Astro Hawk (Ian Kluft) ✅🚀🛰️

About me: Software Engineer network/cybersecurity, pilot/CFI, Libertarian, electronics, Ham, rocket/balloon tracker

Hi! I'm Ian Kluft. @AstroHawk is my #space account.
#NewSpace #aerospace #astronomy #rocketry #commsat #GPS #fedi22

AstroHawk originally stood for "Adventurous Space Tweep Reinforcing Operations Hatching Advancement Worth Kudos" at one time on other social media, promoting NewSpace.

Also me: @ikluft (aviation/science) & @KO6YQ (tech/local)

Public Key

npub18puz7cs0n4kqs2r49y79jhlxww7w0u4lfqqzs03p9hdwd7r8tk6qudt96d

NIP-05 Address

AstroHawk@spacey-space.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsrs7p0vg8e6mqg9p6jj0zetln8808872l5sqpg8csjmkhxlpn4mdqpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerfw36x7tnsw43q6j30uf

Publishing to

relay.ditto.pub

Author Public Key

npub18puz7cs0n4kqs2r49y79jhlxww7w0u4lfqqzs03p9hdwd7r8tk6qudt96d

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Last Notes

2026-10-12 21:56:22 UTC

"Rejected Space Mission Profiles" by XKCD comic - XKCD's artist imagines some potential but fictitious space probes which never would have made it anyway... Jupiter rover, Voyager 2 orbiter, Crewed Pluto flyby (fiction or not, I'm sure @nprofile…9hzk has already called dibs) and Neptune core return. https://xkcd.com/3310/ #space #astronomy #spacegeek #oops #WTF #humor #humour
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/117/430/109/130/062/473/original/b3884f5341dc0240.png

2026-06-27 19:10:36 UTC

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@nprofile…k95v JPL is a joint venture of NASA and CalTech. So they have some distance from that.
Perseverance isn't the first rover to last 5 years on Mars. XKCD made a joke about how Opportunity kept going and going... https://xkcd.com/1504/ (Perseverance was originally called Mars 2020 during construction)
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/116/823/634/417/109/542/original/cbee4918bae56103.png

2026-06-27 18:39:29 UTC

"NASA’s HiRISE Captures Perseverance Marking a Milestone on Mars" by #NASA #Science - #Perseverance rover was imaged from orbit as it completed a very slow marathon (26.2mi / 42.2 km) in 1890 sols on #Mars, or 5 years 4 months for its operators on Earth. Movement is slow when movement isn't the main point. It makes short autonomous drives and then stays studying that spot under remote control for a while. https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/nasas-hirise-captures-perseverance-marking-a-milestone-on-mars/ #Mars #space #planetary #geology
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/116/823/486/151/849/915/original/70cf9f4cf4cf416f.png

2026-05-27 19:57:09 UTC

"Noctilucent Clouds, strange icy clouds on the edge of space, can be seen from your back garden" by BBC @nprofile…yg3c - #NoctilucentClouds at 80km altitude are not well understood, such as how water vapor, presumed basis of all clouds, gets up that high. But they can be seen at polar latitudes (45-80°) in early Summer ~90-120 minutes after sunset or before sunrise as the near-space clouds are lit by sunlight and viewer is at night. https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/noctilucent-clouds-what-they-are-and-how-to-see-them #NLC #astronomy #SpaceWeather #weather

2026-03-14 23:59:30 UTC

"How Many Decimals of Pi Do We Really Need?" by #NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL - Short answer: for spacecraft navigation around the solar system (as far as humanity has launched anything so far) NASA determined 15 digits after the decimal point is sufficient. So for NASA, 𝝿 = 3.141592653589793 . That yields an error of about 1.5cm/0.5in at the extremities of the solar system. Good enough. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/how-many-decimals-of-pi-do-we-really-need/ #astronomy #space #math #PiDay
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/116/230/284/191/037/749/original/394e19c5b310ad95.png

2025-12-29 22:49:40 UTC

"12 times rockets and spacecraft crashed and burned in 2025" by @nprofile…xkvc - Rocket failures in 2025 included the first home-grown commercial orbital launch attempts from Europe and Australia. https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/11-times-rockets-and-spacecraft-crashed-and-burned-in-2025 #space #NewSpace #rocketry #tech #2025InReview

2025-11-29 05:58:31 UTC

"Before a Soyuz launch Thursday someone forgot to secure a 20-ton service platform" by @nprofile…kcm7 / @nprofile…y330 - Damage to Russian launch Site 31 at Baikonur leaves questions whether Russia has resources and political will to repair their only pad that can launch crew & cargo to #ISS. This means a gap in, maybe the end of Russian Soyuz & Progress launches to ISS. In turn that may test how long #NASA can sustain ISS without refueling by Progress ships. https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/11/russian-launch-pad-incident-raises-concerns-about-future-of-space-station/ #Soyuz #space

2025-11-12 07:29:30 UTC

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@nprofile…twrj Then it seems we've impressed each other. I can really appreciate your getting a picture of auroras over Soda Lake. Because I know exactly where you took that picture. Last year I stopped by there again. https://avgeek.social/@ikluft/112967231334004588

2025-11-12 07:10:00 UTC

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@nprofile…twrj Hmmm... that place looks familiar, though no aurora when I was there. WIkipedia's article has some of my pictures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_Lakes

2025-10-21 00:11:47 UTC

"Emperor Palpatine" by XKCD comic (Fediverse mirrors @xkcd @xkcdbot ) - Sometimes extrapolating data tells you why that data shouldn't be extrapolated. But XKCD did with a comparison of Emperor Palpatine's age in the #StarWars movies, compared with the age of actor Ian McDiarmid. If they made another Star Wars movie, he guesses the same actor at 81 would play Palpatine as a toddler. I say they'd just have to settle for an actor named Ian. 😀 https://xkcd.com/3157/ #SciFi #math #oops #WTF #humor
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/115/409/203/423/731/330/original/9821ca070497d69d.png

2025-10-17 18:56:22 UTC

"Planetary Rings" by XKCD comic (Fediverse mirrors @nprofile…vxln @nprofile…gk6f ) - Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO), where a #communications #satellite stays above a point on the surface, was theorized in 1929. It took #SciFi writer Arthur C Clarke to popularize the concept in the mid-1940s. Satellites have launched to GEO since the 1950s. They're all still there, too high for atmospheric drag. The ring around the equator is often called the Clarke Belt. https://xkcd.com/3156/ #astronomy #planetary #science
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/115/390/510/987/306/800/original/c44ba458fd3ec613.png

2025-06-15 21:38:03 UTC

"Two Worlds, One Sun" is #NASA #astronomy picture of the day #APOD: two sunset photos, on Earth by Damia Bouic and on Mars by NASA JPL. It's the same sun viewed through different atmospheres which scatter light differently based on their chemistry. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250615.html #space #photography
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/114/689/536/461/432/714/original/a0194af65dacea0e.png

2025-06-12 21:17:12 UTC

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@nprofile…60mt I've only once seen them, in the 2019 outbreak. I saw them from San Jose, California (37°N). Now that I live in Portland, Oregon (45.5°N), I have higher hopes to be able to see them again soon.

2025-06-03 03:42:16 UTC

Apparently the northern hemisphere's #NoctilucentCloud season is opening, which was expected around this time of year. If you're near enough to polar latitudes (definitely 50°N+, maybe lower if there's an outbreak), look for them during morning or evening astronomical twilight, reflecting sunlight from 80km/50mi altitude in the direction of the sunset or sunrise. https://social.tchncs.de/@Fettlaus/114616634713194665 #NLC #NLCalert #SpaceWeather

2025-05-31 23:08:09 UTC

"White House says it will announce new pick for NASA chief" by @nprofile…6aen - No reasons stated. The announcement that a new #NASA Administrator nominee is coming means Jared Isaacman's nomination is being withdrawn. By outward appearance it seems inevitable that billionaire egos have limited shelf life together. https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/31/politics/nasa-jared-isaacman-trump-pull #NASA #space #politics #USpol

2025-05-27 22:43:40 UTC

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@nprofile…vvm4 Even the news media shows increasing lack of experience with maps as people who quickly draw map diagrams for their story make amateurish south-up views. 🤦

2025-05-27 22:33:08 UTC

"GNSS under attack: Recognizing and mitigating jamming and spoofing threats" by GPS World - As costs come down on GPS signal jamming and spoofing techniques, it no longer requires nation-state resources for doing it any more. As attacks become more common, defenses such as signal filters for countermeasures increase too. Self-driving cars and farm machinery may adopt RAIM already in use in aircraft. https://www.gpsworld.com/gnss-under-attack-recognizing-and-mitigating-jamming-and-spoofing-threats/ #GNSS #GPS #Galileo #jamming #spoofing #tech #aviation

2025-05-10 07:56:21 UTC

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@nprofile…48vs #Kosmos482 is down somewhere by now. The re-entry windows from different tracking organizations are closing or have already closed. Until reliable reports come in, which may be slow if we have to wait for military satellite data to be cleared for publication, then we wait to find out where it went down.

2025-04-30 17:41:57 UTC

"Jupiter Core" by XKCD comic (mirror bots @nprofile…6g4t @nprofile…sglf ) - He starts with actual theories and then, as usual, gets distracted and his attention wanders off... Some shiny stuff.🪙🏴‍☠️ So far no squirrels.🐿️🐕 https://xkcd.com/3083/ #astronomy #planetary #space #WTF #humor
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/114/428/096/179/831/980/original/761b33344dc76902.png

2025-04-24 02:01:53 UTC

"Dazzling Pictures Celebrate Hubble Space Telescope's 35 Years in Orbit" by @nprofile…j9km / @nprofile…n5ap - Happy 35th birthday🎂 to Hubble Space Telescope🔭! Hubble wasn't the first telescope in orbit. But it was the first good enough to show how much of the universe we had been missing due to our atmosphere. With that knowledge, ground telescopes improved dramatically over the years as new improvements were invented. https://www.universetoday.com/articles/dazzling-pictures-celebrate-hubbles-35-years-in-orbit #astronomy #history
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/114/390/500/523/363/576/original/c42a78f93a1ee1a6.png

2025-04-19 03:08:49 UTC

"Universe may revolve once every 500 billion years — and that could solve a problem that threatened to break cosmology" by @nprofile…7erv - A renewed but not entirely new hypothesis suggests the difference in observed rates of expansion of the universe may be explained by slow but nonzero rotational velocity of the universe. Recent improvements in telescopes offer vastly more data for researchers to explore viability of the concept. https://www.livescience.com/space/cosmology/universe-may-revolve-once-every-500-billion-years-and-that-could-solve-a-problem-that-threatened-to-break-cosmology #physics #astronomy #science

2025-03-22 18:43:59 UTC

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@nprofile…07t5 The NOAA 3-day forecast currently has Kp=7 from 8-11pm PDT. But it uses a resolution of 3-hour blocks. So more attention to solar wind sensor data will be needed near that time frame. I'll watch the weather radar here before that to look for a chance of a break in the clouds. I got lucky with a short break during the lunar eclipse. The break led up to totality and 1/4 of the way into totality before a trough line made instant overcast. https://www.spaceweather.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/114/207/520/980/126/494/original/34d48377a2a8a875.png

2025-03-22 05:54:23 UTC

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@nprofile…07t5 Good luck. Unless it's stronger than forecast, it isn't expected to get down to Northern Nevada. But in the Pacific Northwest it'll be raining tomorrow. Because it always rains here.

2025-03-22 05:29:04 UTC

"G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storm Watch for 23 Mar" by NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center - The Sun erupted a coronal mass ejection (CME) expected to reach Earth on March 23 UTC at G3 storm level. That means forecasted Kp=7 for aurora down to Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. https://www.spaceweather.gov/news/g3-strong-geomagnetic-storm-watch-23-mar #astronomy #aurora #AuroraBorealis #AuroraAustralis #CME #SpaceWeather
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/114/204/403/399/110/894/original/552b9e3f29b91d3b.png

2025-03-19 03:25:56 UTC

"China Practicing ‘Dogfighting in Space,’ US Space Force Says" by Air & Space Forces Magazine (#FPNF Fediverse presence not found - if you know them, invite them) - USSF presentation pointed out commercial public data which showed China experimenting with close maneuvering between military satellites. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/china-practicing-dogfighting-space-force/ #military #space #spacegeek

2025-03-09 15:52:24 UTC

"Cyclones at Jupiter's North Pole" is #NASA #astronomy picture of the day #APOD - A Juno probe infrared image from 2018 of Jupiter's north pole showed 8 cyclones around a central polar cyclone. Jupiter's pattern of satellite cyclones around central polar cyclones differs from Saturn, which only has a single cyclone at each pole. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250309.html #planetary #weather #space
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/114/133/264/823/651/226/original/05e6c891d445ddc3.png

2025-02-17 17:38:27 UTC

"SpaceX Rocket Launch Plume over California" is #NASA #astronomy picture of the day (APOD), photo by Martin LaMontagne - Picture taken Feb 10 from Phoenix, Arizona looking west at a #SpaceX #Falcon9🚀 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This is a great example of why rocket enthusiasts really like launches soon after sunset or before dawn when the rocket climbs into sunlight that illuminates the plume at altitude. 🤩 https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250217.html #NewSpace #photography
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/114/020/446/448/156/659/original/f907659be6e4879a.png

2025-01-17 00:35:12 UTC

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@nprofile…eywa I recognize Battlestar Galactica... 😀
And in that clip, Col Tigh in the Cylon prison camp didn't yet know he's a Cylon.

2025-01-16 23:24:20 UTC

"SpaceX loses Starship mid-flight, but catches booster again after launch" by CNBC / @nprofile…n33n - Second successful catch of the enormous 1st stage booster by the tower arms, which many doubted would work until the first catch. 2nd stage lost contact during boost, presumably breaking up, and did not reach orbit. The lost 2nd stage was a new Block 2 model flying for the first time. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/16/spacex-launch-starship-flight-seven-starlink-satellite-test.html #SpaceX #Starship🚀 #NewSpace #business

2025-01-16 22:57:20 UTC

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@nprofile…vvm4 Thanks for sharing that's there. I've noticed other memorials too.
At Palo Alto Airport KPAO, one of the flight schools has a conference room named after Kalpana Chawla because she was a flight instructor there (on the side from a civilian day job at NASA Ames) before she was accepted to the astronaut program.
At NASA KSC in the giant Vehicle Assembly Building VAB, there's a sign with the STS-107 patch image several stories up indoors on a wall, where recovered Columbia debris is stored.

2025-01-16 22:49:20 UTC

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@nprofile…vvm4 Happens to all of us. I figured you'd want to know.

2025-01-16 22:48:14 UTC

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@nprofile…vvm4 Typo alert... should be "sadly now vandalized..." I'll wait to boost it after edit.

2025-01-16 22:14:23 UTC

"NASA’s Day of Remembrance Honors Fallen Heroes of Exploration" press release: the #NASA #DayOfRemembrance will be January 23. Events are listed for 7 NASA centers. But probably every NASA site will observe in some way. This is always held in late January due to the coincidental timing within a week of the anniversaries of Apollo 1 fire (3 lost) 1967-01-27, Challenger explosion (7 lost) 1986-01-28 and Columbia re-entry accident (7 lost) 2003-02-01. https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-day-of-remembrance-honors-fallen-heroes-of-exploration/ #space #history
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/113/840/329/262/810/201/original/f36fc1fafdea800e.png

2025-01-14 04:55:12 UTC

"P.E.I. homeowner captures sound and video of meteorite strike on camera, and scientists believe it's a first" by @nprofile…sd5a - Extremely rare: 1st meteorite ever confirmed in Canada's Prince Edward Island province. It is also believed to be the first video-with-audio recording of a meteorite impact. (Video and stills have captured impacts on the Moon and Jupiter before.) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-charlottetown-meteorite-strike-first-audio-1.7430018 #asteroid #astronomy #LowFlyingRocks

2025-01-13 20:53:03 UTC

"Starlink Satellite Constellation Flaring over Mt. Massive, CO" by Jeff Warner on his Catching Time blog - impressive time-lapse and stacked #photography shows numerous #Starlink satellites illuminated by sunlight at altitude criss-crossing the night sky over Colorado https://catchingtime.com/9-25-24-starlink-satellite-constellation-flaring-over-mt-massive-co/ #astronomy
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/113/823/017/893/520/587/original/fd2296734e095ef4.png

2024-12-31 19:05:44 UTC

"Very bright fireball seen over Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver" by The Watchers (no Mastodon/Fediverse acct - if you know them, bug them about it) - Bright fireball was reported 18:17 local on Sat Dec 28 over western & central Washington State, also seen near Victoria and Vancouver BC. Estimated path of the #bolide was over Puget Sound from near Everett to Mt Vernon WA. No reports of sounds or debris fall. https://watchers.news/2024/12/31/very-bright-fireball-seen-over-seattle-victoria-and-vancouver/ #astronomy #asteroid #LowFlyingRocks
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/113/748/967/441/046/328/original/1b4f25f4abdbc9f8.png

2024-12-26 02:31:48 UTC

"Sun Avoidance" by XKCD comic (mirror bot @nprofile…6g4t ) - #Space probes ranked by distance as skill at avoiding the #Sun, makes a surprise negative spin putting #NASA Parker Solar Probe in last place due to its record-breaking solar passes.😎 https://xkcd.com/3029/ #SolarSystem #astronomy
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/113/716/752/517/727/302/original/f9e2d2b065fe575f.png

2024-12-24 04:18:40 UTC

"G1 (Minor) Geomagnetic Storm Watch Issued for December 25th" by #NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center - G1 geomagnetic storm (Kp=5) expected on Christmas day with incoming CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) from the Sun. https://www.spaceweather.gov/news/g1-minor-geomagnetic-storm-watch-issued-december-25th #aurora #AuroraBorealis #AuroraAustralis #astronomy #SpaceWeather
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/113/705/852/392/661/798/original/3ec64b3f31193661.png
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2024-12-05 22:19:31 UTC

"NASA pushes back astronaut flights to the moon again" by Associated Press (mirror bot @nprofile…m0vc ) - #Artemis2 crewed🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇨🇦 lunar fly-by test flight pushed back to April 2026. #Artemis3 crewed lunar landing mission delayed at least to 2027. https://apnews.com/article/nasa-moon-astronauts-artemis-01ac3c0ec59bfc8b2612c987a72d91f3 #NASA #Artemis #Moon🌒 #space

2024-12-03 22:21:36 UTC

"Close approach of asteroid 2020 XR" by European Space Agency🇪🇺 #ESA (unofficial mirror bot @nprofile…xra8 ) - #Asteroid #2020XR, 300-700m diameter, will safely pass by Earth at a distance of 2.21M km/1.37M mi at 0526 UTC on Dec 4. https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2024/12/Close_approach_of_asteroid_2020_XR #astronomy #LowFlyingRocks

2024-07-28 20:37:23 UTC

G3 geomagnetic storm may bring #Aurora (#AuroraBorealis north, #AuroraAustralis south) away from the poles tomorrow night. Kp=7 forecasted. Check #weather forecast for nearest clear skies. https://www.spaceweather.gov/products/aurora-viewline-tonight-and-tomorrow-night-experimental #SpaceWeather #astronomy
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/112/866/014/838/089/435/original/007ea031987a00a7.png

2024-07-27 17:20:18 UTC

"Saturn at the Moon's Edge" is #NASA #astronomy picture of the day @APoD - Saturn is an enormous gas-giant planet, but even more enormously far away making it look small in this perspective before the Moon passed in front of the view of it https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240727.html
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/112/859/590/413/979/638/original/32199e2e505f0557.png

2024-07-13 03:17:48 UTC

"EASA updates advisory on navigation interference" by @GPSWorld - Updated guidance for #Galileo🇪🇺 users on dealing with #GNSS interference, jamming and spoofing of #PNT (#positioning #navigation #timing) signals near war zones https://www.gpsworld.com/easa-updates-advisory-on-navigation-interference/ #space🛰️ #aviation✈️ #avgeek

2024-06-24 03:33:37 UTC

"100 Fascinating Facts about Asteroids" by @NASA / @NASAWebb - Increasingly understanding significance of smaller objects in the solar system. https://www.jameswebbdiscovery.com/universe/100-fascinating-facts-about-asteroids #NASA #asteroid #astronomy #LowFlyingRocks
https://cdn.masto.host/spaceyspace/media_attachments/files/112/669/487/384/909/302/original/524d25c0d96167f5.png

2024-05-30 03:28:37 UTC

"How scientists shipped astronomy's largest camera from California to Chile" by @SpaceDotCom - Such a delicate shipment that they did a practice run with a similar mass and data logging sensors. Flew on 747, then trucked up mountains. https://www.space.com/scientists-astronomy-largest-camera-california-chile #astronomy #cargo