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Readers! A November fund-raising drive!

 

It is unfortunately time for another November fund-raising campaign to support my work here at Behind the Black. I really dislike doing these, but 2025 is so far turning out to be a very poor year for donations and subscriptions, the worst since 2020. I very much need your support for this webpage to survive.

 

And I think I provide real value. Fifteen years ago I said SLS was garbage and should be cancelled. Almost a decade ago I said Orion was a lie and a bad idea. As early as 1998, long before almost anyone else, I predicted in my first book, Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, that private enterprise and freedom would conquer the solar system, not government. Very early in the COVID panic and continuing throughout I noted that every policy put forth by the government (masks, social distancing, lockdowns, jab mandates) was wrong, misguided, and did more harm than good. In planetary science, while everyone else in the media still thinks Mars has no water, I have been reporting the real results from the orbiters now for more than five years, that Mars is in fact a planet largely covered with ice.

 

I could continue with numerous other examples. If you want to know what others will discover a decade hence, read what I write here at Behind the Black. And if you read my most recent book, Conscious Choice, you will find out what is going to happen in space in the next century.

 

 

This last claim might sound like hubris on my part, but I base it on my overall track record.

 

So please consider donating or subscribing to Behind the Black, either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. I could really use the support at this time. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation. Takes about a 10% cut.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription, which takes about a 15% cut:

 

4. Donate by check. I get whatever you donate. Make the check payable to Robert Zimmerman and mail it to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


Live stream of first New Glenn launch

I have once again embedded below Blue Origin’s live stream of its attempt tonight to complete the maiden launch of its orbital New Glenn rocket.

The launch window of three hours opens at 1 am (Eastern). It would be nice if Blue Origin’s announcers showed some improvement in their delivery tonight but I have doubts. Expect as always lots of “This is so exciting!” and “Aren’t you excited?” and “Isn’t this the most exciting evening yet!” Blah.

As I’ve said, their audience doesn’t want emotion, it wants detailed information provided coolly. If they do that, they will do more to sell their rocket than anything.

UPDATE: It appears Blue Origin management might have seen the blistering criticisms of its launch coverage yesterday. Instead of starting the live stream an hour before, they are now going to start it at T-20 minutes, but have also placed the count on hold at T-20:50. This avoids blather, especially if mission control is not going to provide the announcers any concrete information, as they did yesterday.

The change from simply recycling the count to an actual hold is also a positive change. Simply recycling the count (by adding 20-30 minutes periodically while they work out issues) puts pressure on the launch team unnecessarily. Better to work under a hold.

The count now has been recycled to 30 minutes and is rolling. We shall see if the podcast goes live at 20 minutes.

Genesis cover

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

6 comments

  • David M. Cook

    1962: “God Speed John Glenn.” 2025: “God Speed New Glenn.”

  • Willi

    I found BO’s coverage of the first launch attempt to be obnoxious.

  • They started 20 minutes before launch but of course had a recycle due to a boat. I decided to watch Everyday Astronaut and his teams stream. It is way mire enjoyable. Tim knows when to silence the main feed.

  • David Eastman

    Why is SpaceX the only launch company that can manage consistent high definition video of their launches? Even before Starlink was available we got amazing video. All BO gives us is some choppy out of focus shots from the back of the booster and then just the animations. ESA, ULA, etc. don’t do any better either…

  • David Eastman: It is very simple: SpaceX has had a lot of opportunity to practice and get it right. :)

  • David Eastman: Also, SpaceX is NOT the only launch company that provides high definition video. Rocket Lab’s video feeds are comparable to SpaceX’s, and have been for years.

    I would also say that ULA does a good job as well.

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