Thompson

Charlie Blackwell-Thompson is the first woman to serve as a NASA launch director.

US Space Force would support commercial services to remove orbital debris. Gen. David Thompson said it makes sense to pay companies to clean up space junk if such services existed. “I’ll pay by the ton if they can remove debris,” Thompson said, noting there are no companies that can do that today.

Exactly what determines whether a star explodes as a supernova or collapses into a black hole isn’t clear. “The actual physics of the supernova explosion is a huge unknown,” said Thompson. The black hole mass gap “could be a vital clue to that process.”