Genevieve Marshall

@genmarshall.bsky.social

Head of Development and Engagement, International Astronomical Union @ Leiden Observatory Stargazer ✨ Gender equity. Mental health. Scottish/Dutch. Gamer. Avid fantasy nerd. Views own. Art: Gerry Arthur @gerryart.bsky.social

I'm dialed into the NASA presser on the upcoming launch of the Roman Space Telescope - which is launching 9 months early! This scope is similar in size to HST, but works in IR like JWST. It's a survey scope that will do a census of planets around nearby stars, in surround systems SN, & galaxies.

Terrible news. Aside from learning more about the universe, we're not going to get much economic growth by cutting science funding. (If only we had a Prime Minister who was interested in supporting the north, and Manchester in particular, who could stop this.) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands

Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.

bbc.co.uk

Jul 23rd - A group of children at Space Camp, were allowed to sit in a shuttle during routine test. Jinx the robot takes Max's "I wish I was in space" a bit too literally, forcing control to launch the shuttle. 📽️📅 SpaceCamp (1986)

3 Screenshots from the movie "SpaceCamp" (1986): First, a view of the iconic NASA Vehicle Assembly Building under a clear sky, with the subtitle "toward main engine test of Atlantis on July 23rd...". Second, a close-up of a small robot with dual optical sensors and a domed head, set against a softly blurred background of warm lights, with the subtitle "This is not going to be easy." Third, a tense scene in a control room where four men, wearing headsets and badges, urgently monitor equipment, with the subtitle "Terminate the test."

I am genuinely scared Burnham will do enough in-your-pocket popularist stuff (£2 buses, hospitality rate cut) that he will get away with the racist anti-immigration, anti-environmental energy policy, pro-genocide arms policy etc etc etc. fuck you, got mine, still at the heart of the British voter :/

Spent the last few days chatting with queer men in the Love and Deepspace fandom about its homophobia problem, and why some fans are protective of the game to the point of resisting even men who like men taking part in the romance game's community. kotaku.com/love-deepspa...

Love And Deepspace’s Gay Fans Say It Has A Homophobia Problem

The otome hit is a worldwide phenomenon directed at women, so what happens when men who like men want to try?

kotaku.com

It feels ridiculous to be told my entire life the importance of reducing my energy usage and switching to stuff like LED bulbs and then read reports of energy prices spiking in many US communities due to data centers.

There's a whole bunch of stuff in there that is along the lines of "we [the FCC] acknowledge that the community has concerns about XYZ, but find these concerns to be not risky. Also, it is out of our scope to rule on this" By this reasoning, the FCC will approve a sat with a nuclear bomb on it.

mission disposal method has a 90% or greater reliability of success.34 We therefore find DarkSky International’s concern unlikely, that if Reflect Orbital loses control of the satellite during the de-orbit phase,
the potential for random tumble could result in uncontrolled, random light sweeps or flashes coming from the Earendil-1 solar reflector for up to one year.35 Finally, in response to concerns about the risk of human casualty from surviving debris,36 we confirm that Earendil-1’s calculated casualty risk complies with the
Commission’s rules to demonstrate a risk of human casualty of less than 1 in 10,000 for an individual
spacecraft.37

C. Issues Beyond the Scope of FCC Authority
1. Public Interest of the Solar Reflector
11. Under the Communications Act, we may grant an application only upon a finding that the
“public convenience, interest, or necessity will be served thereby.”38 After review of the record, we find
grant of Reflect Orbital’s application, with conditions, serves the public interest. Earendil-1 is a single
satellite and a limited, short-duration technology test exercise designed to evaluate the feasibility of
Reflect Orbital’s proposed concept and to identify any challenges associated with future iterations of the
technology.39 The results of this single-satellite mission will inform whether the concept is viable and
will assist the company, its prospective customers, and other stakeholders in assessing any future largerscale deployment.
12. In making this determination, we note in particular the Commission’s efforts to make
spectrum available to promote the U.S. space industry. Authorizations for radiofrequency
communications that support cutting-edge, emergent space activities are key to maintaining American
leadership in the global space economy, particularly given the current geopolitical race to “commercialize
and dominate the Final Frontier.”40 raised on the record regarding Reflect Orbital’s solar reflector are unrelated to the Commission’s role in
authorizing use of radiofrequency spectrum, and even if the Commission had authority to review and
condition these operations (which it does not), these harms are unlikely to occur. Independently, we find
that any such risks are outweighed by the public interest benefits of authorizing communications to
support testing of the technology in a limited, short-duration manner to inform whether there are longerterm benefits from an expanded use of this technology. We therefore disagree with assertions that Reflect
Orbital has not demonstrated its proposed operations are in the public interest;43 to the contrary, it is in the
public interest to make spectrum available to encourage companies to test new and innovative space
activities, as it promotes American innovation and the new services and economic growth that come from
that innovation.
13. The Space Bureau has reviewed this Application to assess frequency interference and
orbital debris mitigation strategies of the proposed operations and finds grant in the public interest.
Consistent with the authority Congress granted to the Commission in the Communications Act,44 the
Commission’s rules pertain to communications licensing, including radiofrequency spectrum operations
and the communications apparatus.45 Thus, our authorization for Earendil-1 is for the radio station,
including radiofrequency spectrum operations and the orbital debris mitigation plan, which is part of our
review of the communications apparatus and of the public interest in maintaining a safe space
environment and promoting the larger and more effective use of radio communications, as discussed
above.46 In this instance, Reflect Orbital’s radiofrequency operations are limited to communications to
control the spacecraft, including to steer its solar reflector, and to downlink data about spacecraft health
and operations

I am fully supportive of the case made by astronomers that this will harm the night sky. However, I think we will have more success if we fold in the cases from experts in the fields of biodiversity, population planning, and Indigenous communities to fight this. Wider impacts = better case IMO.

Sara R. Fagerlie, PhD, CHCP@cancercommunicator.com · 3w ago

"the American Astronomical Society said the endeavor cannot be considered to serve the public interest and would waste taxpayer $ by wrecking the work of federally funded astronomical facilities even as it brought untold risks to people and wildlife" Gift article. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/c...