Eric Berger | |
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 Berger in 2020 | |
| Born | April 19, 1973 Michigan, U.S. |
| Education | University of Texas at Austin (BA) University of Missouri (MA) Mississippi State University |
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| Years active | 1998–present |
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Eric Berger (born April 19, 1973) [1] [2] is an American journalist and meteorologist who is the senior space editor at Ars Technica and the editor of Space City Weather, a website covering weather in Houston.
Berger, who was raised in Michigan, [3] graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in astronomy. [4] Berger then attended graduate school at the University of Missouri where he received a master's degree in journalism. [5] In 2014, Berger completed a distance learning program at Mississippi State University to become a certified meteorologist. [6] [3] Berger lives in League City, Texas, with his wife, Amanda, and two daughters. [3]
Berger began working at the Houston Chronicle in 1998. He started his career at the Chronicle as a general assignments reporter before transitioning to the science desk in late 2001. [7] In 2005, he launched a science and technology blog on the Houston Chronicle website called SciGuy, which focused primarily on chemistry, physics, and astronomy. [6] Berger also began writing about weather during his time at the Chronicle. [3] Berger's coverage of Hurricane Ike contributed to the staff of the Houston Chronicle becoming a nominated finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting in 2009. [8]
After leaving the Houston Chronicle and joining Ars Technica, Berger also started the Space City Weather blog in October 2015. [3] The blog, which is operated jointly by Berger and forecast meteorologist Matt Lanza, provides weather forecasts for the Greater Houston area. [9] The blog's readership increased drastically during Hurricane Harvey, with over one million visits to the site on August 27, 2017. [3] In recognition of Berger and Lanza's service to Houston as weather forecasters, the mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, declared June 8, 2021, as "Space City Weather Day". [9]
In October 2015, Berger left the Houston Chronicle to write for Ars Technica . As the senior space editor at Ars, Berger's primary focus is on NASA and private aerospace companies. [3] [6] Berger authored Liftoff, which was published by William Morrow and Company and released in March 2021. [10] [11] The book chronicles the early history of SpaceX and the protracted development program of the Falcon 1 launch vehicle. [12] He released a sequel in 2024, Reentry, that details the rise of the company through the first Falcon 9 launch, the development of the Dragon capsule, the inaugural Falcon Heavy launch, and the company's first human spaceflight. [13]
A reusable launch vehicle has parts that can be recovered and reflown, while carrying payloads from the surface to outer space. Rocket stages are the most common launch vehicle parts aimed for reuse. Smaller parts such as rocket engines and boosters can also be reused, though reusable spacecraft may be launched on top of an expendable launch vehicle. Reusable launch vehicles do not need to make these parts for each launch, therefore reducing its launch cost significantly. However, these benefits are diminished by the cost of recovery and refurbishment.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase near Brownsville, Texas. Since its founding in 2001, the company has made numerous advancements in rocket propulsion, reusable launch vehicle, human spaceflight and satellite constellation technology. By the late 2010s, SpaceX had become the world's dominant space launch provider, its launch cadence rivaling that of the Chinese space program and eclipsing all those of its private competitors. SpaceX, NASA and the United States Armed Forces work closely together by means of governmental contracts.
Falcon 1 was a two-stage small-lift launch vehicle that was operated from 2006 to 2009 by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. On 28 September 2008, Falcon 1 became the first privately developed fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle to successfully reach orbit.
Falcon 9 is a partially reusable, human-rated, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. The first Falcon 9 launch was on 4 June 2010, and the first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched on 8 October 2012. In 2020, it became the first commercial rocket to launch humans to orbit. The Falcon 9 has an exceptional safety record, with 400 successful launches, two in-flight failures, one partial failure and one pre-flight destruction. It is the most-launched American orbital rocket in history.
Omelek Island is part of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. It is controlled by the United States military under a long-term lease and is part of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site.
The Global Forecast System (GFS) is a global numerical weather prediction system containing a global computer model and variational analysis run by the United States' National Weather Service (NWS).
RatSat or DemoSat is an aluminum mass simulator on the fourth flight of the Falcon 1 rocket, launched on 28 September 2008. Ratsat remained bolted to the second stage of the carrier rocket after reaching low Earth orbit. It is an aluminium alloy chamber in hexagonal prism shape with 1.5 m (5 ft) length.
Gwynne Shotwell is an American businesswoman and engineer. She is the president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, an American space transportation company, where she is responsible for day-to-day operations and company growth.
Falcon Heavy is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle with partial reusability that can carry cargo into Earth orbit and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX.
SpaceX has privately funded the development of orbital launch systems that can be reused many times, similar to the reusability of aircraft. SpaceX has developed technologies since the 2010s to facilitate full and rapid reuse of space launch vehicles. The project's long-term objectives include returning a launch vehicle first stage to the launch site within minutes and to return a second stage to the launch pad, following orbital realignment with the launch site and atmospheric reentry in up to 24 hours. SpaceX's long term goal would have been reusability of both stages of their orbital launch vehicle, and the first stage would be designed to allow reuse a few hours after return. Development of reusable second stages for Falcon 9 was later abandoned in favor of developing Starship. However, SpaceX still developed reusable payload fairings for the Falcon 9.
SpaceX CRS-8, also known as SpX-8, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was launched on April 8, 2016, at 20:43 UTC. It was the 23rd flight of a Falcon 9 rocket, the tenth flight of a Dragon cargo spacecraft and the eighth operational mission contracted to SpaceX by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services program. The capsule carried over 3,100 kilograms (6,800 lb) of cargo to the ISS including the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a prototype inflatable space habitat delivered in the vehicle's trunk, which was attached to the station and, as of May 2022, is expected to remain so for five more full years of in-orbit viability tests.
New Glenn is a heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin, named after NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit Earth. New Glenn is a two-stage rocket with a diameter of 7 m (23 ft). Its first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines that are also designed and manufactured by Blue Origin. It is intended to launch from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36, with the first stage landing on a barge called Landing Platform Vessel 1. The inaugural vehicle was unveiled on the launch pad in February 2024.
USA-280 was a classified United States government satellite that was launched by SpaceX on 8 January 2018, on the 47th flight of the Falcon 9 rocket. The National Reconnaissance Office was in charge of the Zuma project, though its purpose has not been disclosed. In November 2017, Northrop Grumman stated that the launch "is a monumental responsibility and has taken great care to ensure the most affordable and lowest risk scenario for Zuma." The Wall Street Journal reported that the design was very sensitive to vibration and sudden shocks, and had a development cost approaching US$3.5 billion.
Starship is a two-stage fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by American aerospace company SpaceX. On April 20, 2023, with the first Integrated Flight Test, Starship became the most massive and most powerful vehicle ever to fly. SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale, aiming to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages by "catching" them with the launch tower's systems, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, mass-manufacturing the rockets and adapting it to a wide range of space missions. Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's reusable launch system development program and plan to colonize Mars.
Terran 1 was an expendable two-stage small-lift launch vehicle developed by Relativity Space. Development began in 2017 and the rocket was retired in 2023. Most structures and components of the vehicle are manufactured with 3D printing processes.
Polaris Dawn was a private crewed spaceflight operated by SpaceX on behalf of Shift4 CEO Jared Isaacman, the first of three planned missions in the Polaris program. Launched 10 September 2024 as the 14th crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, Isaacman and his crew of three — Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon — flew in an elliptic orbit that took them 1,400 kilometers (870 mi) away from Earth, the farthest anyone has been since NASA's Apollo program. They passed through parts of the Van Allen radiation belt to study the health effects of space radiation and spaceflight on the human body. Later in the mission, the crew performed the first commercial spacewalk.
Starship flight test 1 was the maiden flight of the integrated SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. SpaceX performed the flight test on April 20, 2023. The prototype vehicle was destroyed less than four minutes after lifting off from the SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The vehicle became the most powerful rocket ever flown, breaking the half-century-old record held by the Soviet Union's N1 rocket. The launch was the first "integrated flight test," meaning it was the first time that the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft flew together as a fully integrated Starship launch vehicle.
SpaceX Crew-9 is the ninth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight and the 15th crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. Originally scheduled to launch a crew of four to the International Space Station (ISS) in mid-August 2024, the mission was delayed by more than a month due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner Calypso spacecraft that was docked at the ISS for the Boeing Crew Flight Test. NASA ultimately decided to send the Starliner back to Earth uncrewed, launch Crew-9 with two crew members, and return with four crew members, including the two crew members of the Boeing Crew Flight Test. After that delay and other delays largely due to weather, Crew-9 launched on 28 September at 17:17:21 UTC.
Before settling on the 2018 Starship design, SpaceX successively presented a number of reusable super-heavy lift vehicle proposals. These preliminary spacecraft designs were known under various names.
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