundup Thank you MH + Team for everything

[@streglof]

Government: "we'd like you to develop a space vehicle for us" Also government: "we're going to frustrate this development process every step along the way"

[@ThatOpalGuy]

if you cant do it safely, dont do it here. china is available.

[@invisible468]

Most likely because they are not having all the over runs the other companies have( and by over runs I mean kickbacks)

[@atlesifeyst2185]

​@ThatOpalGuy 😂 it's safe, it's some asshat in government making a stink for nothing / trying to get more money from space x.

[@shirolee]

For reals.

[@mike-0451]

@@ThatOpalGuyHahah

[@danapeck5382]

Thanks, great job on the activities, especially appreciated the crane info -- bet the operators and riggers loved t -- all the best

[@JeffWusch]

Great Saturday start as usual Marcus, thanks....

[@alfredlorber97]

Brilliant coverage of so many topics. Well done!!

[@bpo6955]

Marcus- your vid is always the highlight of my Saturday. Thank you!!!

[@noads1035]

WOW! Thanks for the Stardesk link. My Falcon 9 and Starship are ordered! What fun!

[@Tom-s2j5g]

this reminds me of when they had to catch a seal and put headphones on it and strap it down and play sonic booms to see if the seals would get stressed or not to get approval

[@bobjoatmon1993]

Yah, and the detail that catching the poor seal would stress the crap out of it was never mentioned. I give the proceedure designers a fail check.

[@skierpage]

Don't be so flippant. U.S. Navy sonar unquestionably disrupts marine mammals, leading whales to beach and get stranded 😢. It's important to figure out what effects rocket sonic booms have on marine mammals. The biologists are doing their best.

[@davesomeone4059]

@@skierpage Didn't NASA already do all this stuff? Or they just didn't care until yesterday?

[@adamstansbeary1764]

​@@skierpageThis could be a troubling ethical paradox where the very act of studying the impact on sea mammals unintentionally exacerbates the problem. In environmental research, minimizing harm is a key principle, and this scenario highlights the importance of non-invasive research techniques.

[@geraint8989]

⁠@@skierpage And do what with any possible conclusions? “Make your rockets go slower”? “Don’t have any rockets”? Clearly we need rockets, their areas of operation (including landing) are severely limited, and all options involve flight over sea. I’m all for sensible steps to protect marine mammals (like speaking more forcefully with Japan) but there is no sensible premise for these studies purportedly looking at the effects of sonic booms. They are clearly both frivolous and politically motivated.

[@D-GAF-Space-2024]

Thanks For The Brilliant Video, It's Been A Historic Week In Space Flight, Loved The Polaris Dawn Spacewalk.👩‍🚀👩‍🚀🚀🚀🇺🇲🇺🇲

[@lancerbiker5263]

I wonder if the EPA is as concerned about the hundreds of abandoned and rotting oil wells both in the gulf, and in Texas ....?

[@endofunk2174]

Only if Elon Musk was a shareholder -- very typical for Democrats.

[@floundericiouswa5694]

That’s a great thing to compare starship to you know.

[@morphentropic]

There are an ungodly number of issues the EPA need to address, caused by private industry in the pursuit of infinite growth. You should be pleased they are out there trying to make sure your water is safe to drink and your food isn’t grown in contaminated soil. Do they do a perfect job? Hell no. Would things be better if they didn’t exist? Of course not. Just as all safety regulations are written in the blood of workers, so too are environmental regulations driven by the harm previously caused to the american populace and wildlife and the goal to stop it happening again.

[@gasdive]

​@@morphentropic Surely you know this has nothing to do with putting drinking water into a swamp. A brief rain shower puts far more water into the wetlands. It's an obvious subversion of the role of the EPA that weakens its ability to do the good work that is its actual role.

[@carl8703]

True, the oil companies have more money to defend themselves.

[@StephenMason27]

Watching your videos with a coffee every Saturday morning is the highlight of my week.

[@shuaige3360]

So annoying for the delay of starship 😢😢😢

[@rh906]

Deal with it or start your own nation-state.

[@TeslaFTWin]

@@rh906No, we don’t have to deal with it. We can bully these bureaucrats.

[@screally1152]

yeah its really annoying that spacex didn't follow the local government procedures and submit applications and data on time months ago, and now that they've been held up by it, have thrown their toys out the pram.

[@TaeSunWoo]

@@TeslaFTWindon’t try too hard. Or we’ll have to make a # of ya 😂

[@Scaliad]

DJT will turn things around...

[@ChrisBrown-Concorde216]

Brilliant update as usual Marcus. Every time I listen to your production, it all seems presented in a "Positive" way. Upbeat & when compared to others (of which there are many 😉) I get out of the information you give and the visuals, just what I like to listen to & watch, without too much "Hollywood"!! . Keep it up. 👍👍

[@jacobjacob5735]

SpaceX: Yes, we also fly missions on our own to space to perform a spacewalk just cause we can. Boing : Upsi, we dont know why our thingy no longer does thingy things whoopsie.

[@ChuckThree]

Leftists Almighty: We must not allow the Elon and Orange Man have a moment of triumph before the election. American excellence and space travel advancements be damned.

[@ThatOpalGuy]

starliner was fine.

[@jacobjacob5735]

@@ThatOpalGuy in the end perhaps, but it was not clear that it would be fine. At least not at a level that Nasa trusted that astronauts could be put in. And thats a bit unfortunate if thats its purpose.

[@therealjamespickering]

I wouldn't describe that mission as 'fine', unless you drive a Russian car from the 50s, and just getting home alive is considered a great success.

[@brucebower4814]

@@ThatOpalGuy ..in hindsight, landed safely, yes.. ..fine, no, even a guidance crash on the way in but did recover, too close for me.. ..going up "sick" was a bad idea..

[@robertofala6624]

great work like always marcus....keeping this canadian and everyone informed

[@robbannstrom]

Aahhh, my weekly straight-in-the-arm shot of Marcus Space Goodness, a super-high that (only just!) keeps me going for the coming week ... until the next, eagerly awaited, Booster Shot!

[@richardconway6425]

Good puns !! 🐸

[@brettcoster4781]

Great review of a wonderful week of space achievements, Marcus. But I think the best thing this week was, not the space walk but Sarah Gillis playing her violin in Polaris Dawn. Truly monumental and a wonderful example of art (music) at its cutting-edge best.

[@theonlyalan731]

I wonder if the beef between the current administration and Elon Musk has anything to do with any of this...

[@FourthRoot]

You are being very gracious to only wonder that.

[@Rorschach1024]

Most certainly

[@laurentguyot3362]

100%, democrats are such bad loosers

[@georgetsokanis3542]

Just a microcosm of the roadblocks that government throws up everywhere. Hurry up and wait.

[@ChuckThree]

Noooo I’m sure that November timeline is just a coincidence… 🙃

[@CMMWest]

Great episode this week Marcus! Amazing Polaris Dawn videos too!

[@Warchin007]

Growing national priorities, well said.

[@Rocketman5442]

Great update. I love ground news as well. Any important news I check through ground.

[@patpozzuto4809]

Great work on fact checking Marcus!

[@alisonl6767]

Your work is always first-rate. Thanks so much for all you do. 😊

[@pigbenis8366]

I turn 40 in a few days. I hope that before I die i get to experience space. Going to space is one of my biggest dreams. Unfortunately I don't think a blue collar peasant like me will ever get to experience that. 😥

[@ThatOpalGuy]

better become a billionaire, or win the lottery

[@MrMadsci7]

Same dreams here. I have epilepsy in addition to no money though so I’m not even allowed to drive a car.🤷

[@GH-jb6bq]

@@ThatOpalGuy Nah, just vote democrat and claim it's your constitutional right. Reparations or such.

[@brandyballoon]

I'm 50 and still hopeful. It's on my bucket list... even if it's a one way trip. I'd rather die looking at Earth from space, than die on Earth having never had the opportunity.

[@brucebower4814]

@@brandyballoon ..I am 73, would be on the first manned Mars ship in a heartbeat.. ..saw sputnik as a child in our backyard in the city, yep you could see the stars in the (small) city sky then..

[@benvandermerwe4934]

Great journalism. Thanks for sharing. 👏🏻🥃

[@EstorilEm]

I really don’t think people understand these governmental agency delays. AT ALL. Does anyone even realize that the FAA has granted them a license to launch three more flights? Like, right now. Already done. The issue is that immediately following the success of flight 4, they apparently sent out a draft for a completely different mission profile for a catch attempt with flight 5. Flight 4 = roughly zero chance or damage to property or lives. Flight 5 = significant chance for both of those. The previous license (remember, they didn’t even require a mishap report or anything after flight 4) was for the SAME mission profile. They can only grant a license for specific profiles because they need something tangible to research risk mitigation, etc. The issue isn’t fish or deluge water, it’s that SpaceX submitted a completely different / new mission profile to the FAA for a launch license. Even the Angry Astronaut (who famously dislikes the FAA and bureaucracy) admitted that this is a new license now, and that we don’t even know what issues were uncovered during flight 4 which could directly impact the safety of a landing catch attempt. Yeah, it landed in the water near its ideal TD zone, but did it retain adequate control to execute the same landing within feet of its TD zone? Or did something fail? None of the above mattered for another repeat launch of the same profile - NOW it all matters. They’re getting to the point where the tech needs to be very mature and redundant. As for the conspiracies, and as much as the current administration probably dislikes Elon at this point, I just haven’t seen anything to justify that conclusion yet - we went through ALL of this with Starship the entire way, since before IFT-1. How do people forget this stuff? 🤦‍♂️ They’re landing a 23-story building near a populated area. There’s going to be some paperwork.

[@trabladorr]

A complicated explanation that requires knowledge and research will always lose to a simple conspiracy theory

[@user-re8jn7iz3f]

Sure but its not that complicated for the FAA since they do it with falcon9 all the time and super heavy is just an upscaled version of that. They land near a populated area but spacex has know how of how to do it and massive experience with the return of a booster, no need to delay for that long…

[@ThatDiecastGuy69]

why are you talking about government delays when the real conversation should be on the failure of Musk himself....of course Musk made a timeline he could never hit because he wants to reinvent the wheel. Instead of a lander modeled after what we know works he wants to land a structure that is a few hundred feet tall, WHAT A GENIUS! being a half decade behind schedule is classic Musk, we wont be going to the moon anytime soon and he has already pissed away the public's tax money he was awarded by Lueders, that was while she was working at nasa before she retired to go work for Musk, nothing weird about that, after all the government investigated itself and found they didnt do anything wrong.

[@ALTruckerDad]

Government agencies exist for the sole purpose of themselves. They simply have to have their hands in everything they can, so they can remind everyone of their existence and "necessity".

[@Collan-D]

We all hope this is the case! But it feels disingenuous when space x is doing a full rocket overhaul and prep for launch before the FAA is able to finish an investigation/ preflight paperwork. The FAA is not ignorant to the fact the whole Artemis timeline depends on space x making the starship an extreme success before 2028 for Artemis 3. The FAA may just may be being thorough or some may have a grudge against Elon (for political reasons or for corporate reasons) or the FAA may just be another molasses moving government organization that is inept. The bottom line is the reason doesn’t matter. The FAA should be done before space x every launch or a least close. Space x should not be the one waiting on the FAA. Also it’s like a brand new start up company at this point they know space x cadence.

[@michaelreid2329]

Hey Marcus, another great update thanks. I think you've spotted a key change to the booster landing. Definitely a softer touchdown.

[@fritzkabeano1969]

Of course, none of these bureaucratic delays are political. Thinking that way is not allowed.......

[@stevecastellanos]

But thinking dogs are being eaten by immigrants is?!

[@trabladorr]

Not allowed? How exactly is this opinion repressed?

[@aprilpower1158]

@@trabladorrBy the Democrats, you know, the people that are against free speech.

[@tusse67]

@@trabladorr pretending its not allowed makes it more exciting to some people… And they probably think it makes them more exciting as well!

[@andrewfarnsworth3130]

I really enjoy your weekly updates. Thanks for the great job.

[@MarcusHouse]

You are so welcome!

[@Rifff3]

"The ultimate high ground" It says so much about it all.

[@RobertPruitt-y7m]

The FAA is doing exactly what it has always done. The difference is that since the 1950s we've all been told that space is hard, and companies took a long time to do anything. SpaceX comes along and he's doing everything much faster, so now the slowness of government is a problem.

[@Shattered3582]

1:21 damn the quality of these videos just keep getting better

[@DLWELD]

FAA is there to monitor and regulate a well established industry - commercial air travel. It's not suitable for overseeing experimental new technology.

[@travishunter8573]

Ok so should they just let rockets fly through plane flight paths then?

[@davenehilla9610]

No, areas are routinely closed to flight ops on a daily basis for many reasons. I have been routed routinely around many of these areas in my lengthy career, including for rocket launches. And it was sure nice to have a nice big area to go out and dogfight way back when. Nothing new. But the FAA is way out of its league when it comes to space.

[@MadPirateShin]

@@travishunter8573 What has to be true for it to take the FAA several months to clear the airspace of commercial traffic during a launch?

[@travishunter8573]

@@MadPirateShin I was saying that commercial air travel is directly related to this "experimental new technology" it's silly to say that they shouldn't be involved

[@MadPirateShin]

@@travishunter8573 If the FAA wants to be effective at experimenting with new technology they will have to make massive changes to their current methodology used to regulate an established industry. The question is how involved should the FAA be in the development of new tech, and how they can do so effectively. No one expects the FAA to instantly be the leaders in space research, but... should they even try to be?

[@andyspry3030]

Marcus, your diction and elocution are exemplary. 🙏 Long time follower.

[@MarcusHouse]

Thank you!

[@ericdenny2006]

That transition to ad was smoooth😂

[@robinfreestun5619]

@@ericdenny2006 - yes - noticed that too… you only really knew it was an ad because the text said ‘ad start’!!! Marcus just believes the stuff!!

[@pauljcampbell2997]

Thanks Marcus. Great round up as always!

[@scott6129]

4:48 Space Balls

[@MarcusHouse]

Haha! For those unsure, that is a Starlink ground station.

[@BakudanBagyoSakuna]

​@@MarcusHouse can u show us the link to the article

[@philipkudrna5643]

The Chinese have just achieved a sample return mission from the far side of the moon and are planning a Mars sample return mission as next step, while the US has just cancelled their plans for such a mission (due to the again unnecessarily overcomplex mission design). This means, the US is already falling behind - and with this new bureaucratic delays, this will even get worse! Good night, America!

[@Thats_Mr_Random_Person_to_you]

Yh but the Chinese also don't mind dropping rocket stages with hypergolic (ie totally fatally toxic fuels even in very small ppms in the atmosphere) fuels onto, and near, populated areas of their own citizens... Whilst the progress of the Chinese space endeavours are amazing, at what cost? It seems to the Chinese state, the ends results are the only thing that matters, irrespective of the means by which they got there. Ie it's not something that anyone else should be looking to emulate.

[@philipkudrna5643]

Yes, but we are not talking about SpaceX spilling hypergolics all over the place. And in the end, if the Chinese are first to set foot on Mars, nobody will care how they got there. Delaying SpaceX for months for what seems some bureaucratic knitty gritty red tape is NOT helpful in advancing US space ambitions.​@@Thats_Mr_Random_Person_to_you

[@ThatOpalGuy]

@@Thats_Mr_Random_Person_to_you regulations save lives. some people seem to want to remove the regulatory process completely.

[@autisticboi2992]

@@Thats_Mr_Random_Person_to_you i feel like there's a step somewhere between dropping rocket stages on populated cities and environmental agencies canceling missions because the launch might kill a single ant

[@atlesifeyst2185]

​@Thats_Mr_Random_Person_to_you also, space x is a private company with the major of it's funding coming from it's investors. Not the government like China 😂

[@powmagazine]

Wow. Great reporting Marcus!

[@VinamraKumar-vi8wy]

welcome 🎉

[@jefferyshall]

Gee imagine that, AT&T and Verizon were able to launch their direct to cell satellites without a single peep from anyone about messing with their frequencies and/or communications!!

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

I'm so sick of the way FAA, EPA et al are handling things in this country. Ever-increasing authority & power. 😡

[@AluminumOxide]

It’s called uncompromising bureaucracy

[@hefeibao]

Unless it has to do with regulating women's health, then it's let's have more power and authority. I'm not saying the two are related, but...

[@ThatOpalGuy]

move

[@ThatOpalGuy]

@@hefeibao people fail to understand how many lives are saved because of regulation.

[@fabianmckenna8197]

All just a little bit strange......... Falcon 9 booster lands before suffering a leg failure after 23rd reuse with no danger to anyone. .......Shut down SpaceX. Boeing launch a craft with known problems, dump their boosters in the sea and fail to bring occupants back........ Carry on!

[@michaelhopf3249]

Hi Marcus, wonderful pictures of the Polaris Dawn EVA. Thanks a lot for your insights and your coverage. And I hope one day in the not so far distant future we will see EVA pictures from a Martian orbit and it's surface, too.

[@marcusoutdoors4999]

Late November is outrageous. These delays are holding America and humanity back.

[@ChuckThree]

Maybe we should just ask to push the election up. The current administration just won’t allow Flight 5 happening before then.

[@ThatOpalGuy]

@@ChuckThree fake news

[@MrMadsci7]

America: definitely. Humanity: doubtful.

[@travishunter8573]

​@@ChuckThreewell the current administration already allowed 4 fully integrated tests so not sure where you've been

[@pablorobertodurso8892]

Great video Markus . Thank you . Hope we will see starship launch soon , even thouth the stypidity from the enviromental things . I can wait to hear about the space suit performance , if is it safe and how was the space walk . Happy saturday to all . Cheers up Space X

[@sokolum]

14:24 China is laughing lice crazy 😂😂😂

[@evans.1448]

You must type “lice” a lot if that’s the autocorrect for “like” pops up as….

[@clonkex]

Laughing lice is a scary thought

[@TomiLoveless]

😎😎As always a fine job Marcus! thanks for your fine work😎😎Two Cool!

[@MrShinydude]

TBH it almost doesn't matter what effect SpaceX has on the environment around its launches. This work is so vital for the future that the EPA should really not have the authority to stop SpaceX's launches without active proof that they're causing harm. By that, I mean the burden of proof should be flipped here, and SpaceX should not face any delay or fines related to environmental impacts until AFTER it's proven (and demonstrated to be more harmful than halting launches to fix), and shouldn't be interfered with in the meantime. Space exploration and industrialization is really the primary thing that will determine if there is any hope for the future of humanity, so we really desperately need to just let engineers and pioneers do their thing without choking progress to death with bureaucracy and overregulation. This kind of obsession with pretending space-flight can or should be as safe as airliners (despite clearly still being in the stage where we should just accept the fact that rapid progress will come with accidents) has created the do-nothing attitude at NASA, and will kill private industry momentum just as surely if allowed to.

[@jefferyshall]

If those environmental "CLAIMS" were true then literally no one could launch a rocket with a water deluge system. Because Starship uses the cleanest burning rocket fuel, so if they're grounded because of this concern then so should everyone else!

[@erikgiggey4783]

they need to move starship development to a country that appreciates it.

[@ffsireallydontcare]

I don't believe they can. Even though they're a private company their technology is protected under defense technology export restrictions.

[@interpl6089]

So literally any country outside the ''West''?

[@ThatOpalGuy]

like mother russia!

[@admarsandbeyond]

Why should they leave their country, the authoritarian cult that is ruining the US should move to a country that appreciates them, try North Korea.

[@palindromic7873]

Venezuela?

[@Lost-In-Blank]

Your weekly space videos are the best Marcus ! Great work and thank you to you and your wonderful team !

[@a-a-ron5911]

If you don't understand the pushback I suggest you read Atlas Shrugged in its entirety. These people hate innovation because it is the antithesis of their personal abilities and world views.

[@drivejapan6293]

As someone who only knows a little bit about marine life and habitat a can say a 60 mile change can have drastic effects on the potential impact to said life. Now I don't know if it is likely to matter but it potentially could.

[@jonathankeytel]

Elon Musk is welcome to bring SpaceX to South Africa. We’re waiting for him.

[@rh906]

To beat and steal perhaps. But the parliament "debates" will be more lively as that one party makes a scene.

[@mowgo9879]

Love having my deck touched gently too.

[@Thats_Mr_Random_Person_to_you]

To be fair... ditching the hotstage ring in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico is different to ditching it in active fisheries areas closer to the costline.... should spaceX need to abort a catch attempt, a whole booster will be in the same zone as well, and all the oils/greases/fuels/metals dont just 'disappear' when it goes under the surface of the waves. It seems odd that they feel that when requesting changes (let alone significant ones) that the regulators involved shouldn't check stuff out and... you know.. do the things they are there to do... There are plenty of examples worldwide of the consequences of regulatory bodies not doing their jobs and the industries they are supposed to regulate causing untold havoc and misery to the general public and environment. Not 'understanding' what licenses they need, and how they may apply is something they've done before (vertical methane tanks anyone?). And paperwork disputes are not trivial, dont have the right paperwork? Tough. As much as we hate paperwork, its what makes the world go round. People LOVE to complain about bureaucracy, but then when something bad happens, bemoan the fact that bad things were allowed to happen unchecked.... You either have water companies dumping raw sewage into waterways, chemical plants dumping god knows what into the nearst river, planes falling out of the sky because of systems pilots had no knowledge of existing, or you have bureaucracy and paperwork to stop all of that..... pick one.

[@arkatub]

They seem less concerned with those examples then with spaceX, they allow dumping of sewage into rivers, they let a company set fire to a train derailment chemical spill last year, they let boeing "remove any references to MCAS" from the operations manual (see the report), all sorts of things they allow.

[@wk8219]

Well said.

[@micahsquires5312]

Let’s be clear. Government bureaucracy exists to collect money, not for public safety. Revenue is what government is really after. Look at all the regulatory mishaps that have happened under the supposed rigorous oversight and red tape you’re defending.

[@MrBob1984]

Good Thing waging wars don't have these environmental hiccup delays. Thank God!!!!!

[@warpedfusion]

As far as where the hot stage ring lands, I refuse to believe that one 30ft circle of steel is going to cause any significant issues in an ecosystem. Think about how many boats drive through those waters every single day. Those are far more disruptive and are not at risk of being regulated out of those waters.

[@yahccs1]

Love the sideways smiley face they have on the ground... around 13:33

[@Deltarious]

SpaceX as a company opperates very agressively, both in terms of pushing technology, construction, work load on staff, and pushing against regulators, so to be honest I can't fault regulators for wanting to check things are as SpaceX says- they have a very very large incentive to represent things in the best possible light, they place huge public pressure on regulators to move quickly, and crucially the area they've built Starbase is a pretty sensitive and ecologically important area. I think the crab hatching we saw recently is a great practical demonstration of that. If the area was ecologically insiginificant or pretty unimportant I would be much more upset about enviromental regulations getting in the way because I see progress as quite important, but unfortunately it's a very significant area that is likely to be quite ecologically delicate so while it's annoying to see them delayed I do think it's worth it to make sure the propper checks take place. It's very difficult to say what the 'right' balance of reguation vs acceptable pollution is in the long term when a company is pushing the lead like SpaceX, but I do feel it's important we look after the planet we already have in the pursuit of traveling to others. Hopefully we can get more cooperation with regulators and SpaceX so that they can be continually working to clear regulatory hudles before they appear and also so that regulators can get independant 3rd party review to ensure the pressure on them is not resulting in unfair decisions for either party

[@Veritas_mens]

Honestly, this sounds a like a pretty reasonable response. Your comment is what this dude should have said if he wasn't such a shill for the company.

[@sorenac]

​@@Veritas_mensevidence for your rambling? 🤔

[@greatcondor8678]

Have you ever poured your drink out on the ground without a permit? Shame on you.

[@interpl6089]

But in reality it doesn't matter. China overtook the West simply because they didn't have to deal with any of this and just now they start to look after the enviroment. There are some absolutely horrible polluted areas in China but most of the unique and protected areas remained intact. Enviromentalists have too low of an IQ too look further than protecting some crabs. Humans need to progress fast today so we can start asteroid mining, that way we won't have to mine on Earth so much (or at all) and you'll have no further destruction of the enviroment. Progress and technology is what keeps us alive and well. You won't fix current problems on Earth by building millions of wind farms and solar panels...then driving an acidic pool car (EV batteries). The fact of the matter is that we need to sacrifice some enviromental stuff for a better future. I'm not saying to cut down the Amazon rainforest...but you know what i mean. Rant over.

[@GuerinMu]

​@@greatcondor8678I typically don't pour thousands or millions of gallons of freshwater all over an industrial area that sits on the shore. So I usually don't need to fill out a permit to pour, say, a single gallon of water anywhere.

[@globalclimate4744]

Hey rather than burn up the Hot stage design it for pickup. Just like the air tasting less metallic...

[@liamjames2956]

Anyone else: rained off lads SpaceX: you have trucks don’t ya? Get through that water and get me a rocket base ready

[@kybkhaotic9636]

Wow it's been a busy week. 😅 Shoutout to Marcus and the team for always fitting a bunch of space news in a easy to understand.❤❤🚀🚀🔥🔥

[@MarcusHouse]

❤

[@gigaherz_]

Paperwork and consultations may be frustrating, but they are necessary. You can't always un-damage the environment, specially when it's already weakened by other factors. Progress is necessary, but it can't be unregulated, "move fast and break things" cannot apply to other people's things, including things that are natural goods from which everyone benefits directly or indirectly.

[@rivimey]

Agree, except that at least part of the issue here appears to be political, not honestly about what should be allowed.

[@stevecam724]

I enjoyed this show more than any in a long time, good work Marcus 👍👍👍

[@TheSgtk9]

Elon's endorsement of Trump is the Real Reason for all the delay problems.

[@UthacalthingTymbrimi]

At my old worksite we got a crane in to lift some shipping containers, and it was pretty impressive, but still a lot smaller than the cranes used here just for moving around pieces of the crane they're actually using to assemble the tower... insane!

[@DeAndreEllison]

The environmental efforts don't seem painstaking to me.. seems needed to ensure that corporations aren't messing up the area. ..life should be great here on earth

[@interpl6089]

Like China, India, Africa or anyone else other than the West really care...

[@bazoo513]

21:50 - While those suits are the first tentative steps toward proper EVA equipment, they are only slightly modified IVA suits. They rely on the umbilical for oxygen, communication, power, and thermal regulation, and cooling and breathing cycles are open - return lines are vented into the capsule. There is a _very_ long way to the proper autonomous EVA suit, let alone one suitable for work on lunar or planetary surfaces.

[@admarsandbeyond]

What is the real need for the legacy "proper autonomous EVA suit" for space operations though? I understand NASA built them this way several decades ago (mostly to cater to their Hero Astronaut core, just like they built the Shuttle to require "proper" pilots instead of flying autonomously) for space and moon ops, but almost all ISS EVAs have astronauts tethered to the canadarm. Articulated knees etc are needed for the moon e.g. but are useless orbital ops. Spacepods with tethered EVA suits are way more useful and efficient there.

[@bazoo513]

@@admarsandbeyond Pretty cynical outlook. I think that Shuttle would be autonomous if NASA felt the technology is ready and sufficiently low risk; besides, military wanted their steely eyed boys in it 😀 (Many elements of the original NASA STS concept, shot down by the military, _were_ uncrewed.) As for ISS EVAs, yes, they include "riding" the Canadarm whenever possible (not for supplies, but for rigid anchor enabling exerting more force and/or torque), but you this is often not the case; watch recent EVA videos. But you do have a point about knee joints, and, indeed, something halfway between "ordinary" pressure suit and _2001_ style pod, perhaps akin to deep diving rigid suit (which does include umbilicals) would probably serve in most cases. Besides, I hope that the future space stations will require far less EVA "handywork". However, for surface operations, a "real" autonomous suit will be needed.

[@georgetsokanis3542]

The EPA is notoriously cumbersome. Micron was targeted to begin building a $40B computer factory in Syracuse beginning this year but was delayed until next year because the EPA had not completed an environmental review on time. Using the EPA is a known delay tactic by environmental groups. Expect environmentalists on behalf of SpaceX competitors to delay even more.

[@ThatOpalGuy]

Micron.... lol. my tax money should not be going to that company.

[@GH-jb6bq]

@@ThatOpalGuy Agreed, EPA should be disbanded

[@jcdavis5871]

The pad refurbishment must be a major cause to prioritize a booster catch for flight 5 instead of flying the currently allowed flight config. They have enough flight hardware, and it's tested and ready. The time to rebuild must be greater that what they can learn from just getting more data from the profile they can fly. I'd love to know other thoughts though

[@joedonahue3746]

I am surprised SpaceX did not address wastewater and EPA ( state and federal) water regulations. The regulations require permits to discharge water even if it is cleaner than surrounding water. After the engine exhaust interaction, I expect the water to be contaminated or have chemicals different from those in the watershed.

[@ReasonablyBadActor]

What "chemicals" or "contamination" could you be referring to? They are doing a nearly stoichiometric lean burn of pure methane and pure oxygen. CO2 and a tiny amount of CO and NO2 are all that is exhausted... which are all gasses. It is the Biden Administration exercising their authority to harass Elon Musk for political reasons... plain and simple.

[@volkris]

Oh the whole problem is that they DID address this stuff, and the regulators came back with inconsistent responses and confusion and arguments over which paperwork they were supposed to have filed. Everything I see paints the picture of multiple regulatory bodies fighting over jurisdiction and processes with SpaceX doing its best to follow the rules but having the rug pulled out from under them.

[@TiberiusMaximus]

Its because they didn't think DRINKING WATER being dumped on the ground in an area full of tropical storms and Hurricanes required a permit. Jesus dude, think and stop covering for these govt bureaucracies. Elon addressed this in an interview days ago

[@MrMadsci7]

@@volkrisSpaceX needs to get off their ass and figure out who they are supposed to bribe to actually get things done. Boeing clearly has it figured out.

[@Zeta2024-jz6nc]

Marcus!!!! Great videos, Great visuals, Great Vibe. You have my vote