October 28, 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.
This is late today because I was attending an event at the local Tucson rocket startup Phantom Space. More on that tomorrow.
- China touts the operation of its Quequiao-2 relay satellite orbiting the Moon
The tweet says it has a planned lifespan of eight years.
- Chinese pseudo-company Ispace says it has completed its investigation into the launch failure of its Hyperbola-1 rocket
No details were disclosed. The rocket has failed 4 times out of 7 launches.
- NASA official says that it has found the root cause to the Orion heat shield damage on Artemis-1
According to the tweet, the official also declined to disclose that root cause.
- On this day in 2009 NASA completed a test suborbital launch of its Ares-1-X rocket
Only one in a long list of non-achievements during the never-ending Ares/Constellation-SLS/Artemis program
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.
This is late today because I was attending an event at the local Tucson rocket startup Phantom Space. More on that tomorrow.
- China touts the operation of its Quequiao-2 relay satellite orbiting the Moon
The tweet says it has a planned lifespan of eight years.
- Chinese pseudo-company Ispace says it has completed its investigation into the launch failure of its Hyperbola-1 rocket
No details were disclosed. The rocket has failed 4 times out of 7 launches.
- NASA official says that it has found the root cause to the Orion heat shield damage on Artemis-1
According to the tweet, the official also declined to disclose that root cause.
- On this day in 2009 NASA completed a test suborbital launch of its Ares-1-X rocket
Only one in a long list of non-achievements during the never-ending Ares/Constellation-SLS/Artemis program
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
Regarding the heatshield of the the Orion Capsule. IIRC, several years ago, this same Orion vehicle that was shipped back to AVCO Wilmington (Massachusetts) for checkout of the existing heat shield. Being too wide for normal freight, the Orion was flown by an ultrawide body aircraft (similar to the Super Guppy) from Cape Canaveral to Laurence G Hanscom Field, Bedford, Massachusetts, then trucked to AVCO.
The “keep the heatshield formula secret” story mimics a lecture I attended by Steve Squyres, Principal Investigator for the science payload on the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. They had one of the rovers come across the re-entry heat shield of one of the rovers on the Martian surface, and asked if they (JPL) could use the RAT Tool to test the heatshield.
Word came back from the heatshield owner (perhaps Lockheed-Martin? unsure) to please NOT test it. The heatshield makers were more concerned that their “secret sauce” might become public knowledge.
The Steve Squyres lecture was presented at Clarkson University, an engineering school in upstate NY.
The same tone of keeping trade secrets as secret seems to be at work here.
“NASA official says that it has found the root cause to the Orion heat shield damage on Artemis-1
According to the tweet, the official also declined to disclose that root cause”
As a taxpayer, I demand they revel what the problem is.
Defunding NASA is starting to look good.
Non-achievements? Ares I could have been Omega.
Teri Garr (Dec. 11, 1944 – Oct. 29, 2024)
Star Trek Original: Assignment Earth
“Roberta Meets Gary Seven”
https://youtu.be/FqYpMUHbPj8
(2:57)
The Ares 1 never flew Jeff. The 1X flight was a Shuttle SRB with a mock up segment and mock up upper material.
The J-2, though heavy, would have worked–a rough ride, yes..but like Falcon, could have flown depressed trajectory.
Griffin just didn’t like the EELVs pawned off on NASA, and thought Ares I would be what Falcon is now.
I wish Squares should have ignored LockMart.
Information wants to be free.