April 5, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Virgin Orbit COO blasts company management in apology to employees
His public letter really contains no real new details about the company’s failure.
- Sierra Space completes testing of new hypergolic rocket thruster
The company is marketing this engine to others for in-space maneuvering as well for landers going to other planets.
- Tianzhou freighter will fly in formation with China’s Tiangong-3 space station
The plan is to periodically redock the freighter to the station “when inventories stored inside are needed.” Jay wonders whether this is a test of the similar formation flying that will be required when China’s space telescope arrives next year to orbit near the station for periodic maintenance and repair. I think he is correct.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows 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. 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. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally 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.
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Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Virgin Orbit COO blasts company management in apology to employees
His public letter really contains no real new details about the company’s failure.
- Sierra Space completes testing of new hypergolic rocket thruster
The company is marketing this engine to others for in-space maneuvering as well for landers going to other planets.
- Tianzhou freighter will fly in formation with China’s Tiangong-3 space station
The plan is to periodically redock the freighter to the station “when inventories stored inside are needed.” Jay wonders whether this is a test of the similar formation flying that will be required when China’s space telescope arrives next year to orbit near the station for periodic maintenance and repair. I think he is correct.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows 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. 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. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally 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.
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.
https://twitter.com/pappalardojoe/status/1643633483858735104?s=46&t=cvJVjKrHicguREb6KCkTAg
I suspect Sierra Space is targeting its new, large thruster at the defense market. The Space Force has said that, in addition to pursuing proliferation of space assets as a passive defense strategy, it also intends to seek future generations of sats with the ability to move smartly as an active defense strategy.
This could really make space telescopes cheaper
https://phys.org/news/2023-04-membrane-mirrors-large-space-based-telescopes.html
Green electronics
https://phys.org/news/2023-04-fully-recyclable-electronics-ditch-toxic.html
Solar Flare in the lab
https://phys.org/news/2023-04-laboratory-solar-flares-reveal-clues.html