THE NEW SPACE RACE: NASA says SpaceX’s next Starship flight could test refueling tech.

“NASA and SpaceX are reviewing options for the demonstration to take place during an integrated flight test of Starship and the Super Heavy rocket,” Russell said in a statement. “However, no final decisions on timing have been made.”

Elon Musk, the company’s founder and CEO, said on November 19 that hardware for the next Super Heavy/Starship test should be ready in three to four weeks. That projection seems dubious because SpaceX hasn’t moved any pieces of the rocket to the launch pad for pre-flight testing, but a test flight early next year appears realistic.

Other factors that could play into the Starship launch schedule include tune-ups or fixes to resolve problems that occurred on the November 18 test flight and receiving a new launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration.

When SpaceX tries transferring 10 metric tons of propellant from tank to tank inside Starship, it will be at a scale never before attempted in space. But it’s a small fraction of the amount of fuel and oxidizer needed to fill a Starship spacecraft in orbit. The ship’s total propellant capacity is some 1,200 metric tons. After the tank-to-tank demonstration, SpaceX will attempt a ship-to-ship propellant transfer between two Starships linked together in Earth orbit.

“That’s really when we start maturing the systems, and when it really gets exciting for HLS, because those are the building blocks that we need, and, frankly, it’s never been done successfully in orbit,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, NASA’s HLS program manager, in an interview with Ars last month.

Stay tuned…

YES. NEXT QUESTION? “Is the American justice system tipped in favor of Black Lives Matter rioters who burnt a Wendy’s to the ground and Portland, Oregon rioters who tried to burn down a federal courthouse?”

The justice system goes easier on rioters who come from establishment client groups.

MATT TAIBBI: Sue the Bastards: Federalist, Daily Wire Take the State Department to Court. “Bookending the historic Consortium News suit, conservative news outlets take on the Global Engagement Center for funding ‘censorship enterprises’ and blacklisting.”

INSANITY WRAP [VIP]: Man, These White House Interns Really Blow.“‘Never thought I’d miss the relationship between the interns and the president in the Clinton White House, but here we are.’ That’s the lead crazy on today’s Insanity Wrap, an entire week’s worth of the best bad news.”

Plus:

• Maybe it isn’t rape when it happens to Jews.
• Maybe both sides can lose in the WaPo labor dispute.
• Maybe this is the lawsuit for America’s soul.

So much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

FROM ARI MENDELSON: Just Power (Kingmaker.

#CommissionEarned

In Just Power, the thrilling conclusion to Kingmaker, the fate of a nation hangs in the balance. Neville, having finally produced a horrifying psychological weapon for his Chinese creditors to use on their own people, must find a way to transfer the coveted technology. He reveals his secret to the politicians pulling the strings of the old, demented President. Their enthusiastic embrace of this new route to power leads Neville to demand from them a steep price.

Hall, Shanice, and Kevin dig deeper into Neville’s sinister plan, only to find that the fate of the republic depends on them. Failure to save the upcoming election will lead not only to the hostile takeover of the government but to prosecution and imprisonment for Hall and his friends as well.

Mei Hua plays her final card in this deadly game.

Amidst the chaos, Jonás sets out to rally Father Gus back into the fray, but the wise Father remains skeptical. Is he right in believing that the election won’t make a difference? Will their efforts to change the course of their nation be in vain?

In this heart-pounding finale, loyalties are tested, alliances are shattered, and the battle for justice reaches its climax. Discover the truth in Just Power, the riveting conclusion to the Kingmaker trilogy.

GLENN LOURY AND JOHN MCWHORTER: Derek Chauvin Did Not Murder George Floyd.

In the documentary What Killed Michael Brown?, Shelby Steele coins the term “poetic truth” in order to describe the persistence of the myth that Michael Brown was “executed” by Darren Wilson. Steele calls poetic truth, “a distortion of the actual truth that we use to sue for leverage and power in the world. It is a partisan version of reality, a storyline that we put forward to build our case.” Poetic truth “thri[ves] more by coercion than reason,” accusing all who dispute it of complicity with the ineradicably racist system that governs and has always governed the country.

That Darren Wilson executed Michael Brown is one such poetic truth; that Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd is, I believe, another. Despite the aptness of Steele’s term, poetic truth is no truth at all, nor is it particularly poetic. It is power masquerading as fact, brute force in the guise of knowledge.

But all the people who yelled “Free Mumia!” are now saying that everything is settled beyond dispute by a court.

CLOWN WORLD:  UN Climate Summit Includes Session On ‘Responsible Yachting’.

CENSORSHIP WON’T HOLD WORLDWIDE:  New Zealand Whistleblower Claims Public Health Data Shows COVID Vaccines ‘Are Killing People’.

THERE ARE SOME LIES SO EGREGIOUS ONLY MARXISTS WOULD TELL THEM:  Nature, Tooth, Claw And All

PUT GOVERNMENT IN CHARGE OF THE DESERT. WE’LL RUN OUT OF SAND IN A MONTH:  After Congress Allocated $7.5 Billion for Electric Vehicle Chargers, Exactly Zero Have Been Built.

THIS IS WAR:  Over 12,000 Migrant Encounters on Tuesday Sets ‘Single Day Total Ever Recorded’.

The elites are using illegals as weapons in a war against us.

WELL, GIVEN THAT THEY’RE ALL BIGOTS…  Another example of the inability of Democrats to condemn bigotry

IT’S THE STAFF RUNNING THE PLACE, SO THEIR DENUNCIATION MATTERS MORE:  White House — but not Biden — rips university presidents over failure to condemn antisemitism on campuses.

THE ONLY ONES SURPRISED WEREN’T PAYING ATTENTION:  Is Ivy League university “leadership” morally bankrupt? Bill Ackman says, Congressional hearing removes all doubt.

THEY’D JUST BE REPLACED WITH SOMEONE ABOUT AS BAD BUT I APPLAUD THE SENTIMENT:  Billionaire who refused to hire anti-Israel grads demands Ivy League chiefs ‘resign in disgrace’ for antisemitism failures.

THE 2ND AMENDMENT’S LOGIC IS NOT JUST FOR AMERICANS:  ‘Must protect myself’: Israelis arm themselves in wake of Hamas attack.

CONSISTENCY AND LOGIC HAVE NEVER BEEN JOE’S STRONGEST POINT:  Biden says ‘probably 50’ Democrats could beat Trump after insisting ‘I have to run’.

CHASER — I CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT TEACHERS ARE SCARED OF! —  Girl, 12, slashed by fellow student in NYC classroom — second school stabbing in two days.

I think it’s time for common sense public school control. Is all.

CAN’T IMAGINE WHAT THEIR PROBLEM IS – THEIR UNION DOLLARS ELECTED THOSE OFFICIALS:  Teachers are quitting in droves because they’re scared of student violence — and a lack of punishment.

GOOD:  Israel encircles home of Hamas leader as Palestinians are warned to flee.

CAN’T WE ATTACK THEM ON BOTH? (AND THE FACT THEIR MOMMAS DRESS THEM FUNNY):  Never mind their private jets, attack the climate mob’s bad science.

BOB MCMANUS: Horrible poll is a wake-up call for Mayor Adams.

OPEN THREAD: Make it special.

I’M NOT SURPRISED BY HARVARD’S SLEAZE, BUT I WOULD HAVE HOPED FOR MORE FROM MIT: ‘Angry And Heartbroken’: MIT Alumni Challenge Alma Mater Over Response To Pro-Palestinian Protests.

An institution that prizes mathematical rigor and consistency and physical and immutable laws is now wrought by arbitrary and discriminatory double standards. Law-breakers flaunt the law, while law-abiders are shunned and left to fend for themselves,” the letter said.

“Jewish students are blocked from attending classes, and fearful of setting foot on campus. Jewish employees fear bringing their children to MIT Daycare. The law-breaking and rule-defying is explicitly intended as a challenge [to] the presence of Jews at MIT,” the letter continued.

The committee asked leadership that rules about protests, political speech, and civility be enforced and that those who break the laws or campus rules be “promptly brought to justice.”

That doesn’t seem like too much to ask. Sadly the STEM world has been just as infested with wokeness as the humanities.

SAFETY: US military grounds entire fleet of Osprey aircraft following a deadly crash off the coast of Japan.