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.
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 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. 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.
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 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
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