June 16, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Sierra Space awarded a Space Act Agreement by NASA commercial space development program
It was one of seven companies receiving similar unfunded support grants, including SpaceX, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, Vast, and others.
- China announces it will allow NASA and others to use its Queqiao lunar relay communications satellites
That’s nice, but U.S. law forbids NASA or any countries it works with to work with China. This announcement is simply a PR effort by China to make believe it works with others selflessly.
- Graphic showing all of China’s different pseudo-commercial rockets and engines, as of this date
Many of these have not yet launched, though most I expect will with time.
- Russia celebrates the 60th anniversary of the first female flight in space by Valentina Tereshkova by honoring her
According to Jay, she is still a member of Russia’s Duma (its congress), and voted for the Ukraine invasion. No wonder Putin gave her this award.
May everyone have a great weekend!
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.
- Sierra Space awarded a Space Act Agreement by NASA commercial space development program
It was one of seven companies receiving similar unfunded support grants, including SpaceX, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, Vast, and others.
- China announces it will allow NASA and others to use its Queqiao lunar relay communications satellites
That’s nice, but U.S. law forbids NASA or any countries it works with to work with China. This announcement is simply a PR effort by China to make believe it works with others selflessly.
- Graphic showing all of China’s different pseudo-commercial rockets and engines, as of this date
Many of these have not yet launched, though most I expect will with time.
- Russia celebrates the 60th anniversary of the first female flight in space by Valentina Tereshkova by honoring her
According to Jay, she is still a member of Russia’s Duma (its congress), and voted for the Ukraine invasion. No wonder Putin gave her this award.
May everyone have a great weekend!
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
SpaceX’s role in NASA Space Act Agreement:
“SpaceX is collaborating with NASA on an integrated low Earth orbit architecture to provide a growing portfolio of technology with near-term Dragon evolution and concurrent Starship development. This architecture includes Starship as a transportation and in-space low-Earth orbit destination element supported by Super Heavy, Dragon, and Starlink, and constituent capabilities including crew and cargo transportation, communications, and operational and ground support.”
Read that carefully. If NASA is worried about SpaceX delivering on time, they sure aren’t showing it! Everybody else is tidbits in this banquet, but SpaceX is the meat and potatoes!
Oh, and guess who’s NOT on the list… Axiom.
Ps. “Ellie in Space” did a nice job summarizing this announcement. A narrow minded old guy like me can hardly help but assuming someone so pretty is a lightweight, but I think I was wrong!
“We inviting NASA, and NSA, and CIA, and FBI to use our completely secure satellite not at all part of CCP regime!”