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My July fund-raising campaign to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary since I began Behind the Black is now over. I want to thank all those who so generously donated or subscribed, especially those who have become regular supporters. I can't do this without your help. I also find it increasingly hard to express how much your support means to me. God bless you all!

 

The donations during this year's campaign were sadly less than previous years, but for this I blame myself. I am tired of begging for money, and so I put up the campaign announcement at the start of the month but had no desire to update it weekly to encourage more donations, as I have done in past years. This lack of begging likely contributed to the drop in donations.

 

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Air Force hypersonic test ends in failure

The second test flight in an Air Force program to research hypersonic flight failed when its booster rocket was intentionally destroyed for safety reasons immediately after launch.

It was the second test of the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon, a program managed by U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command to develop a conventional deep-strike munition that travels through the atmosphere on a nonballistic trajectory. In its first flight, the vehicle lifted off from Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii and flew a nonballistic, glide trajectory at hypersonic speeds toward the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll — some 4,000 kilometers away — where it arrived about 30 minutes later.

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

3 comments

  • Cotour

    The Chinese must be really getting a good laugh out of the American failure since they are getting ready to go hypersonic with a submarine.

  • Pzatchok

    The Iranians have already tested an hypersonic torpedo.

    Its basically a just rocket powered torpedo. It goes real fast but doesn’t turn very well. Targeting is pretty much just hit the local football field accurate.
    Great for using a nuclear bomb to take out a battle ship but not much good for anything else. Fleets ships are normally far enough apart that a single nuclear explosion will not destroy all the ships. We all remember the Bikini Island nuke test.
    And during the test the torpedo caused so much turbulence in the water it was spotted by everyone with ANY sonar system, eye balls in the area and even a satellite. All from a relatively small torpedo/missile.

    Trying to do the same with a sub is stupid. The wake would be bigger and thus easily spotted. And just what are you trying to deliver as payload at those speeds? Super secret Chinese SEALS or the next generation X-box?

    All of this was thought of a tested by the US and or its allies over the past 60 years. None of them adopted it because its just to much trouble and not worth it.
    A hypersonic missile would be better since it could be used to take down anything on the ground, in the air or close to the surface of the water. I bet they could even be directed at low altitude satellites.
    All with one weapon type.

    The Chinese have my blessings. They can spend all they want to make this happen.

  • Cotour

    I think if you look hard enough you will find an Onion symbol somewhere on that Chinese Hypersonic sub story. One of the stupidest things I have ever heard, especially if it is true.

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