March 17, 2025 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.
- South Korean rocket startup Innospace touts video of tests of its rocket strongback in Brazil
It is targeting a July 2025 first launch attempt.
- Rocket Lab touts its fairing design for its new Neutron rocket
Rather than separating, the fairings are integral to the reusable first stage, and merely hinge open.
- China opens its Mars sample return mission to international participation
Considering the mess the NASA/ESA sample return mission is in, it might make sense for neutral countries to consider hitching a ride with China.
- China shows off graphic of its own Webb copycat space telescope
Merely a powerpoint slide. Nothing real as yet.
- NASA touts Lucy’s next asteroid rendezvous
The release cites some theories about the age of the asteroid, but mostly it touts Lucy.
- ISRO gets approval from government for joint Chandrayaan-5 mission with Japan
Includes an Indian lander and a Japanese rover landing somewhere in the south polar regions of the Moon. Expect more information by tomorrow.
- On this day in 1958 the U.S. launched its second satellite, Vanguard 1.
It was the first to be solar powered. It is also still in orbit, and is expected to remain so for at least another 150-plus years.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
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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.
- South Korean rocket startup Innospace touts video of tests of its rocket strongback in Brazil
It is targeting a July 2025 first launch attempt.
- Rocket Lab touts its fairing design for its new Neutron rocket
Rather than separating, the fairings are integral to the reusable first stage, and merely hinge open.
- China opens its Mars sample return mission to international participation
Considering the mess the NASA/ESA sample return mission is in, it might make sense for neutral countries to consider hitching a ride with China.
- China shows off graphic of its own Webb copycat space telescope
Merely a powerpoint slide. Nothing real as yet.
- NASA touts Lucy’s next asteroid rendezvous
The release cites some theories about the age of the asteroid, but mostly it touts Lucy.
- ISRO gets approval from government for joint Chandrayaan-5 mission with Japan
Includes an Indian lander and a Japanese rover landing somewhere in the south polar regions of the Moon. Expect more information by tomorrow.
- On this day in 1958 the U.S. launched its second satellite, Vanguard 1.
It was the first to be solar powered. It is also still in orbit, and is expected to remain so for at least another 150-plus years.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four 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.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed 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.
Quub is launching on their second flight, currently scheduled for September. I love SpaceX but we need some competition. Without it I fear the future doesn’t look so bright.
All of the renders and information Rocket Lab has released about Neutron, from the very beginning, have suggested an integral fairing system, where they are always attached; but the system has definitely been evolving as design work proceeds. And this is easily the most insight we have had into it. Really great views of it in operation in this video!
I feel very confident in Neutron’s prospects. I think they have a fighting chance of carving out some of the medium launch market for themselves. They just need to get it to a launch pad now.
Perhaps fairings could do double duty in replacing grid fins.
From The Babylon Bee*
(*Fake News You Can Trust)
“Federal Judge Orders Astronauts Be Returned To Space Station”
“U.S. — A district judge has issued a ruling saying Trump lacked the Constitutional authority to pick up two astronauts who have been stranded at the International Space Station for several months.”
https://babylonbee.com/news/judge-orders-astronauts-be-returned-to-space-station