June 23, 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.
- Sweden and the U.S. sign deal allowing American companies to launch from Esrange
The deal removes state department restrictions designed to prevent the theft of U.S. technology by hostile foreign powers.
- Chinese pseudo-company AZSpace apparently renamed a spacecraft from DEAR-4 to DEAR-5 because the word “four” in Chinese sounds like the word “death”
That’s the theory at least.
- Arianespace official says it must increase the launch cadence of Ariane-6
He also admits just getting to 10 per year will be difficult.
- On this day in 1960 the first U.S. radar reconnaissance satellite was launched
Its classified name was Grab-1. At the time its public name was Solrad-1, with the government only telling the public about its solar research instruments.
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.
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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.
- Sweden and the U.S. sign deal allowing American companies to launch from Esrange
The deal removes state department restrictions designed to prevent the theft of U.S. technology by hostile foreign powers.
- Chinese pseudo-company AZSpace apparently renamed a spacecraft from DEAR-4 to DEAR-5 because the word “four” in Chinese sounds like the word “death”
That’s the theory at least.
- Arianespace official says it must increase the launch cadence of Ariane-6
He also admits just getting to 10 per year will be difficult.
- On this day in 1960 the first U.S. radar reconnaissance satellite was launched
Its classified name was Grab-1. At the time its public name was Solrad-1, with the government only telling the public about its solar research instruments.
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.
Even when Ariane 64 gets its up-rated SRBs it’s only going to be able to put about 50% more into LEO per expendable launch than F9 can now routinely do while recovering the booster and fairings. That makes 10 Ariane 64s – 2029 models – about equal to 15 present-day F9s. So the big “stretch” goal for Ariane 64 is to be able – four years from now – to do in an entire year what F9 can do right now in a typical month.
The only good thing about Europe’s mingy launch capability is that it’s at least a good fit for its general lack of production of anything much to launch. IRIS2 I will believe when I see it – if it ever actually becomes a thing. If it dies a-borning – which seems quite likely – then Ariane 64 won’t have to risk a hernia trying to launch ten whole times in a single year.
Dick Eagleson wrote, “The only good thing about Europe’s mingy launch capability is that it’s at least a good fit for its general lack of production of anything much to launch.”
Heh. I wish I had written that.