Jackie Wattles
@jackiewattles
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@CNN writer · Reporting on the biz of rockets & other flying objects · DMs are open · Austinite, New Yorker · Signal: jackiecnn.04
Joined December 2010
We worked on this for months; so excited to finally share it! [Note: The animations are not to scale, and details such as flight paths are simplified to give an illustrative overview of the mission design.] https://t.co/x2PpU7aHhO
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Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy has directed the agency to fast-track plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon. w/ @jackiewattles
https://t.co/4GKyMPNgR0
cnn.com
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy has directed the agency to fast-track plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon.
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Hear Isaacman discuss his departure on the @theallinpod
Jared Isaacman in new interview on why his NASA nomination was pulled: "I don't think the timing of this was much a coincidence. There were other changes going on the same day; From what I've heard there were some people that had some axes to grind and I was a good visible
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NEW: Source told me Musk’s exit left room for Sergio Gor, director of WH Presidential Personnel Office, to advocate for installing a different nominee. Elon "rubbed a couple people wrong...I wouldn’t be surprised if other Elon-connected people are going to find their way out."
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Just in: Trump's decision to pull Jared Isaacman's nomination was the result of behind-the-scenes maneuvering: A top WH aide grew to dislike Elon Musk, and that aide lobbied for Isaacman's departure after Musk left Washington last week. Read details here:
cnn.com
More uncertainty surrounds President Donald Trump’s tariffs as a new week begins. Meanwhile, the White House is ramping up its halting efforts to secure ceasefires in Gaza and Ukraine. Follow for...
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Anyway we have live Starship updates going here
cnn.com
SpaceX has launched a ninth uncrewed test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket system ever constructed. The mission comes after two prior tests ended in explosive failure. Follow for live...
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.@elonmusk criticizes NASA's Artemis program, saying, "I think we should adapt Artemis; let's have a base on the Moon, not just like, go do a remake" of the Apollo missions. Important note: Artemis is and always has been billed as a plan to establish a permanent lunar base.
Got to catch up with @elonmusk for a few minutes before today's launch! We were going to chat after today's speech, but unfortunately that changed, but, always happy to talk rockets!!! Join our Flight 9 coverage in 15 minutes!! Best of luck today @SpaceX!!!
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A major SpaceX investor testified the company prefers to avoid investors from China because it’s a defense contractor. One major exception, he noted: SpaceX finds it “acceptable” for Chinese investors to buy their shares through offshore vehicles. https://t.co/TkuIlLNd9J
propublica.org
As a U.S. military contractor, SpaceX sees allowing Chinese ownership as fraught. But it will allow the investment if it comes through secrecy hubs like the Cayman Islands, court records say. “It is...
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One bit just posted: NASA has assembled a “Tiger Team,” according to an email meeting invitation seen by CNN. The group was scheduled to meet with DOGE staff today and is tasked with implementing potentially sweeping layoffs and spending cuts.
cnn.com
NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose weeklong Boeing Starliner mission turned into an extended stay in space, have returned to Earth, splashing down off the coast of Florida around 5:57 p.m....
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We've got live updates rolling on Butch & Suni's return
cnn.com
NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose weeklong Boeing Starliner mission turned into an extended stay in space, have returned to Earth, splashing down off the coast of Florida around 5:57 p.m....
Just updated our coverage: A former senior Biden White House official told me they were never made aware of an offer from Elon Musk or SpaceX to bring Butch and Suni home early. Read here: https://t.co/oSTcqIm7q2
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For context here: CNN's process for granting anonymity to sources involves receiving permission from a small group of top editors who evaluate the source's reliability, how they came to know the info & whether their reasons for requesting anonymity are valid
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Just updated our coverage: A former senior Biden White House official told me they were never made aware of an offer from Elon Musk or SpaceX to bring Butch and Suni home early. Read here: https://t.co/oSTcqIm7q2
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Just updated our coverage: A former senior Biden White House official told me they were never made aware of an offer from Elon Musk or SpaceX to bring Butch and Suni home early. Read here: https://t.co/oSTcqIm7q2
@elonmusk This deal was never offered to Biden-era NASA leadership. A former senior NASA official told me: If Musk had made the offer elsewhere“I’m sure they would have responded and said, ‘Well, that would cost us several $100 million extra that we don’t have."
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@elonmusk This deal was never offered to Biden-era NASA leadership. A former senior NASA official told me: If Musk had made the offer elsewhere“I’m sure they would have responded and said, ‘Well, that would cost us several $100 million extra that we don’t have."
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As for @elonmusk — he's insinuated he may have offered the Biden White House a dedicated mission to return Butch & Suni home earlier, which was denied for "political reasons." Two former Biden WH officials I contacted did not respond to Qs. Terms and details remain unclear.
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For the record: - The SpaceX capsule bringing Butch & Suni home has been docked with the ISS since September 2024 - NASA made the decision to bring them home via SpaceX last August - The astros are returning tmrw bc the Crew-10 astronauts just arrived to take over ISS operations
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#BlueGhost got her first diamond ring! Captured at our landing site in the Moon’s Mare Crisium around 3:30 am CDT, the photo shows the sun about to emerge from totality behind Earth. Hope to have more shots to share soon! #BGM1
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For context, after Starship Flight 7 in January, FAA told me that SpaceX had to meet safety criteria, ensuring “hazard areas sufficient to ensure that the probability of casualty to a member of the public on land or on board a maritime vessel does not exceed one in one million.”
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Here's what we know: FAA has opened an investigation into Flight 8, which exploded over the airspace near the Bahamas. The explosion occurred roughly one minute later into Starship's flight path compared to January's Flight 7. We do not know where debris hit the ground or ocean
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Re-posting video: This was captured by Providenciales resident Jayne Baker who permitted me to share this video of SpaceX Starship Flight 8. I'm so curious why this SpaceX flight was allowed to go forward without the FAA closing out Flight 7 investigation.
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