April 18, 2024 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- ULA’s CEO claims Blue Origin is ramping up production of BE-4 engines
- ULA’s CEO touts the mating of a BE-4 to a Vulcan first stage
Both tweets are devoid of any real information, so who knows? It is likely the second is real and happening, but there continue to be rumors about Blue Origin’s production rate.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the 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. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
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Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- ULA’s CEO claims Blue Origin is ramping up production of BE-4 engines
- ULA’s CEO touts the mating of a BE-4 to a Vulcan first stage
Both tweets are devoid of any real information, so who knows? It is likely the second is real and happening, but there continue to be rumors about Blue Origin’s production rate.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the 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. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. 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.
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:
5. 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. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
So NASA says Dragonfly will launch to Titan in 2028! It is a four-propellor “drone” type lander that will presumably be highly mobile in the dense atmosphere and low gravity of Titan.
This is in contrast to the situation on Mars, where the Ingenuity helicopter had to have large surface area rotors turning at very high speeds to fly for not much more than a minute. I assume that nuclear isotope thermoelectric generation will be required to recharge – solar ain’t gonna do it!
I would guess that NASA is going to have to pick a launcher by mid-2026… will there actually be a competitive field by then?
An article you may want to read on the original Star Trak model
https://www.newsmax.com/thewire/star-trek-uss-enterprise-roddenberry/2024/04/18/id/1161555/
Ray,
You’re right about solar been useless on Titan. With an atmosphere 10 times that of earth, virtually no sunlight hits the ground. Even in orbit there is not enough sunlight for a solar panel to be functional. Having less gravity than our moon, and 50% more air pressure… You could strap a pair of wings be be able to fly there using only your muscles for propulsion. A plutonium battery will be necessary for heat because the average temperature is 180° below zero… But it could warm the nitrogen around in a balloon so it I’ll be self lifting in low gravity. Propellers to steer but not much will be visible.
A search will show many theoretical options for titan. Best advantage is the pressure suit will be comfortable even though it’s thick with insulation to protect you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_xm-KIO7jc