April 3, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, now back from a well-deserved vacation.
- During “extreme structural load testing” of the Centaur upper stage of ULA’s Vulcan rocket, CEO Tory Bruno reported “an anomaly”
No one was hurt, and according to Bruno this incident is “very unlikely” to impact the Vulcan-Centaur being prepared for launch in May. Though more details are not available, I suspect this was a test-to-failure, and the failure occurred slightly earlier than expected, but not so early as to be a concern.
- The SpaceX ocean fleet ships pass near Florida
One drone was coming home with a Falcon 9 first stage, while another drone plus the ship that picks up the fairings were heading to sea for an upcoming launch.
- Several images from Rocket Lab of the most recently recovered Electron 1st stage
From the tweet: “Once again the stage took reentry in its stride and the Rutherford engines are in great shape. Next step is to analyze and requalify components to inform our future recovery efforts.”
Rocket Lab officials has indicated that they are beginning to think they can simply reuse stages after splashdown in the ocean, rather than capture them by helicopter in the air. The data from this stage will help them make this decision.
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
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, now back from a well-deserved vacation.
- During “extreme structural load testing” of the Centaur upper stage of ULA’s Vulcan rocket, CEO Tory Bruno reported “an anomaly”
No one was hurt, and according to Bruno this incident is “very unlikely” to impact the Vulcan-Centaur being prepared for launch in May. Though more details are not available, I suspect this was a test-to-failure, and the failure occurred slightly earlier than expected, but not so early as to be a concern.
- The SpaceX ocean fleet ships pass near Florida
One drone was coming home with a Falcon 9 first stage, while another drone plus the ship that picks up the fairings were heading to sea for an upcoming launch.
- Several images from Rocket Lab of the most recently recovered Electron 1st stage
From the tweet: “Once again the stage took reentry in its stride and the Rutherford engines are in great shape. Next step is to analyze and requalify components to inform our future recovery efforts.”
Rocket Lab officials has indicated that they are beginning to think they can simply reuse stages after splashdown in the ocean, rather than capture them by helicopter in the air. The data from this stage will help them make this decision.
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
During “extreme structural load testing” of the Centaur upper stage of ULA’s Vulcan rocket, CEO Tory Bruno reported “an anomaly”.
Translation: 2024