December 1, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- ULA CEO Tory Bruno touts the arrival of solid rocket motors at its Florida facility
The strap-on boosters are for future Vulcan launches, when the rocket needs extra power
- Prior to launch a wrench was accidently dropped on the radiator of the Progress now heading to ISS
My, the Russians really do seem to have jinx when it comes to the coolant systems on all their spacecraft.
- China says it is working on air-launched reusable rocket system
Once again, like many similar Chinese concepts, development does not yet appear to have gotten past the powerpoint stage.
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 CEO Tory Bruno touts the arrival of solid rocket motors at its Florida facility
The strap-on boosters are for future Vulcan launches, when the rocket needs extra power
- Prior to launch a wrench was accidently dropped on the radiator of the Progress now heading to ISS
My, the Russians really do seem to have jinx when it comes to the coolant systems on all their spacecraft.
- China says it is working on air-launched reusable rocket system
Once again, like many similar Chinese concepts, development does not yet appear to have gotten past the powerpoint stage.
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.
When I clicked on the picture of the progress capsule radiator, I was kind of expecting to see “a wrench” imbedded in the grill… :-)
Instead I see a picture of an entirely different problem of the solar panel being ripped up on one side like it was caught by the faring? The caption on the side of the article only says “successful solar panel deployment”.
Perhaps it’s time to utilize modern thermal electric cooling on their chips instead of nitrogen gas.
It was interesting to learn (or perhaps I had forgotten) that the third stage coverings split into three sections and are ejected with the second stage…
Anduril’s Roadrunner drone is interesting—lanfs like Falcon.
“Boeing Drops Out Of USAF’s ‘Doomsday’ Replacement Plane Competition”
“The US Air Force (USAF) eliminated Boeing Co. from the replacement competition of a half-century-old “Doomsday” plane that can survive a nuclear war. This leaves Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) as the sole remaining known competitor.”
“Sources told Reuters that Boeing – the incumbent manufacturer of the E-4B Nightwatch – could not agree with the USAF on data rights and contract terms for the replacement plane that began flying in the 1970s. In other words, the planemaker did not want to sign a fixed-price agreement.”
“A review of Boeing’s latest financials shows its defense unit lost a whopping $1.3 billion this year due to fixed-price development programs amid supply chain snarls, elevated inflation, and high interest rates. Since 2014, the planemaker has lost $16.3 billion on fixed-price programs.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/military/boeing-drops-out-usafs-doomsday-replacement-plane-competition
James Street: Boeing is signing its own death warrant. The entire federal defense and space agencies are steadily switching to fixed-price, and will simply go to others if Boeing refuses to accept those terms.
In fact, those agencies will want to go to others, because Boeing is making it clear it can’t meet its contractual obligations.