May 27, 2026 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.
- China is abandoning upper stages in earth orbit at an increasing rate
So, after dumping toxic first stages on their own people’s head, China then fails to properly de-orbit the upper stages (like everyone else), leaving them as junk that others now have to deal with.
- Satellite startup Starcloud teams up with SpaceX to integrate 50 Starlink terminals on 25 of its satellites
The company, which has filed for an FCC license for an 88,000 constellation, expects to begin launching these satellites within a year.
- Rocket Lab finalizes its purchase of robotic firm Motiv Space Systems
Now called Rocket Lab Robotics, this division gives the company robotic technology already used on many planetary missions.
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
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.
- China is abandoning upper stages in earth orbit at an increasing rate
So, after dumping toxic first stages on their own people’s head, China then fails to properly de-orbit the upper stages (like everyone else), leaving them as junk that others now have to deal with.
- Satellite startup Starcloud teams up with SpaceX to integrate 50 Starlink terminals on 25 of its satellites
The company, which has filed for an FCC license for an 88,000 constellation, expects to begin launching these satellites within a year.
- Rocket Lab finalizes its purchase of robotic firm Motiv Space Systems
Now called Rocket Lab Robotics, this division gives the company robotic technology already used on many planetary missions.
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