Artemis is in an interesting place right now. It’s a bit of a mess. But it has a lot of cool and interesting parts.

Artemis 2 might launch in 2026 with 4 astronauts for a loop around the moon. Artemis 3 might launch this decade for a lunar landing with 2 astronauts aboard a SpaceX Starship lander. A lot needs to happen for that to work, like massive progress on the Starship program and Axiom space suits, and continued progress on Lockheed’s Orion capsule.

Artemis 2 and 3 aren’t givens anymore in the DOGE era, but they might still happen. A4+ rely on a new SLS stage from Boeing (EUS) and a new launch tower from Bechtel that are both running way over cost. Also in the mix is Lunar Gateway, a space station around the moon that isn’t really needed to get to the surface, but includes some different parts from international partners. So, who knows. We’ll see what happens.

Tbh I use caltopo on my computer to make maps and Garmin Explore on my phone because I have an Inreach

Caltopo

I still look at Alltrails sometimes to look for trails and routes. You can download a GPX track with a free account, then upload it to whatever app you want.

SpaceX’s Starship contracts with NASA are fixed price and milestone based. So, if they blow it up, that cost is on them. Just like Boeing has had to shell out a lot of money from continuing to fail on Starliner.

and achieved a navigation fix

I set low expectations when I saw the headline, but that means they saw at least 4 GNSS sats at once, which is pretty big step forward.

I’d recommend a beginner gets Alltrails and does popular routes at state parks and the like while paying attention to topo lines. As they learn and get used to it, they can choose to level up to different apps, making their own routes, going off trail, and even using paper maps and a compass.

This post is almost exactly what I’d write!

I’ll add that my first aid kit always includes water purification tabs like Aquatabs and I throw in a light windbreaker or rain jacket if the hike will be more than a half day or in a very low traffic area.

I see where you’re coming from with a lot of this, but I want to clarify a few points that i think are more about personal style.

I hike with two random 1l water bottles in my backpack’s side pockets and a 2l pouch / flexible bottle inside that can be ignored or filled depending on how much water is in the area. I have another 2l pouch to add for longer/dryer trips. It’s a great system for me because I can always track what I use by knowing what’s left on the outside and whether there’s a full refill or two inside.

I think you’re wrong on phone use. I use Garmin Explore because I have an Inreach, but Gaia, Alltrails, Caltopo, BCNav, etc. all let you download maps to use offline, then use with your phone in airplane mode but with the GPS on (yes, you can do that).

I brought up Northrop because I’m guessing they bid a Cygnus derived deorbit vehicle.

How is this a handout? They bid for a contract and won it vs competitors.

I’m hoping we get a source selection statement soon where they spell out why companies like Northrop and Blue didn’t win.

I don’t think this is true anymore. The cost of a rideshare with SpaceX is super accessible. Companies can launch for <$1 million. This has been huge for a lot of companies trying to launch a proof of concept or one-off, and even for some operational constellations.

AstroForge thinks they can close the business case for asteroid mining. Their concept is to launch mining satellites to near-Earth M-type asteroids to mine platinum group metals. These would go on 2 year missions to bring back $100 million+ in metal at a time. With launch and satellite costs dropping, it might just work. Their forge demo sat has been struggling but moving forward. Their asteroid flyby demo sat should launch later this year.

Redwire 3d printed a meniscus in space last year. That’ll take awhile to get worthwhile scale and cost, but it’s another interesting avenue.

Varda hit regulatory trouble, but their orbital drug manufacturing demo did its job.

Yup, low earth orbit (LEO) still has some thin atmosphere that slows things down a tiny bit and makes them deorbit over time. That’s why, for example, the ISS has to reboost to stay up and can chuck garbage bags overboard and not really worry about them. The deorbit time depends on a lot of factors including the mass and surface area. Starlink sats are supposed to passively deorbit in about 5 years.