Having spent my career navigating the painful aftermath of spaceflight catastrophes, my heart goes out to the Blue Origin team this week. In my latest article, I look at the New Glenn hot-fire anomaly through the lens of NASA’s Columbia investigation playbook, detailing how teams can manage high-stakes pressure, combat the "normalization of deviance," and safely return to flight.
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Everyone is looking at the moon, but former NASA Test Director Mike Ciannilli is looking at the heat shield. Discover why the "romance" of spaceflight is a trap and how the tragic lessons of Challenger and Columbia are the only things bringing our astronauts home. It’s a masterclass in vigilance for space. As Artemis II heads for the Moon, explore the critical safety upgrades born from NASA's hardest lessons. From O-ring redundancies to Orion heat shield risks, Mike provides an insider’s look at mission risks, the psychology of vigilance, and the engineering reality of deep-space reentry.
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A successful launch of Artemis II to the moon
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NASA’s New HLS Audit is Out: Is Autonomy Outpacing Human Safety? Former NASA Mission Leader Mike Ciannilli breaks down the March 2026 OIG Report (IG-26-004) on the Artemis Human Landing System. Discover why the SpaceX and Blue Origin schedule shifts are happening and why the "Human vs. Autonomy" debate is the most critical decision facing the future of spaceflight and Earth-side AI and the implications go far beyond the Moon. I’m diving into the $7 billion contract status of Starship and Blue Moon, the growing "Test Like You Fly" safety gaps, and the high-stakes choice between Apollo-style manual control and modern AI. Are we ready to hand the stick to the machine? #Artemis #NASA #Aerospace #AI #ProjectManagement
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The Artemis program is evolving — not failing. Subtle signals across NASA’s planning, budgets, and public language point to a quiet but necessary architectural shift. In high‑consequence work, adapting to reality isn’t weakness; it’s leadership. #NASA #SPACE #MIKE
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NASA failure to LESSONS APPLIED
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Mike Ciannilli, veteran aerospace leader with extensive expertise in human spaceflight safety and mishap investigation lends his insight into NASA’s Starliner investigation shows that, like Challenger and Columbia, the deepest failure was not technical malfunction but a recurring leadership culture that normalizes risk, sidelines dissent and erodes the safety discipline essential to human spaceflight.
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Why is a simple loaf of bread a "mission-critical threat"? Former NASA Mission Leader Mike Ciannilli reveals the surprising science behind the Artemis lunar menu—and the common Earth snacks that could actually disable a spacecraft. Artemis II mission, NASA space food, spaceflight safety, and why bread is banned in space.
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