Welcome to J Mission

Hi, I’m Dakota: Writer, editor, and most importantly, spaceflight nerd. If you’re reading this, you’re probably one too — and if not, I hope we can get you there soon enough.

As I write this, four courageous NASA astronauts are coasting back from the Moon and toward our Earth. If you haven’t been following their work, what are you doing? Go check it out. It’s amazing.

In one sense, their flight was the culmination of decades of fits and starts, billions of dollars spent, miles of red tape, ever-changing program objectives, and political handwringing.

In another, far more important sense, their journey is — to my mind — turning the page on one chapter of human spaceflight and beginning another.

They went to the damn moon.

Subscribe now

In future blog posts, we’ll dig more deeply into the questions surrounding the Space Launch System architecture, the roles of civil and commercial space in exploration, and the financial boondoggle of the last 20 years. To be clear, this is not an SLS apologist Substack.

But in some ways, after seeing the incredible photos the crew of Artemis II have sent to Earth, and hearing their voices as they were overcome by the scale of our universe, the old discourse surrounding SLS and Artemis seemed to hit its sell by date. It doesn’t really matter anymore.

J Mission is about this new chapter.

Pictured from left to right, Angela Garcia, Dr. Kelsey Young, and Dr. Trevor Graff, the first science officers of the Artemis program in the White Flight Control Room in the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Seen here about ten minutes before Earthset during Artemis II, these science officers are seen monitoring mission data in real-time from the Science console. They support flight controllers by analyzing scientific measurements and system performance. Their work helps ensure mission objectives are achieved safely and efficiently. — Image Credit: Robert Markowitz NASA-JSC

Will SLS actually be able to fly once a year? Will Starship deliver another order-of-magnitude reduction in launch cost? Will commercial space stations really take off? Will the ISS really be deorbited?

What other countries might enter the new space economy? What other companies might discover new services to offer in space?

For the last 5-10 years, these questions have all been theoretical — two years away from being two years away. But right now, theory is giving way to reality. The decisions these companies and agencies make over the next year or two will determine the trajectory for the next 20.

We’ll be tracking it all here. This is my space to share thoughts, theories, and classic blogger hot takes on the state of spaceflight and our journey to a cislunar economy. I’m not smart enough to work at NASA or dumb enough to work at [company name redacted] — so this newsletter really was the only option left.

Welcome to the new era of spaceflight. I can’t wait to follow it with all of you.

Earth sets at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, over the Moon’s curved limb in this photo captured by the Artemis II crew during their journey around the far side of the Moon. Orientale basin is perched on the edge of the visible lunar surface. Hertzsprung Basin appears as two subtle concentric rings, which are interrupted by Vavilov, a younger crater superimposed over the older structure. The lines of indentations are secondary crater chains formed by ejecta from the massive impact that created Orientale. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. — Image Credit: NASA/Crew of Artemis II