August 2026

Phil: Will any new space habitat be visited by humans before the end of 2027? Starlab plans: 17m tall Width 7.7m wide Crew Capacity:4 continuous, 8 during handover Docking & Robotics Three docking ports MDA SKYMAKER™ robotic arm Bishop science airlock Power & Propulsion Continuous power generation, thermal control, and station propulsion Image source: https://starlab-space.com/

Starlab plans: 17m tall Width 7.7m wide Crew Capacity:4 continuous, 8 during handover Docking & Robotics Three docking ports MDA SKYMAKER™ robotic arm Bishop science airlock Power & Propulsion Continuous power generation, thermal control, and station propulsion Image source: https://starlab-space.com/

Phil: Will any new space habitat be visited by humans before the end of 2027?

Carolyn Meinel August 5, 2026

Grok response: Haven-1 by Vast is the leading candidate for the first new crewed space habitat visit,...

The CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) mission 2 crew, commanded by Ross Elder and with medical officer Ellen Ellis, science officer Matthew Montgomery, and flight engineer James Spicer, entered the 3D-printed habitat last year at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Oct. 19. They will exit in about six months on Oct. 31. Members of NASA’s CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) mission 2 pose for a group photo. (From left to right: Ellen Ellis, Ross Elder, James Spicer, and Matthew Montgomery) Credit: NASA

Jeremy: Will any new space habitat be visited by humans before the end of 2027?

Jeremy Lichtman August 5, 2026

This effort is part of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to gather data to inform the...

Petroleum exploration technologies have evolved from ancient “spring poles” to steam-powered percussion cable tools, to modern rotary rigs with steerable, diamond bits that can drill miles deep. Depicted in this photo, a “spring-pole” well that discovered oil when drilling for brine in Appalachia. Photo from “The World Struggle for Oil,” a 1924 film by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Source: https://aoghs.org/technology/oil-well-drilling-technology/

Phil: Will the price of Brent Crude fall below $50 per barrel in 2026?

Phillip Godzin August 4, 2026

Geopolitical tensions (US-Iran) drove Brent above $100 earlier in 2026 before easing to current ~$80 levels on...

Jeremy: Will the price of Brent Crude fall below $50 per barrel in 2026? Our Commitment to Sustainability. Cactus Drilling understands the big picture. We play a vital role in the upstream process to bring affordable, abundant, and reliable energy to our region and Nation. We also recognize our responsibility to protect the environment while conducting operations to help deliver that essential energy source.

Our Commitment to Sustainability. Cactus Drilling understands the big picture. We play a vital role in the upstream process to bring affordable, abundant, and reliable energy to our region and Nation. We also recognize our responsibility to protect the environment while conducting operations to help deliver that essential energy source.

Jeremy: Will the price of Brent Crude fall below $50 per barrel in 2026?

Jeremy Lichtman August 4, 2026

The likelihood of Brent crude oil prices falling below $50 per barrel from the current level of...

IOZ ESM Team Photos: Solar array wings for the agency’s Artemis III Orion spacecraft. NASA and its partners work on the on Thursday, April 30, 2026, inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Orion’s solar arrays, manufactured and installed by ESA (European Space Agency) and its contractor Airbus, have been temporarily installed ahead of acoustic testing on the spacecraft. .   Image Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky Source: https://www.nasa.gov/image-detail/amf-ksc-20260430-ph-jbs01_0004/

Phil: Will an Artemis III orbital demonstration mission succeed by the end of 2027?

Phillip Godzin August 4, 2026

NASA and its partners work on the solar array wings for the agency’s Artemis III Orion spacecraft...

Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK1 lander is progressing through integrated testing to prepare for its upcoming lunar delivery. This first mission, named Endurance, represents a new class of commercial landers designed to deliver large-scale payloads to the lunar surface. The lander successfully completed an extensive environmental test campaign, including a thermal‑vacuum assessment at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, verifying its capability to perform under lunar‑like conditions. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/moon-base/nasa-provides-updates-on-moon-base-cargo-landers-tech-demonstrations/

Jeremy: Will an Artemis III orbital demonstration mission succeed by the end of 2027?

Jeremy Lichtman August 4, 2026

The upcoming Artemis III mission is now targeted to launch no earlier than late 2027. Initially planned...

David Isenberg’s AI News Briefs of August 3, 2026 An AI enhanced image accompanying the Futurism news story “Google Pulls Down Feature for AI-Generating Fake Satellite Images on Google Earth After It’s Immediately Used to Fake Terror Attacks.” Source: Google via Futurism https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/google-pulls-down-google-earth-ai-feature

An AI enhanced image accompanying the Futurism news story “Google Pulls Down Feature for AI-Generating Fake Satellite Images on Google Earth After It’s Immediately Used to Fake Terror Attacks.” Source: Google via Futurism https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/google-pulls-down-google-earth-ai-feature

David Isenberg’s AI News Briefs of August 3, 2026

EditorialTeam August 3, 2026

Google...undermined its own credibility with a dangerous new AI feature — and then quickly pulled it down...

Phil: Will a ceasefire or armistice be declared in Ukraine in 2026? Ukrainian soldiers directing a drone, its antenna visible against the sky. Source: https://war.ukraine.ua/imagebank-category/defenders-of-freedom/