February 16, 2026

THE NEW SPACE RACE: NASA has a new problem to fix before the next Artemis II countdown test.

On Thursday, NASA’s launch team tested the seals by partially filling the core stage with liquid hydrogen. This “confidence test” ended earlier than planned when the launch team encountered a new problem that reduced the flow of fuel into the rocket. In a statement released Friday night, NASA said workers will replace a filter suspected to be the cause of the reduced flow before proceeding into the next WDR.

The confidence test ended as the launch team transitioned to “fast fill” mode for liquid hydrogen, when pressures and flow rates put the finicky seals through the most stress. However, NASA said engineers achieved several key objectives of the confidence test.

Isaacman wrote Saturday that the test “provided a great deal of data, and we observed materially lower leak rates compared to prior observations during WDR-1.”

Here’s the core problem, and it isn’t the hydrogen: NASA finally acknowledges the elephant in the room with the SLS rocket.

During the news conference, I asked about this low flight rate and the challenge of managing a complex rocket that will never be more than anything but an experimental system. The answer from NASA’s top civil servant, Amit Kshatriya, was eye-opening.

“You know, you’re right, the flight rate—three years is a long time between the first and second,” NASA’s associate administrator said. “It is going to be experimental, because of going to the Moon in this configuration, with the energies we’re dealing with. And every time we do it these are very bespoke components, they’re in many cases made by incredible craftsmen. … It’s the first time this particular machine has borne witness to cryogens, and how it breathes, and how it vents, and how it wants to leak is something we have to characterize. And so every time we do it, we’re going to have to do that separately.”

So there you have it. Every SLS rocket is a work of art, every launch campaign an adventure, every mission subject to excessive delays. It’s definitely not ideal.

It’s a hot mess that costs $4 billion per launch, not including substantial development costs.

Posted at 3:48 pm by Stephen Green

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BUYOUT MADNESS. There is too much money sloshing around in college football. I think it’s time for a minor league, and a return to “students who happen to play football.”

Posted at 2:17 pm by Robert Shibley

18 MONTHS SEEMS A LITTLE OPTIMISTIC… ER, PESSIMISTIC? Microsoft AI Head: Most White Collar Jobs Automated In 18 Months. “There are places where where AI might replace experts, namely those that use wide but highly structured datasets for narrow decision points, like some areas of regulatory law. But are decision makers really going to remove the ability to blame underlings for mistakes?’“Sure we lost $100 million, but the AI told me it was OK!’ is probably not going to wash as an adequate ass-covering maneuver. And, as I noted before, who is going to put an AI in charge of Accounts Payable when a single glitch could drain your entire bank account?”

Posted at 1:44 pm by Stephen Green

BLUE STATES ARE MOVING LEGISLATION FORWARD TO RESTRICT HOW MUCH YOU CAN DRIVE:

The “15 Minute City” concept is gaining traction on the left, especially in Great Britain, where the Labour Party and leftist cities are seeking to impose harsh restrictions on vehicle use.

Here in the U.S., blue states are pivoting toward mileage caps, which would establish maximum “vehicle miles traveled” (“VMT”) allowed for an entire state, with regulators then creating “incentives” to reduce individual driving so as to achieve the VMT objective. From News Nation: “Massachusetts bill aims to reduce driving to meet climate goals”:

A bill in Massachusetts aims to reduce how much driving occurs as part of the state’s climate strategy. The legislation, spearheaded by Democratic State Senator Cynthia Stone Creem, would require transportation officials to set goals for “reducing the number of statewide driving miles.”

Because this is such an unpopular idea, Democrat politicians in Massachusetts are trying to hoodwink their voters by naming this legislation the “Freedom to Move Act.” There is just an amazing level of duplicity in the name of that legislation, since the specific intent is to limit individuals’ freedom to move about as they choose.

As Lauren Fix correctly notes about The Freedom to Move Act, “When reducing driving becomes a formal state objective, personal mobility inevitably becomes something to be managed.”

Meanwhile, over on the left coast, California is working on further punishing its citizens for the sinful act of driving a car. The deep blue state already has the highest gas taxes and most expensive gasoline in the country, with consumers paying about $1.50 more per gallon than the national average. The state Assembly (the lower house in the California legislature) has now approved a bill that would “study” the implementation of a mileage tax. From NBC San Diego: “California Proposal Causes Confusion Over Future of Road Mileage Tax; A California bill studying a potential mileage tax has passed the state assembly.”

The study would explore the concept of a road usage charge, where drivers could one day pay based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they purchase.

Rest assured that any California mileage tax will be in addition to gasoline taxes, not in lieu of them.

Flashback to Charles Cooke in 2017: The War on Driving to Come. Or as Iowahawk warned right around the same time, America “needs a Second Amendment protecting the right to keep and bear cars.”

Posted at 1:22 pm by Ed Driscoll

YOU HATE HAVING TO RELY ON THE COURTS, BUT…: The Silver Lining in New Mexico’s and Virginia’s Current Move to Ban ‘Assault Weapons.’ “It’s in jurisdiction of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Unlike the circuit courts covering, say, California or New York or Massachusetts, the Tenth Circuit might strike down an AWB. That could generate a circuit split, since other circuit courts to look at the issue have upheld AWBs. And a circuit split makes it likelier for the Supreme Court to accept an AWB case.”

Posted at 12:42 pm by Stephen Green

WAS IT OVER WHEN THE VENEZUELANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR?

Related:

UPDATE:

Posted at 12:30 pm by Ed Driscoll

SAVAGE. AND FAIR.

If you don’t like tit-for-tat, don’t start things.

Posted at 12:26 pm by Glenn Reynolds