To read this post please scroll down.

 

Readers!

 

It is now July, time once again to celebrate the start of this webpage in 2010 with my annual July fund-raising campaign.

 

This year I celebrate the fifteenth anniversary since I began Behind the Black. During that time I have done more than 33,000 posts, mostly covering the global space industry and the related planetary and astronomical science that comes from it. Along the way I have also felt compelled as a free American citizen to regularly post my thoughts on the politics and culture of the time, partly because I think it is important for free Americans to do so, and partly because those politics and that culture have a direct impact on the future of our civilization and its on-going efforts to explore and eventually colonize the solar system.

 

You can’t understand one without understanding the other.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent independent analysis you don’t find elsewhere. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn’t influenced by donations by established companies or political movements. 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.


CST-100 name to be unveiled on Friday

The competition heats up: Boeing has announced that it will reveal the name of its CST-100 manned capsule on Friday.

Genesis cover

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. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. 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

5 comments

  • Nick

    I have enjoyed listening to Bob Zimmerman on The John Batchelor Show for some time now and decided to visit the web site. I was even deciding between a one time donation and a subscription. Then I saw the first article was a tirade on the VA. That was a total turn off. Sorry, but I get enough politics on Fox and other channels. What does that article have to do with space?
    As of now I’ll just stick to the occasional enjoyable updates on the radio and skip the political side show on behindtheblack web site. Too bad. I was looking forward to it.

  • I mostly post about science and space, but if I see something that I think is important, than I will write and post about it. If that offends you, then fine, it is better you avoid what I have to say.

    However, I am always honest and forthright, and base my comments on facts, not opinions. I would think that you would find that a refreshing change from the silliness on television and cable.

    Moreover, my post on the VA was not a “tirade” as you put it, but a straightforward description of a recent inspector general report on the corruption at the VA. Do the facts upset you so much you want to avoid them?

    Anyway, I make no apologies for my effort here. I just find it sad that so many Americans want to run away and hide.

  • mpthompson

    Keep it up Robert, I enjoy the mix you provide.

  • Jetjockey

    Dittos, mpthompson!!! I too love the mix! I rarely miss all 4 hours of the JBS thanks to the podcasts. Look forward to your segment.

    I lived in Tucson and worked for Gates-Learjet back in the early 80’s. Lived on Sarnoff St. everything east of us was open desert. My how times have changed!

  • Steve

    Agree, I also enjoy the mix and was brought here by the John Batchelor show segments. I stayed (and have now subscribed) because of the content here, especially the common sense posts and comments (something in short supply these days….)

    And for the OP: Space IS politics, and much of politics affect space, the two cannot be separated.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *