Professional suborbital astronaut, engineer, & world’s most-flown female astronaut. Flew 6 flights for Virgin Galactic now a Purdue professor flying on Purdue1.

Joined January 2014
Unicode U+1F483 😆
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It’s more cold-gas rocket than car, methinks. Congrats Tesla and SpaceX that was very fun to watch!
The Tesla Roadster is real and it can fly and it looks incredible in person
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I liked this test point too…
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Joe Engle flew to an altitude of 50 miles in the North American X-15 #OTD in 1965. Engle flew the X-15 higher than 50 miles three times, officially qualifying him for Air Force astronaut wings.
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Three years ago today. #Galactic04
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Beth Moses retweeted
. @blueorigin Orbital Reef program manager Randy Lillard said at IAC2026 panel that Blue has no plans to internally fund a crewed vehicle. “We await an on-ramp opportunity with NASA," he said. Blue has an unfunded NASA Space Act Agreement for crew vehicle tech development.
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On #TDIH in 2004, SpaceShipOne won the $10 million Ansari X Prize for repeated flights in a privately developed reusable spacecraft after pilot Brian Binnie flew SpaceShipOne on its third of three record-setting flights: s.si.edu/3tgm4xJ #AirSpacePhoto
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🚀 Launching the Purdue 1 Indiana Essay Competition! Purdue University invites Hoosier fifth graders to explore how they could use a favorite school subject, hobby or skill to help a space mission crew succeed. One winning essay will be chosen from each of Indiana's 92 counties, and every county winner receives a personalized Purdue 1 Indiana mission patch. If mission conditions allow, winners' names will even travel to space aboard Purdue 1, the university's upcoming all-Boilermaker suborbital research spaceflight! Submissions open today and run through Nov. 30. Learn more: bit.ly/4rMkXzZ
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Beth Moses retweeted
Go for orbit! Starship will soon perform a burn with a single Raptor engine to enter an ~275 km orbit of Earth
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They opted for a couple of orbits after all, suhweet! Congrats SpaceX on the first orbital test of Starship. That’s quite a milestone.
Beautiful imagery today of Starship’s latest test flight. No orbital testing (1 engine failed on ascent) but golly it feels like they are getting so close. Congrats SpaceX!
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Beautiful imagery today of Starship’s latest test flight. No orbital testing (1 engine failed on ascent) but golly it feels like they are getting so close. Congrats SpaceX!
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Beth Moses retweeted
So, based on the timeline published and the landing zones this is my rough approximation of the ground track for flight 14. Assuming it flies for all orbits there are opportunities to see it in many locations around the world.
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🚀 Selected for its globally impactful work on a reusable two-stage rocket system, the @SpaceX Falcon 9 Booster Landing Team has officially received the 2026 Neil Armstrong Space Prize. ⭐️ Read about the team’s innovation and Purdue’s legacy in space. purdue.university/4h0TIfW
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Very well deserved, @ShanaDiez! Congratulations to the entire team, and your remarks on the stage yesterday were especially classy and professional.
I feel honored and humbled to have been recognized last night along with @edwards345 @larsblackmore @y_kuwata and Ed Velasquez at the inaugural Neil Armstrong awards. Thank you very much to Purdue and the Armstrong family as well as the nominating committee. It was many many more at SpaceX who deserve to be recognized for this accomplishment and it is a privilege to work with them every day and to have worked with those who were a part of this achievement.
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Very well deserved, @y_kuwata! Congratulations to the entire team. Your acceptance speech was very heartwarming as were those from your fellow awardees.
ニール・アームストロングの名を冠した賞を、Falcon 9 Booster Landing Teamの一員として頂きました!人生最高の名誉ある体験でした。
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Beth Moses retweeted
It was an unforgettable evening for the awarding of @LifeAtPurdue’s first annual Neil Armstrong Space Prize and the perfect honorees in the @SpaceX Falcon 9 team that achieved the miracle of vertical landing and reusable rocketry. Special congrats to Purdue alum @edwards345. 
 purdue.edu/newsroom/2026/Q3/…
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🏅 Surrounded by members of the Neil Armstrong family, Purdue Cradle of Astronauts, Purdue leadership and @NASAAdmin Jared Isaacman, the @SpaceX Falcon 9 Booster Landing Team received the 2026 Neil Armstrong Space Prize during a ceremony in the nation’s capital tonight. ⭐️
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Black tie tonight for the inaugural Neil Armstrong Space Prize! Should be a great event with the Cradle of Astronauts.
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⭐️🎉 It’s time to celebrate! Check here tomorrow as we gather to honor the @SpaceX Falcon 9 Booster Landing Team, inaugural winner of the 2026 Neil Armstrong Space Prize, with a ceremony and reception hosted in the nation’s capital.
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🖤💛🚀🖤💛
This legacy spans decades and redefines what’s next. As we celebrate America’s 250th, learn more about Purdue’s contributions to our country’s exploration of space. ⬇️ purdue.university/4ucRoHL
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