August 19, 2026 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, plus one from reader Nate P. 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.
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- Astroforge: Ruthenium in space will be the next gold rush
The company outlines in detail why this element, rare on Earth but likely plentiful in some iron asteroids, will become a crucial space resource for replacing copper in computer chips.
- Astronomers may have identified a galaxy in the early universe with three supermassive black holes
The key word in the headline is “may.”
- Starlink now used by 48 airlines worldwide, covering more than 7,000 aircraft
The tweet has a graphic showing the airlines involved. Amazon Leo will have its work cut out trying to catch up.
- On August 19, 1960 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 5, carrying two dogs in a pressuried capsule
After a day in orbit the animals returned to Earth safely, the first time this was ever done. The tweet shows video of the launch and the dogs in space as well as their recovery afterward.
- On August 19, 1964 Syncom-3 was launched, the world’s first geosynchronous satellite
It was used to telecast the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo to the United States.
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

Laser boost
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-3d-ceramic-waveguide-lasers-surpass.html
Communications
https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-inexpensive-tiles-pave-millimeter-wireless.html
https://www.kob.com/ap-top-news/telescope-spies-the-fastest-star-in-the-milky-way-zipping-around-a-black-hole/