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David S. F. Portree

@dsfpspacefl1ght.bsky.social

3.7K followers 1.3K following 6.8K posts

history guy, science writer, educator, map librarian, archivist, 57 yrs a space exploration nut, ex-NASA, ex-US Geological Survey, now doing local history among the pines in Flagstaff AZ USA Save NASA space science https://spaceflighthistory.blogspot.com

spaceflighthistory.blogspot.com

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David S. F. Portree @dsfpspacefl1ght.bsky.social · 11d

I have restarted work on the GE NEP crewed Mars mission post. After all the turmoil this past month, it's like meeting with an old friend.

My goal is to finish the post by Halloween.

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David S. F. Portree @dsfpspacefl1ght.bsky.social · 2h

I must be susceptible to them - just one tablet knocks me out. Fortunately, the antibiotics are cleaning things up, so there's not much discomfort now. After a couple days stuck at home I plan to resume everything today (knock on wood).

David S. F. Portree @dsfpspacefl1ght.bsky.social · 3h

Had a lower left molar with a crown fail a couple of weeks ago and of course I didn't rush to the dentist, so now I am on antibiotics and opiates. Probably it will have to come out, but dentist wants to try to save it.

Like history, life is just one damned thing after another.

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HiRISE Beautiful Mars (NASA) @uahirise.bsky.social · 3h

HiPOD: These Thin Layers

The objective of this observation is to examine many thin layers exposed in an impact crater in the region of Arabia Terra. The layers may be associated with yardangs which are located nearby.

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_076419_1870
#Mars #NASA #science

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CONTACT LIGHT @contactlight.de · 1d

October 16, 1970: #Apollo14 Lunar Module (LM), Antares in the foreground with #Apollo15 LM, Falcon being processed in the background.

contactlight.de
forallmankind.de

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Marwella Zhang @marwellaspaceart.bsky.social · 16h

Waning crescent 27.8% on Thursday at 5.05AM (UTC+7).

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The 🫠 ᴘʀᴇᴛᴛʏ #BBCRadio3 🎶 #NowPlaying Bot @bbc3musicbot.bsky.social · 18h

🔊 #NowPlaying on #BBCRadio3:

#ThroughTheNight
- Where the beautiful trumpets blow

Baritone Andrè Schuen sings lieder by Brahms and Mahler with Daniel Heide at the piano.

▶️ Relisten on BBCSounds

BBC Radio 3 - Through the Night, Where the beautiful trumpets blow

Baritone Andrè Schuen sings lieder by Brahms and Mahler with Daniel Heide at the piano.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by David S. F. Portree

The Alternate Historian @althistorian.bsky.social · 17h

Well if there is a Twitter exodus, I do recommend the newbies check out my alternate history starter pack. go.bsky.app/CqUujDq

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Daily Tom Baker @dailytombaker.bsky.social · 1d

Tom Baker and K9 during "The Sun Makers". #TomBaker #DoctorWho #FourthDoctor

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Eos @eos.org · 2d

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory laid off 11% of its staff today, including many people working on an active Mars rover mission. “There’s no whitewashing the ‘doomsday-eve’ feeling that's looming over all our heads,” wrote one JPL’er. eos.org/research-and...

JPL Workforce Decimated - Eos

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., laid off 550 people, a roughly 11% reduction of its workforce.

eos.org

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François Levrier @francoislevrier.bsky.social · 1d

Asaph Hall was born #OTD in 1829. An American astronomer, he discovered the two satellites of Mars over the course of a single week : Deimos on August 12, 1877 and Phobos just six days later.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asaph_H...

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NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · 23h

Today @dagomardegroot.bsky.social makes a case for an Environmental History that spans the cosmos.

niche-canada.org/2025/10/15/s...

#envhist #space #cosmos #histsci

Something New Around the Sun: The Case for an Environmental History that Spans the Cosmos

Environmental history studies past interactions between humans and nature—expanding from Earth’s ecosystems to the dynamic, interconnected environments of the entire universe.

niche-canada.org

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Reposted by David S. F. Portree

ALA Public Policy & Advocacy @librarypolicy.bsky.social · 1d

Libraries and library workers nationwide are worried about what will happen if federal funding is permanently cut. "Access to information means access to opportunity", says ALA President Sam Helmick. Read more: ny1.com/nyc/all-boro...

Find ways to speak up to #FundLibraries: ala.org/fundlibraries

Librarians sound alarm as Trump admin takes aim at IMLS

Back in March, the President signed an executive order to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as part of his effort to reduce the size and cost of the government.

ny1.com

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Mike Okuda @mikeokuda.bsky.social · 1d

The Roddenberry Archive website is free for all to explore. Lots of cool starships, bridges, documentaries and interviews:
roddenberry.x.io

roddenberry.x.io

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HiRISE Beautiful Mars (NASA) @uahirise.bsky.social · 1d

HiPOD: Colorful Layers in a Crater Wall

A kilometer-wide cutout shows layers sloping from the crater’s rim at right downward toward its floor. A gradient of enhanced colors indicates diverse compositions.

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_069737_1500
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
#Mars

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DLR-next @dlr-next.bsky.social · 1d

Guten Morgen zusammen - wie gewohnt mit einem aktuellen Bild der Sonne via Satellit SDO, auch heute mit einkopiertem Bild der Erde zum Größenvergleich.

Der Bereich links unten auf der erdzugewandten Seite der Sonne. Auf der rötlichen und sehr körnig dargestellten Oberfläche wirkt eine deutlich hellere, gelb eingefärbte Region so, als würde es da aus dem Inneren hervorleuchten, wobei sich dieses Gebiet breit über den Bildausschnitt erstreckt. Besonders auffällig ist aber links am Rand ein riesiger Bogen aus Sonnenmaterie, der wie ein Henkel geformt ist und weit ins schwarze All reicht. Das einkopierte Bild der Erde direkt daneben zeigt die Ausmaße, würde unser Planet in diesen Bogen doch geschätzt sicher zehn Mal hineinpassen.

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David S. F. Portree @dsfpspacefl1ght.bsky.social · 1d

Yes.

It's not a real Mars plan, it's a setting for a scifi TV series.

Reposted by David S. F. Portree

The 🫠 ᴘʀᴇᴛᴛʏ #BBCRadio3 🎶 #NowPlaying Bot @bbc3musicbot.bsky.social · 1d

🔊 #NowPlaying on #BBCRadio3:

#ThroughTheNight
- Beethoven's Violin Concerto and 'Eroica'

Christian Tetzlaff performs Beethoven's violin concerto.

▶️ Relisten on BBCSounds

BBC Radio 3 - Through the Night, Beethoven's Violin Concerto and 'Eroica'

Christian Tetzlaff performs Beethoven's violin concerto.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by David S. F. Portree

NOTUS @notus.com · 1d

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sent a demand letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson Tuesday, calling for the immediate swearing in of Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva following her special election win last month.

Arizona AG Threatens Legal Action If Adelita Grijalva Isn’t Sworn In Immediately

“You and your staff have provided ever-shifting, unsatisfactory, and sometimes absurd stories as to why Ms. Grijalva has not been sworn in,” Kris Mayes wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson.

www.notus.org

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David S. F. Portree @dsfpspacefl1ght.bsky.social · 1d

And I just had an idiot declare to me that Musk magic would make it work, which rather proves my point.

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Marwella Zhang @marwellaspaceart.bsky.social · 1d

The 37.5% waxing crescent at 5.25AM (UTC+7).

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Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 12d

Spot on.

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David S. F. Portree @dsfpspacefl1ght.bsky.social · 2d

Had another thought - my quota for the day is reached - if one didn't know much about Mars planning one might think the SpaceX scheme is typical. It's not.

Most Mars plans are nowhere near as grandiose as this. This could be the most grandiose Mars scheme I've seen (and I've seen quite a few).

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CONTACT LIGHT @contactlight.de · 2d

October 14 1947 #OTD
XS-1 Flight 50 World's first supersonic manned flight in level or climbing flight was made by Capt. Charles E. Yeager

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Paul Hammond @paulhammond51.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 2d

9 overlapping ChemCam RMI images acquired during sol 4687 assembled into a mosaic using MS-ICE. Curiosity rover acquired additional images, but they have yet to be downlinked from the rover in the correct format on the public server. Credits […]

[Original post on fosstodon.org]

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Department of Physics at the University of Oxford @oxfordphysics.bsky.social · 5d

Oxford’s BEBOP thermal camera has been selected for ESA's 2032 Mars mission! It'll provide critical weather data to boost the safety of future robotic and human explorers. Read the full article: Link in bio or visit https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/news/oxford-instrument-lined-esa-mars-mission

A family picture of the Oxford Space Instrumentation laboratory’s thermal imagers. Clockwise from top is one of the development models for Comet Interceptor’s MIRMIS instrument (left half is a contribution from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and right half is from Oxford); the flight spare optical layout and calibration target for Lunar Trailblazer’s LTM (in gold); and the BEBOP demonstration model, which is based on LTM and MIRMIS, but larger.

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