November 14, 2024 Quick space linksCourtesy 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.
- Vast touts the fast pace it is setting in building its Haven-1 single module space station
The company is attempting to beat all the other space station consortiums, and do it without any NASA money.
- Scientist discover an unexpected supermassive black hole in the early universe swallowing matter 40x faster than theories predict
I want everyone to say this all together: “The uncertainty of science!”
- ESA touts its plans to build a low cost, super heavy-lift reusable rocket
The space agency asked two European rocket companies to propose concepts, from which ESA will then decide what to do. Or to put it another way, ESA is still designing and owning the rocket instead of getting the product from the private sector. This rocket will therefore be the same kind of failure that Ariane-6 has been, expensive, inefficient, and uncompetitive.
- On this day in 1984 shuttle astronauts captured the malfunctioning Westar-6 satellite so that it could be brought back to Earth for resale
The insurance company resold the repaired satellite and it was later relaunched.
- On this day in 1969 the second manned mission to the Moon, Apollo 12, was launched
Pete Conrad would land within walking distance of the unmanned Surveyor-3 lander, which had touched down there in 1967.
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 or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. 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.
- Vast touts the fast pace it is setting in building its Haven-1 single module space station
The company is attempting to beat all the other space station consortiums, and do it without any NASA money.
- Scientist discover an unexpected supermassive black hole in the early universe swallowing matter 40x faster than theories predict
I want everyone to say this all together: “The uncertainty of science!”
- ESA touts its plans to build a low cost, super heavy-lift reusable rocket
The space agency asked two European rocket companies to propose concepts, from which ESA will then decide what to do. Or to put it another way, ESA is still designing and owning the rocket instead of getting the product from the private sector. This rocket will therefore be the same kind of failure that Ariane-6 has been, expensive, inefficient, and uncompetitive.
- On this day in 1984 shuttle astronauts captured the malfunctioning Westar-6 satellite so that it could be brought back to Earth for resale
The insurance company resold the repaired satellite and it was later relaunched.
- On this day in 1969 the second manned mission to the Moon, Apollo 12, was launched
Pete Conrad would land within walking distance of the unmanned Surveyor-3 lander, which had touched down there in 1967.
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 or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. 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
Today’s APOD is a 3D anaglyph of Pete Conrad inspecting Surveyor 3.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241115.html
Let’s help ESA save billions of Euros and encourage them to ask Mr. Musk if his newfangled rocket has a licensed manufacturing option. This way, they don’t have to re-invent any wheels, they receive engineering updates at a rapid pace, their timeline is compressed tremendously, and they can share in the use of compatible launch and recovery facilities in far flung places.
If someone in authority at ESA hasn’t at least explored this option with SpaceX, the core of ESA leadership there needs to walk away.
”Let’s help ESA save billions of Euros and encourage them to ask Mr. Musk if his newfangled rocket has a licensed manufacturing option…”
That misses the entire point. Starship is not European.
”If someone in authority at ESA hasn’t at least explored this option with SpaceX, the core of ESA leadership there needs to walk away.”
If anyone in authority made any such official inquiry, he’d likely be fired.
Vast’s fast pace at building its Haven-1 single module space station is a good thing. It shows that the company is following SpaceX’s example of rapid development and early revenue service. Beating the other space stations gives it an advantage over the other space station companies and consortia, similar to Starlink’s advantage. Plus, fast development means they don’t spend money slow marching, so they are less likely to run out of money before they can start generating revenue. Doing it without NASA money means that NASA won’t slow down development by directing Vast’s methods and demanding unnecessary changes.
I did not expect the qualification unit to look different in shape and length than the Haven 1 flight unit or different even than the proposed Haven 2 modules.
Vast is also following SpaceX’s lead in being quite vertically integrated. No surprise given how many of its senior techies are SpaceX alumni.