August 16, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- ULA’s CEO says the welding to reinforce Vulcan’s upper stage is finished
He also says the first launch of Vulcan this year is “looking good.” Put no money on this promise.
- New Indian rocket company, Astrophel Aerospace, touts successfully static fire engine test
The company’s press release tied this test to India’s independence day, and added this nice touch: “Let us remember that the fire of freedom burns within us, inspiring us to keep striving, keep pushing boundaries, and keep shaping a brighter future.” Right on!
- Smallsat Alliance announces the winners of the first annual Collegiate Space Competition
The three runners-up developed concepts for removing space junk using cubesats, while first place was given to an instrument related to monitoring environmental conditions, with a nod to climate change.
- Luna-25 has officially entered lunar orbit
It took two engine burns. Next step, the landing burn, presently targeting August 21, 2023.
- According to a Coast Guard notice, SpaceX is now targeting August 31, 2023 for Starship/Superheavy orbital test flight
SpaceX always does this to pressure government paper pushers. It has now put the FAA on notice that it is ready to launch by the end of this month, and any delays thereafter will be entirely because of government intransigence. We shall now find out if (as I have been predicting) the FAA and the Biden administration intends to stall SpaceX, or instead it really wants to get Starship/Superheavy flying.
- Video of the SLS mobile launcher being rolled to launchpad today
Engineers want to test some systems while also doing crew rehearsal.
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.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- ULA’s CEO says the welding to reinforce Vulcan’s upper stage is finished
He also says the first launch of Vulcan this year is “looking good.” Put no money on this promise.
- New Indian rocket company, Astrophel Aerospace, touts successfully static fire engine test
The company’s press release tied this test to India’s independence day, and added this nice touch: “Let us remember that the fire of freedom burns within us, inspiring us to keep striving, keep pushing boundaries, and keep shaping a brighter future.” Right on!
- Smallsat Alliance announces the winners of the first annual Collegiate Space Competition
The three runners-up developed concepts for removing space junk using cubesats, while first place was given to an instrument related to monitoring environmental conditions, with a nod to climate change.
- Luna-25 has officially entered lunar orbit
It took two engine burns. Next step, the landing burn, presently targeting August 21, 2023.
- According to a Coast Guard notice, SpaceX is now targeting August 31, 2023 for Starship/Superheavy orbital test flight
SpaceX always does this to pressure government paper pushers. It has now put the FAA on notice that it is ready to launch by the end of this month, and any delays thereafter will be entirely because of government intransigence. We shall now find out if (as I have been predicting) the FAA and the Biden administration intends to stall SpaceX, or instead it really wants to get Starship/Superheavy flying.
- Video of the SLS mobile launcher being rolled to launchpad today
Engineers want to test some systems while also doing crew rehearsal.
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.
I haven’t seen a good answer on how, if it all, the environmental lawsuit affects this launch permit. I assume the judge has not ordered that the FAA not issue any such license until the case has been heard, since I assume I would have heard of such. But I foresee the plaintiffs making a motion to demand exactly that if it looks like the FAA is going to issue one…
Another quick space link;
Jim Cantel just signed a deal with the Bahamas hopefully to get around a lot of this regulatory paperwork.
He talks about his past briefly, his time in SpaceX, vector, and now Phantom Space in Tucson Arizona.
He hopes to have the first flight late next year, and four in 2025 before developing a new rocket that will fly back and land like SpaceX.
(I was Flipping through the a.m. channels on my way to work for a graveyard shift, I accidentally came across this podcast)
He talks about is Bahamas drug deal at about 11 minutes in. Best to hear it from his own mouth.
https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Media/348219-2023-08-09-2023-08-09-ernest-hancock-interviews-jim-cantrell-phantom-space.htm?EdNo=001