April 27, 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.
- Soviet-era lander module from failed 1972 Venus mission to re-enter atmosphere in mid-May
Designed to survive Venus’s thick atmosphere, there is an excellent chance it will hit the ground intact when it comes down, with no way to control it. It is not a big object, and the risk to habitable areas remains small, but not zero. More updates to follow.
- ISRO engineers have undocked the two Spadex satellites after raising their orbit
More docking tests are expected.
- Lockheed Martin touts the successful pressure tests for its own inflatable station module
The company does not tell us the scale of this test item, but it does indicate it exceeded specififications.
- On this day in 2001 Dennis Tito became the first space tourist, launching as a paying passenger on a Russian Soyuz capsule to ISS
Tito paid the Russian’s $20 million for the flight, and NASA fought hard to stop this perfect example of freedom and capitalism. By the start of this century the U.S. government was no longer a big supporter of such things, something that sadly continues largely to this day.
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.
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.
- Soviet-era lander module from failed 1972 Venus mission to re-enter atmosphere in mid-May
Designed to survive Venus’s thick atmosphere, there is an excellent chance it will hit the ground intact when it comes down, with no way to control it. It is not a big object, and the risk to habitable areas remains small, but not zero. More updates to follow.
- ISRO engineers have undocked the two Spadex satellites after raising their orbit
More docking tests are expected.
- Lockheed Martin touts the successful pressure tests for its own inflatable station module
The company does not tell us the scale of this test item, but it does indicate it exceeded specififications.
- On this day in 2001 Dennis Tito became the first space tourist, launching as a paying passenger on a Russian Soyuz capsule to ISS
Tito paid the Russian’s $20 million for the flight, and NASA fought hard to stop this perfect example of freedom and capitalism. By the start of this century the U.S. government was no longer a big supporter of such things, something that sadly continues largely to this day.
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.
There was a post about rocket belts the other day,
https://substack.com/@billpieper/note/c-112674863?r=3uv2v&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action