Happy New Year!

Hello CK Westbrook readers,

Wow, 2026 has had an intense start. Let’s hope the rest of the year is kinder and peaceful.

Current Events

If you wondered why Butch and Suni were stranded on the International Space Station for 286 days, but four astronauts (including one who was ill) came back so fast, it’s because their ride was in good shape, while Suni and Butch’s had technical difficulties. The capsule is essentially their lifeboat, and if two came back (and it must be at least two people at a time), then the others would not have a lifeboat. The Boeing Starliner capsule, carrying Butch and Suni, was on its first voyage and was supposed to prove it could handle the trip, but it did not. SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft rescued Suni and Butch and recently carried the four astronauts safely up and down.

I still don’t like Elon Musk.

This situation with the ill astronaut stimulated conversations about people going to Mars. These astronauts are supposed to be among the healthiest people, with access to rigorous medical tests and care, but humans are human. We all should have access to fantastic healthcare and a healthy, sustainable (reduce, reuse, recycle) environment before we try to do so in space. What do you think?

Space Debris Update:

There is ongoing work to reduce space debris, with a hopeful countdown to clean orbits that has begun with the European Space Agency’s Zero Debris Charter and its 2030 target to prevent new debris. There is also ongoing work to repair and remove defunct satellites, and Space Armor is being created as an alternative to Whipple shields to protect from micrometeoroids and orbital debris.

SpaceX recently stated, “so far so good” regarding space debris collisions. But with China’s submission to deploy a huge megaconstellation with nearly 200,000 satellites and SpaceX’s permission to deploy 7,500 Starlink Gen2 satellites, I think it’s only a matter of time until there’s a catastrophic collision.

The files:

What is going on with the damn files? When will the participants and/or enablers be held accountable?

Events:

I will be moderating a panel at Awesome Con in Washington, D.C., in March. The panel title is “Villains and Conflict – How They Influence Fantasy and Sci-Fi.” I love a good villain with an interesting origin story. Come out and join this discussion at the D.C. Convention Center.

I will also have a table in the artists' alley. More details soon!

P.S. Should you be interested, below are some books that fall under similar genres to “The Impact Series” – sci-fi, speculative, and suspenseful. Happy reading!

I can’t express my deep gratitude to my readers enough. Thank you for sharing this fantastic adventure with me!

CK

Feel free to email me with any comments or questions. I would love to hear from you! Ckwestbrook.author@gmail.com

Happy Winter Solstice!