@RickNeale1

Space Reporter for @Florida_Today and @USAToday Network. @KentStateJMC product. Also wrote for @pcnewsherald, @fremontNM and the Barberton Herald.

 Melbourne, Florida
floridatoday.com/staff/4387025002/rick-neale/
Joined January 2012
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The U.S. Navy @BlueAngels have arrived at Patrick Space Force Base ahead of this weekend’s Air Dot Show Cocoa Beach ✈️
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Here's coverage of SpaceX's Starship docuseries screenings in Cocoa Village, which raised $20K for Brevard's zoo foundation. News from the event: The first Starship upper stage to launch from Florida will target landing at Starbase in Texas: tinyurl.com/49e289r2
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NASA personnel insourcing may result in up to 126 Aetos Systems layoffs in December at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. floridatoday.com/story/tech/…

NASA contractor Aetos Systems warns 126 employees may be laid off at KSC

NASA continues insourcing thousands of contract employees nationwide to become less reliant on external vendors for core functions.

floridatoday.com
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Did you see the illuminated-gas "jellyfish" created in the Florida sky this morning by SpaceX's Bandwagon-5 launch from Cape Canaveral? This @Florida_Today blog features details, photos and video floridatoday.com/story/tech/…

Live updates: SpaceX launches Bandwagon-5 mission from Cape Canaveral

Live updates from SpaceX’s Tuesday morning Bandwagon-5 mission that launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

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SPACEX JELLYFISH UPDATE: Monday's launch is very likely to generate a "space jellyfish," per @spacejellyalert. But @NWSMelbourne predicts Florida's Space Coast should get marine stratocumulus clouds pushing onshore. @Florida_Today floridatoday.com/story/tech/…

SpaceX scrubs Monday launch try; 'jellyfish' sky show possible Tuesday

SpaceX cited unfavorable booster-recovery weather conditions near the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.

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Lots of Blue Origin launch updates here from Florida's Space Coast, including coverage of the company leasing Space Perspective's former facilities at Space Coast Regional Airport floridatoday.com/story/tech/…

After blast, Blue Origin pushes for multiple weekly Florida rocket launches

Blue Origin's big construction ramp-up coincides with rival space companies building infrastructure and planning to boost launch rates at Cape Canaveral.

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Front of USA TODAY. 🚀
𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝙿𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚃𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 📰
@ukpapersOct 12
▫ When Starship moves in next door ▫South Texas residents offer preview for Florida's Space Coast ▫@brookeofstars @USATODAY #frontpagestoday #USA
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The @FloridaTech student experiment is now set to launch to the ISS on NASA's SpaceX CRS-35 mission. More details here: tinyurl.com/4ubwacsy

Florida Tech ISS experiment could help protect future Mars astronauts

After nearly two years of research and lab work, an experiment created by Florida Tech students will head up to the ISS on NASA's SpaceX CRS-35 launch.

floridatoday.com
John Z. Kiss@JZK608 May 2025
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) at @FloridaTech has a winning project: “Hydrogel-Radiation shielding viability under the influence of microgravity.” I enjoyed working in the lab with them today to better understand their experiment.
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"The kids are cleaning out the house. They find this jacket. They're like, 'Hey, Dad. What's the jacket?' He says, 'Oh, that was like an astronaut jacket that I got back in the 1980s, and you know, I just kept it.' ": Neil Armstrong's coverall jacket floridatoday.com/story/tech/…

Rare Neil Armstrong Apollo 11 jacket could fetch $1.2 million at auction

Neil Armstrong's inflight coverall jacket is up for sale in an Oct. 17 online charity auction, and a sale estimate ranges from $800,000 to $1.2 million.

floridatoday.com
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At UNF, fans watch Osprey pilot Dragon to International Space Station jacksonville.com/story/news/… via @jaxdotcom, @StevePatTU, @RickNeale1

At UNF, fans watch Osprey pilot Dragon to International Space Station

Astronaut Luke Delaney earned a bachelor's degree at the University of North Florida. Faculty and students held a watch party as he flew toward space.

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"You know, today we might see 100 flights come out of the Cape a year. But this is going to go to 1,000. And it’s going to go to 10,000" - Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp floridatoday.com/story/tech/…

Blue Origin seeks FAA approval for 50 New Glenn launches per year from Cape

The FAA has released a draft EA for Blue Origin's proposed New Glenn cadence boost from 12 to 50 New Glenn liftoffs per year at Launch Complex 36.

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My Starship photo and story on the front page of @Florida_Today (and multiple other Florida papers!). 🚀 Check it out!
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A Starship launched early September 28, and finally reached orbit. Read what happened as well as my reaction: floridatoday.com/story/tech/…

SpaceX Starship enters Earth orbit for first time in major milestone

"Go for orbit": With those words the SpaceX team entered a major milestone by putting Starship into low-Earth orbit for the first time.

floridatoday.com
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NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency is targeting no earlier than December for an uncrewed Boeing Starliner I launch to the International Space Station to validate recent remediation efforts. Crewed Starliner II mission to follow in 2028.
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During a Blue Origin-hosted event, CEO Dave Limp just said “we still think we have a path to launch this year” amid a massive rebuilding effort after the May 28 New Glenn rocket explosion
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Embraer has confirmed the possibility of building a half-billion-dollar factory for KC-390 Millennium military aircraft at Melbourne Orlando International Airport — but it remains unknown whether such a facility will materialize in America. floridatoday.com/story/news/…

Embraer VP: Space Coast will hopefully become home to $500M plane factory

"We are actively advocating for the KC-390 in the United States because we believe the aircraft offers significant value to the U.S. military": Embraer.

floridatoday.com
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See how six @FloridaTech students lived at the Mars Desert Research Station in remote Utah. Story by my @Florida_Today Space Team colleague @brookeofstars floridatoday.com/story/tech/…

'You're on your own': Florida Tech students live like astronauts on "Mars" mission

Florida Tech students spent a week “on Mars” in a Utah desert habitat, testing isolation, teamwork, and science for future space missions.

floridatoday.com
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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 meet the media after flying from Houston to Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of launch
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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 astronauts just landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida @Florida_Today
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Rocket launches coming up in Texas and Florida: Starship's 14th test flight. NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 astronauts. And a national-security payload aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket. floridatoday.com/story/tech/…

SpaceX sets up 3 big launches in 4 days, starting with Starship liftoff

The lineup includes Starship's 14th test flight, NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 astronauts, and a national-security payload aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket.

floridatoday.com
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Melbourne Orlando International Airport update: An undisclosed aeronautical company code-named Project Sky plans to make a "remarkable" capital investment building facilities on about 30 acres on the northwest side of the airport. floridatoday.com/story/news/…

Project Sky, a mystery company, may spark job growth at Melbourne airport

The mystery company will build "aeronautical facilities and related improvements" north of General Aviation Drive, per the Melbourne Airport Authority.

floridatoday.com
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