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Rafael Mentges

@mentges.bsky.social

780 followers 630 following 3.1K posts

Space Economist. Interested in European Integration, industrial policy, innovation, strategic sovereignty, and of course things like launchers, SatCom, EO ... I have another profile focused more on my old interests: Macro, monetary policy and banking.

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Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · Nov 19

Ok, here is an updated version of my space policy starter pack.

Let's make #BlueSpace the best platform for space news, space econ and space law discussions.

@sharestuff.bsky.social

go.bsky.app/PRWt1qf

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Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 6h

Even better Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton 🙈☺️

Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · Aug 29

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Reposted by Rafael Mentges

Kriszta Satori @fulelo.bsky.social · 10h

V politico:
Commission to probe reports that Orbán’s spies targeted EU officials in Brussels
www.politico.eu/article/orba...

Commission to probe reports that Orbán’s spies targeted EU officials in Brussels

Hungary’s current European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi was in charge of the country’s embassy at the time of the allegations.

www.politico.eu

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Reposted by Rafael Mentges

Soumaya Keynes @soumayakeynes.ft.com · 1d

Tariff exemptions mean that applied rates are below the headline. Whereas 94% of US goods imports from China face duties, for imports from Canada the share is just 10%.

From @tobyn.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/c8f0...
And the NY Fed
libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2025/10/a-co...

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Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 1d

If toxic masculinity was a carpet

Ulrike Franke @rikefranke.bsky.social · 1d

I found the ugliest carpet I have *ever* seen.
These *tire tracks* are *deliberate*. Tire tracks. TIRE. TRACKS.
ON. THE. CARPET.

Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 1d

It's less correlated compared to most assets. That makes it worth putting a bit in a portfolio. But I guess around 2% is something I could get behind.

Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 1d

Adding a bit to your portfolio is ok but anything further only if you're a gambler or you have information others don't have (you probably don't)

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 1d

Is it time to get into gold? It depends on your age on.ft.com/4nAXfno | opinion

Is it time to get into gold? It depends on your age

There is little upside for the young, but the yellow metal is perfect for protecting your pension — and global uncertainty is not going away

on.ft.com

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Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 2d

I love ESA and I love the Hera mission but this is kind of funny.

Honey, I won't make it for dinner at 19h, I will be three hours late.

Two hours later: good news, will be home already at 21:55h, five minutes earlier than originally planned.

ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · 3d

Thanks to the spacecraft’s good performance, and some clever planning by teams on Earth, Hera is on track to arrive at the Didymos binary asteroid system a month earlier than originally planned.

Full story at: www.esa.int/Space_Safety...

ESA’s Hera targets early arrival at Didymos asteroids

Launched one year ago, on 7 October 2024, the European Space Agency’s Hera mission is roughly halfway to its destination – the Didymos binary asteroid system.At Didymos, Hera will study the aftermath ...

www.esa.int

Reposted by Rafael Mentges

ESA Operations @operations.esa.int · 3d

Happy launch anniversary to ESA's Hera mission! 🎂🥳

One year ago ESA's first planetary defence mission was stranded on Earth, its launcher grounded, as a hurricane closed in on its launch site. What a difference a year makes! www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

Hera’s first year in space

www.esa.int

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Reposted by Rafael Mentges

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 4d

"There are currently one to two Starlink satellites falling back to Earth every day ... Soon, McDowell told us, there will be up to 5 satellite reentries per day." 😳

1 to 2 Starlink satellites are falling back to Earth each day

earthsky.org

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Reposted by Rafael Mentges

Aurélien Genin @astroaure.bsky.social · 2d

🛰 Un à deux Starlink rentrent dans l'atmosphère chaque jour 😮 Il y a 5 ans, on était plutôt à un satellite par semaine ! Et on connaît encore très mal l'impact sur l'atmosphère de ces rentrées, mais les premières études sont pas jolies... Il est urgent de réguler 📢

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 4d

"There are currently one to two Starlink satellites falling back to Earth every day ... Soon, McDowell told us, there will be up to 5 satellite reentries per day." 😳

1 to 2 Starlink satellites are falling back to Earth each day

earthsky.org

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Reposted by Rafael Mentges

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 3d

Rheinmetall rival slams ‘direct award’ to German arms group on.ft.com/48SQd91

Rheinmetall rival slams ‘direct award’ to German arms group

Electro Optic Systems says Berlin’s lack of open tender bypasses better and cheaper options

on.ft.com

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Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 4d

" #OpenAI ’s latest valuation gives it a market value roughly equivalent to Exxon Mobil, which reported annual revenue of almost $350 bn last year and profit of more than $30 bn. The AI company, meanwhile, is expecting $13 bn of revenue this year and a net loss in the billions of dollars"

MSN

www.msn.com

Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 4d

💯
Too many arguments assume only one or zero is possible. Pisses me off!

Reposted by Rafael Mentges

Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 6d

President Macron:
“We were very naive to leave our public space to social media networks controlled by US or Chinese companies that don’t share our interests and not interested in survival of our democracies.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MggN...

French President Macron Speaks at German Unity Day Ceremony | WION LIVE

YouTube video by WION

www.youtube.com

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Geoff Brumfiel @gbrumfiel.bsky.social · 6d

Well gang, it's happened: OpenAI has built a platform filled exclusively with fake, AI content.

I've been playing with it for a few days, and I think it's safe to say we're basically kissing reality goodbye.

Here's the story: www.npr.org/2025/10/03/n...

And some thoughts 🧵

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Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 7d

“A big driver here is re-shoring: governments and industry want greater control and resilience in their supply chains, which is pushing more production capacity back onshore."

Overall, a boring piece but this probably worth mentioning.

www.satellitetoday.com

Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 7d

MAGA wants to cancel the Super Bowl because Bad Bunny is performing.

Conservative cancel culture is the worst and it always has been.
Nothing but projection coming from MAGA.

Reposted by Rafael Mentges

Dr. med. Hank Schiffers @leanhealth.bsky.social · 7d

Randomisierte Studie mobile Luftfilter Schule

1) Reduktion krankheitsbedingter Abwesenheit 12,5%
2) Kosten 11€/d
3) cost benefit 1:9

Nicht inkludiert sind die zusätzlich in Skandinavien nachgewiesenen Reduktionen der elterlichen Fehltage um 30%

Und nu
@PrienKarin @ninawarken?

The Effect of Air Purifiers in Schools

www.rff.org

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Reposted by Rafael Mentges

Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 7d

Meanwhile, this week with Sora 2 AI video generation has taken another step towards anyone being able to stitch together broadly convincing videos of politicians making any announcements... even if this is an innocent example of JFK proclaiming an EV mandate for 1967.

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Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 7d

Just tell them it was just a scheme to get China to spend ridiculous amounts on moon landing capabilities 🙈😉

Ars Technica @arstechnica.com · 7d

As the debate about NASA potentially losing the "second" space race to China heats up in Washington, everyone is pointing fingers... but no one is really offering answers.

How America fell behind China in the lunar space race—and how it can catch back up

Thanks to some recent reporting, we’ve found a potential solution to the Artemis blues.

arstechnica.com

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Reposted by Rafael Mentges

Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 7d

Cracker Barrel American Eagle War on Christmas: the right needs us to loathe them because that's central to their identity and operations, and if we don't they'll just fabricate it. Not news, but here's a new case of that:

Open Measures @openmeasures.bsky.social · 8d

American Eagle was dragged into an online outrage cycle after conservative media figures claimed that liberals were offended by the clothing company's ads featuring Sydney Sweeney and a denim-themed pun about her "great jeans."

We checked the data. That wasn't true.

openmeasures.io/american-eag...

Outrage Over American Eagle’s ‘Great Jeans’ Ad Was a Conservative Media Creation - Open Measures

Open Measures builds accessible and transparent products to contextualize the spread of harmful online information that impacts public discourse and global events.

openmeasures.io

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Andrew 🚀🛰️ @cosmic-andrew1.bsky.social · 13d

Nailed it

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Astropierre @astropierre.com · 8d

Pour l'année scolaire 2024-2025, plus de 6800 livres ont été retirés (temporairement ou définitivement) des bibliothèques scolaires américaines.

80 % de ces interdictions ont lieu dans trois États : la Floride, le Texas et le Tennessee.

Radio-Canada Info @info.radio-canada.ca · 8d

Stephen King est l’auteur le plus banni dans les écoles américaines

Les livres du maître de l'horreur ont été censurés 206 fois en 2024-2025, selon un nouveau rapport.

rc.ca

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Reposted by Rafael Mentges

Kevin 🚀🤠 @astro-cowboy.bsky.social · 8d

Nationalize SpaceX

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Took Money Directly From Chinese Investors, Company Insider Testifies

The newly unsealed testimony marks the first time direct Chinese investment in the company has been disclosed, raising new questions about foreign ownership interests in one of America’s most importan...

www.propublica.org

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Rafael Mentges @mentges.bsky.social · 8d

... just to practice their faith in peace.

I can only imagine what it does to your mind—growing up with the constant fear of being attacked as part of everyday life. That this is still a reality in the heart of Europe, in Germany of all places, is something we should never accept. Yet, we do.