April 8, 2026 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.
- Elon Musk’s Terafab computer chip project signs partnership deal with Intel
As always, Musk means it when he says he is going to do something.
- Russia postpones its Luna-28, Luna-29 and Luna-30 missions, again
Luna-28 was supposed to launch in 2030. The new schedule: Luna-29 in 2032, Luna-30 in 2034, and Luna-28 in 2036. As with all modern Russian space projects, the launch date is an ever receding phenomenon. For some reason it never gets closer.
- Startup Lunar Outposts touts its Owl autonomous lunar excavators, that over 15 days broke up and hauled 12 metric tons of concrete‑hard regolith simulant
The video is impressive. Get this equipment to the Moon and building a base looks quite doable.
- Russia ships its dust monitoring instrument to China for China’s Chang’e-7 lunar lander
Russia delivers something! The launch is for later this year.
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
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.
- Elon Musk’s Terafab computer chip project signs partnership deal with Intel
As always, Musk means it when he says he is going to do something.
- Russia postpones its Luna-28, Luna-29 and Luna-30 missions, again
Luna-28 was supposed to launch in 2030. The new schedule: Luna-29 in 2032, Luna-30 in 2034, and Luna-28 in 2036. As with all modern Russian space projects, the launch date is an ever receding phenomenon. For some reason it never gets closer.
- Startup Lunar Outposts touts its Owl autonomous lunar excavators, that over 15 days broke up and hauled 12 metric tons of concrete‑hard regolith simulant
The video is impressive. Get this equipment to the Moon and building a base looks quite doable.
- Russia ships its dust monitoring instrument to China for China’s Chang’e-7 lunar lander
Russia delivers something! The launch is for later this year.
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


New fuel cell design
https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-hydrogen-fuel-cell-key-energy.html
Gossamer strength
https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-bio-impact-resistance-energy-absorption.html