November 3, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Firefly puts its new Miranda rocket engine on the test stand, ready for its first hot fire tests
This is the engine that will power the first stage that Firefly is building for Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket, replacing the Ukrainian stage and Russian engines it used to use.
- ULA’s CEO shows off four Vulcan upper stages under assembly at its factory
As Jay notes, “At least he is building something,” taking a jab at another company with the word “blue” in its name.
- Bezos is abandoning Seattle and moving to Florida
He says he wants to be closer to both his family and his Cape Canaveral space facilities in Florida, which as he says is “shifting increasingly to Cape Canaveral.” He also likely decided to get out because of a new state tax that will steal $70 million from him for every stock sale of $1 billion.
- The Times of India brags about the use of an nuclear power source for the Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module still functioning in lunar orbit
The units are engineering tests, designed to work out the kinks so this power source can be used on future unmanned rovers to Mars and elsewhere.
- Next Gaganyaan launch abort test scheduled for March 2024
This second test vehicle will be closer to the final capsule version. According to ISRO, four total abort tests are planned before the manned mission.
- Review of Kepler archive confirms solar system with seven exoplanets
The review also refined the present understanding of this alien solar system.
- NASA officials say they are willing to extend ISS beyond 2030
That’s nice, but the question is whether the Russians will stay on after ’28, and even more important, whether their modules will last until then.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Firefly puts its new Miranda rocket engine on the test stand, ready for its first hot fire tests
This is the engine that will power the first stage that Firefly is building for Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket, replacing the Ukrainian stage and Russian engines it used to use.
- ULA’s CEO shows off four Vulcan upper stages under assembly at its factory
As Jay notes, “At least he is building something,” taking a jab at another company with the word “blue” in its name.
- Bezos is abandoning Seattle and moving to Florida
He says he wants to be closer to both his family and his Cape Canaveral space facilities in Florida, which as he says is “shifting increasingly to Cape Canaveral.” He also likely decided to get out because of a new state tax that will steal $70 million from him for every stock sale of $1 billion.
- The Times of India brags about the use of an nuclear power source for the Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module still functioning in lunar orbit
The units are engineering tests, designed to work out the kinks so this power source can be used on future unmanned rovers to Mars and elsewhere.
- Next Gaganyaan launch abort test scheduled for March 2024
This second test vehicle will be closer to the final capsule version. According to ISRO, four total abort tests are planned before the manned mission.
- Review of Kepler archive confirms solar system with seven exoplanets
The review also refined the present understanding of this alien solar system.
- NASA officials say they are willing to extend ISS beyond 2030
That’s nice, but the question is whether the Russians will stay on after ’28, and even more important, whether their modules will last until then.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Will the last billionaire leaving Seattle please turn off the lights?
Something I was thinking about..
Would it be possible to save the ISS truss to attach to Starship?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_Truss_Structure
Outfit it with lots of argon for ion engines?
The truss and other parts would be great to use in space but the problem is fitting it with a large engine because the whole thing is basically off balance and would waste a lot of fuel just keeping it running in a single direction.
The best thing to do with the ISS is to keep it running until the end and then sell it off to a private company with a de-orbit/safe orbit agreement for anything they do not keep in space.
Space X could easily send up all they need to build anything on a few Starships.