April 13, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, sent these out on time but was stymied when his email bounced back hours later.
I say, better late than never.
- A stock analyst reviews the possible buyers of ULA should the sales rumor be true
He concludes that Lockheed Martin is the mostly likely buyer. His analysis makes great sense.
- NASA official expresses confidence that New Glenn will launch its ESCAPADE Mars orbiters on time in 2024
ESCAPADE was originally going to launch as a secondary payload with Psyche, and lost that launch when Psyche was delayed. Whether New Glenn will be ready for its 2024 launch window however remains very unknown, especially because this same official has admitted the launch date is still “approximate and provisional,” and there already are reports that New Glenn won’t make its first launch until 2025.
- Russian documentary about its Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan
I haven’t yet watched it. It is 38 minutes long and in Russian, though if you set the subtitles to English you’ll get a rough auto-translation.
- Russia now says it will launch its Venera-D mission to Venus in June 2031
As Anatoly Zak correctly notes, this mission was originally supposed to launch in 2013. That would make it only eighteen years behind schedule, assuming Roscosmos can meet that 2031 date, an assumption that is wildly unrealistic.
- Firefly successfully completes full duration static fire test of Alpha rocket first stage set for launch this month
The Space Force payload is aimed at proving the ability to launch rapidly.
- China touts its concept of a lunar brick-making robot it plans to launch on its Chang’e-8 mission
Nothing here but some pretty pictures.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. 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.
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Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, sent these out on time but was stymied when his email bounced back hours later.
I say, better late than never.
- A stock analyst reviews the possible buyers of ULA should the sales rumor be true
He concludes that Lockheed Martin is the mostly likely buyer. His analysis makes great sense.
- NASA official expresses confidence that New Glenn will launch its ESCAPADE Mars orbiters on time in 2024
ESCAPADE was originally going to launch as a secondary payload with Psyche, and lost that launch when Psyche was delayed. Whether New Glenn will be ready for its 2024 launch window however remains very unknown, especially because this same official has admitted the launch date is still “approximate and provisional,” and there already are reports that New Glenn won’t make its first launch until 2025.
- Russian documentary about its Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan
I haven’t yet watched it. It is 38 minutes long and in Russian, though if you set the subtitles to English you’ll get a rough auto-translation.
- Russia now says it will launch its Venera-D mission to Venus in June 2031
As Anatoly Zak correctly notes, this mission was originally supposed to launch in 2013. That would make it only eighteen years behind schedule, assuming Roscosmos can meet that 2031 date, an assumption that is wildly unrealistic.
- Firefly successfully completes full duration static fire test of Alpha rocket first stage set for launch this month
The Space Force payload is aimed at proving the ability to launch rapidly.
- China touts its concept of a lunar brick-making robot it plans to launch on its Chang’e-8 mission
Nothing here but some pretty pictures.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. 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.
Lockheed really does make the most sense as the buyer – just as Boeing wanting to cash out makes sense as the reason for this sale in the first place.
But ULA really does need to get Vulcan certified as soon as possible. We may be reaching a point where DoD might need to start switching launches to SpaceX.