Space News for Saturday, October 17, 2026

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top

space news stories. Enjoy!<br>(00:10) Podcast Introduction<br>(00:21) Blue Origin to add new Florida launch pads, seeks aggressive increase in New Glenn flight rate<br>(01:04) White House Directed Pentagon to Restrict Ukraine Starshield Speeds, Clarifying Chain of Command<br>(01:40) NASA Names Stephen Cash Marshall Space Flight Center Director<br>(02:22) Artemis II Heat Shield After Splashdown<br>(02:56) I Am Artemis: Allison Mjoen<br>(03:37) 'It really does change you': SpaceX Crew-12 commander wishes we could all see our fragile Earth from space<br>(04:05) Scientists find 'gemstones' in atmosphere of bizarre, scorching-hot 'marshmallow' exoplanet<br>(04:47) SpaceX thrusters just made a Tesla Roadster 'fly' (and Elon Musk's car is still out there in space)<br>(05:31) On this day in space! Oct. 16, 1975: NASA launches the 1st-ever GOES weather satellite to watch Earth from space<br>(06:02) 'Mission: 60s' event promises passport back to the Space Age<br>