What's going on in Alabama
NASA is pushing back the Artemis program's schedule for several months. That is, as they say, part of the game.
The issue is with the protective coating on the Orion capsule during the Artemis 1 mission two years ago, when an uncrewed capsule orbited the moon. An investigation over the abnormalities just ended.
Now the timetable looks like this: Artemis II, with a crew orbiting the moon, slides from September 2025 to April 2026. And Artemis III, which is expected to land humans on the moon, moves back from September 2026 to mid-2027.
It'll be the first time folks have stepped on the lunar surface since 1972. And it's important to NASA that it doesn't fall much more behind, considering China's plans to land on the moon by 2030.
AL.com's John R. Roby reports that, according to Marshall Space Flight Center, the delay won't negatively affect work that's being done on the Artemis program in Huntsville.
A spokesperson said Marshall's work for Artemis II's rocket is nearing completion. |
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We may see another legislative push similar to the anti-vaping measure that came up short earlier this year, reports AL.com's Heather Gann.
The bill would regulate vape sales and direct the State Board of Education to create a vaping awareness and prevention program for K-12 schools. It would ban the sale of vaping products in vending machines and self-service displays that those under 21 can access. And it would require a state permit for each location that sells vaping products.
Support for the measure is led by State Rep. Barbara Drummond, a Mobile Democrat, along with other House Democrats.
The CDC is critical of having the Board of Education establish penalties for students who are caught vaping. It has argued for taking a different tack that would include comprehensive smoke-free laws, tobacco price increases and media campaigns.
A concern by health organizations is that a crackdown on vaping could push young people back toward tobacco products. |
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An Alabama native was almost the original big-screen batman instead of Michael Keaton, reports AL.com's Kelly Kazek. Michael Biehn was born in Anniston and later moved to Nebraska before his prolific Hollywood career. He was Kyle Reese in "The Terminator" and also had roles in "Aliens" and "The Abyss," but on this show we know him best as Johnny Ringo in 1993's "Tombstone." The scenes in that with Biehn's Ringo and Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday were next-level for western showdowns. On the podcast "Just Foolin' About with Michael Biehn," the actor recently said that he had met with Tim Burton about the Batman role and it seemed to go really well. Burton was considering pairing Biehn as Batman opposite Robin Williams (imagine this) as Joker. History knows that those parts went to Keaton and Jack Nicholson. |
The fast and fun way to review some of the news of the past week or so. |
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