The Associated Press (“AP News”) reports that Space X’s seventh test flight of the world’s largest and most powerful rocket yesterday (1/16/2025) ended in both success and failure, with a successful ‘catch’ of the booster rocket at its Starbase (Boca Chica, Texas) and the spacecraft’s destruction after its six engines failed and contact was lost about 8 1/2 minutes into the flight.

Space X Booster Catch | Credit: Eric Gay/The Associated Press [apnews.com]
Only hours earlier in Florida, Jeff Bezos’ company, Blue Origin, launched its newest rocket, named New Glenn.  The rocket reached orbit on its first flight, successfully placing an experimental satellite thousands of miles above Earth; however, the first stage booster was destroyed after missing its targeted landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Liftoff of Blue Origin spacecraft on January 16, 2025. Credit: Blue Origin [www.blueorigin.com]

The AP News report may be read in full HERE.

My brothers and sisters, with failure comes correction!  The momentum associated with Space X, and now Blue Origin, bodes well for another period of space-related discoveries and achievements in the United States.

The U.S. government seems unwilling (or unable) to sufficiently fund a space program such as it had in the ’60s and ’70s, when men were landing on the moon, the first space station was put into orbit, and the USSR participated in détente with the United States.

Things may be changing, however, as Space X, Blue Origin and Boeing are participating with the United States (NASA) in a public/private venture to again move forward in space exploration – including plans to return to the moon, establish a moon base, and to put mankind on the planet Mars in the near future.

Let’s pray for the continued success of these programs and the protection of all those involved, including the astronauts (present and future), who already ride Space X ships to and from the International Space Station (“ISS”) with relative frequency.  Space travel is inherently risky no matter how many safety procedures might be implemented.

We trust in the Lord, whose promises are true and who shields us from evil:

Psalm 18:30 (NLT)
“God’s way is perfect.  All the Lord’s promises prove true.  He is a shield for all who look to [H]im for protection.”

Psalm 91:1-2 and 9-11 (NKJV)
Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High [s]hall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; [m]y God, in Him I will trust.’ … Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, [e]ven the Most High, your dwelling place, [n]o evil shall befall you, [n]or shall any plague come near your dwelling; [f]or He shall give His angels charge over you, [t]o keep you in all your ways.”

Praise Jesus forevermore!

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