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Readers! A November fund-raising drive!

 

It is unfortunately time for another November fund-raising campaign to support my work here at Behind the Black. I really dislike doing these, but 2025 is so far turning out to be a very poor year for donations and subscriptions, the worst since 2020. I very much need your support for this webpage to survive.

 

And I think I provide real value. Fifteen years ago I said SLS was garbage and should be cancelled. Almost a decade ago I said Orion was a lie and a bad idea. As early as 1998, long before almost anyone else, I predicted in my first book, Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, that private enterprise and freedom would conquer the solar system, not government. Very early in the COVID panic and continuing throughout I noted that every policy put forth by the government (masks, social distancing, lockdowns, jab mandates) was wrong, misguided, and did more harm than good. In planetary science, while everyone else in the media still thinks Mars has no water, I have been reporting the real results from the orbiters now for more than five years, that Mars is in fact a planet largely covered with ice.

 

I could continue with numerous other examples. If you want to know what others will discover a decade hence, read what I write here at Behind the Black. And if you read my most recent book, Conscious Choice, you will find out what is going to happen in space in the next century.

 

 

This last claim might sound like hubris on my part, but I base it on my overall track record.

 

So please consider donating or subscribing to Behind the Black, either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. I could really use the support at this time. There are five 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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A side-by-side comparison of the mission controls of NASA and SpaceX

The truth revealed in pictures: A side-by-side comparison of the mission controls of NASA and SpaceX during Dragon’s arrival at ISS.

The differences tell us a lot. I ask an additional question: Why was there a need for two full mission controls?

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 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

4 comments

  • tps

    One was for the station and the other for Dragon. They did the same for shuttles and for when the Euro ATV’s. I assume its because they are two seperate spacecraft until they are joined.

    Just curious as to what truth was revealed? Houston control for ISS has been there for many years and has to be operational 24/7. All the binders are probably the mission rules in case all the computer fail and they need hard copy. For SpaceX I’m betting it looks bare because the flight will only last days so they don’t need anything fancy at the moment. Some better views are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/7270451890/

  • Patrick Ritchie

    Short answer: You probably only need one.

    Long answer: I suspect until space travel matures, each company / organization is going to need some going of mission control center to manage the flights of its vehicles. At some point in the future I can foresee a system similar to air traffic control being where control of spacecraft could become centralized in some way, removing the need for each individual company to build their own control centers.

    Also, given this was a test flight there were many more SpaceX engineers on duty than normal.

  • tps

    I wonder how JPL runs all of their missions. I know they have a control room but don’t they farm out the day to day stuff to other universities or project offices?

  • Patrick Ritchie

    I know LASP has it’s own MOC, so I suspect others do as well. It’s not always manned but the computers are always running.

    http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/mission-ops-data/

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