China launches three more military reconnaissance satellites
China today launched three more military reconnaissance satellites with its Long March 2C rocket.
The race for the most launches in 2017 is tightening, with China coming up the rear.
17 Russia
16 SpaceX
13 China
The US itself has a comfortable lead with 27 total launches.
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.
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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
China today launched three more military reconnaissance satellites with its Long March 2C rocket.
The race for the most launches in 2017 is tightening, with China coming up the rear.
17 Russia
16 SpaceX
13 China
The US itself has a comfortable lead with 27 total launches.
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
Tomorrow (Monday) marks one week from the planned launch of SpaceX CRS-13 from the newly repaired SLC-40. It will be interesting to see if they manage to successfully complete the static test fire on the first attempt.
That will bring them to 17, with Zuma and the FH demo waiting on the east coast and Iridium NEXT Flight 4 (NET Dec. 22) waiting on the west coast.
I’ve not heard if the potential problems (whatever they are) with Zuma’s fairing are also a concern for the Iridium launch.
Better living through military reconnaissance satellites.
In about 16 hours Soyuz will launch from Vostochny. The second to do (1st was in April 2016), I think. And the same week another Soyuz from Baikonur.
Hi Bob,
Is it really fair to compare SpaceX (although subsidized, still a private company) with two countries?
Richard: Yup, it certainly isn’t fair. In fact, it is downright embarrassing, specifically for countries like China and Russia, who are getting their pants beaten by a single private company in the U.S.
Freedom works. Private enterprise works. Individual achievement works. These principles, fundamental to the creation of the United States, always work. SpaceX is just proving this once more.
The SpaceX CRS-13 launch date has just slipped four days to Friday, December 8. Any reason has not yet been public announced.
SpaceX’s 22 December Iridium NEXT-4 launch is on track and not affected by the fairing issues delaying the Zuma launch.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/11/iridium-next-4-december-launch-vandenberg/
Richard,
You may think (or wish) so, but SpaceX is not subsidized. It has contracts with government(s?), but a government contract is not a subsidy.
Arianespace, however, is subsidized, because it receives money from government to make up for annual cash flow shortfalls.
(By the way: ULA is not subsidized, either. It has the equivalent of two contracts with the US government. One for launching government payloads and another for maintaining the launch pads. Many people confuse the maintenance as a subsidy, but it is the way that the government reduces the launch costs by assuring ULA that it will not go into bankruptcy due to slow launch years, thus ULA need not overcharge for each launch in order to assure solvency.)