June 26,2025 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.
- Budget bill shifts $1 billion to Space Force’s X-37B program
It is not clear if the legislature shifted money from other programs, or simply plucked the cash off of the trees these elected officials think money grows from.
- Sierra Space touts opening of new facility to build space-hardened solar arrays
More and more I suspect the company is shifting away from manned space. I especially wonder if there is something seriously wrong with its Dream Chaser Tenacity mini-shuttle, which has been undergoing final ground testing for more than a year with its launch repeatedly delayed.
- Another new Chinese pseudo-company, Welight, touts a reusable rocket
Jay notes, “I love the comment: ‘Every other month we get to see a new Chinese Space company'”. I note that the Xi government requires all of its rocket pseudo-companies to share data, which means anyone in that government can steal this information to form their own pseudo-company, and use their position of power to get favored treatment when it comes time to compete for government contracts. It is therefore not surprising that so many new pseudo-companies keep popping up.
- Chinese scientists propose sending a fleet of smallsats probes to visit Apophis when it flies past the Earth in April 2029
It isn’t clear from the article whether this project has been funded or not by the Chinese government.
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.
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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.
- Budget bill shifts $1 billion to Space Force’s X-37B program
It is not clear if the legislature shifted money from other programs, or simply plucked the cash off of the trees these elected officials think money grows from.
- Sierra Space touts opening of new facility to build space-hardened solar arrays
More and more I suspect the company is shifting away from manned space. I especially wonder if there is something seriously wrong with its Dream Chaser Tenacity mini-shuttle, which has been undergoing final ground testing for more than a year with its launch repeatedly delayed.
- Another new Chinese pseudo-company, Welight, touts a reusable rocket
Jay notes, “I love the comment: ‘Every other month we get to see a new Chinese Space company'”. I note that the Xi government requires all of its rocket pseudo-companies to share data, which means anyone in that government can steal this information to form their own pseudo-company, and use their position of power to get favored treatment when it comes time to compete for government contracts. It is therefore not surprising that so many new pseudo-companies keep popping up.
- Chinese scientists propose sending a fleet of smallsats probes to visit Apophis when it flies past the Earth in April 2029
It isn’t clear from the article whether this project has been funded or not by the Chinese government.
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.
Well, early on Elon made electric car patents open source…but…we-light?
…groan…
Now I like that Space Force is starting to get real money.
Aside from Falcon–X-37 is the only re-usable vehicle worth anything….to last *years* in space and come back in one piece is just outstanding.
We are going to be in a period where re-usables and expendables co-exist…like metals and wooden hills…steam and diesel, props-and-jets…
Jeff Wright,
There was a least a modest interval following the Chixalub asteroid strike when giant reptiles co-existed with furry little mammals. Didn’t last.
Regarding Sierra. Dream Chaser was being built as a cargo delivery and return vehicle for Space Station that has an approaching expiration date. So a limited future there, if any.
Their own station (the Reef), is dependent on a partner that has not had a successful launch and return yet(Blue Origin). So delays look long. Mr. Z, you rate it low out of the four possible commercial stations.
If they want to stay in business long enough to build the Reef and sustain it with the Dream Chaser, they must find new lines of income. Rocketlab has shown how well diversifying can help with that. They make more money on the non-launch side of their business.
A possibilty anyway. I am surprised a journo has not asked them.
Sometimes I wonder if some things aren’t snakebite from the start.
Heinlein had some cutie pie just-so story about bad luck.
He never met me or Dream Chaser.
Maybe a BOR landed on some injun land or something…
Twice in my life, I was fortunate enough to have two cars–thinking there was no way BOTH would tear up at the same time….
The universe had other ideas.