June 7, 2024 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- China completes construction on first commercial launchpad at its Wenchang coastal spaceport
They dub this “Pad 2,” even though it will be where the first commercial launch will take place at Wenchang, presently scheduled for August 28, 2024.
- NASA inspector general issues report on agency’s commercial unmanned lunar lander program
The report can be downloaded here [pdf]. It is generally critical of the entire program, suggesting that NASA’s management has been inconsistent even as it also micromanaged the building of some commercial landers, thus causing delays and budget overruns despite the contracts being fixed price (If NASA demands a change, the company has an equal right to bill NASA for it).
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. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- China completes construction on first commercial launchpad at its Wenchang coastal spaceport
They dub this “Pad 2,” even though it will be where the first commercial launch will take place at Wenchang, presently scheduled for August 28, 2024.
- NASA inspector general issues report on agency’s commercial unmanned lunar lander program
The report can be downloaded here [pdf]. It is generally critical of the entire program, suggesting that NASA’s management has been inconsistent even as it also micromanaged the building of some commercial landers, thus causing delays and budget overruns despite the contracts being fixed price (If NASA demands a change, the company has an equal right to bill NASA for it).
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
William Anders dead at 90 in a plane crash?
https://x.com/ShawnGarrett/status/1799213846789599425
The Bull Elephant, a site that covers VA politics, has a good article on the election.
https://thebullelephant.com/its-deja-vu-all-over-again-3/