December 11, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Images of the Chinese pseudo-company Landspace’s launchpad where it plans a rocket hop test soon
The rumors say the test flight will occur next week.
- Space Force head admits government intentionally works slower than private enterprise
He said this to explain what he saw as a positive aspect of government, but I think he instead underlined why it should be the last place we should ever go to get anything done.
- Today’s Falcon Heavy launch is still set for 8:14 pm (Eastern)
You can watch it at this live stream, beginning around 7:30 pm (Eastern).
- Ghana in Africa warns its citizens not to use Starlink illegally
Heavy fines are threatened. Ghana is the fourth African country to issue such a warning, after South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Senegal. Apparently the citizens of those countries are tired of bad phone and internet service, and have been bypassing their incompetent government to get it on the black market from private enterprise. In other words, they are exercising independence, and we can’t have that!
- ISRO confirms its manned mission to ISS in 2024 in partnership with NASA
The tweet adds that the mission will fly on a Falcon 9 using a Dragon capsule.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID 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. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
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:
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Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Images of the Chinese pseudo-company Landspace’s launchpad where it plans a rocket hop test soon
The rumors say the test flight will occur next week.
- Space Force head admits government intentionally works slower than private enterprise
He said this to explain what he saw as a positive aspect of government, but I think he instead underlined why it should be the last place we should ever go to get anything done.
- Today’s Falcon Heavy launch is still set for 8:14 pm (Eastern)
You can watch it at this live stream, beginning around 7:30 pm (Eastern).
- Ghana in Africa warns its citizens not to use Starlink illegally
Heavy fines are threatened. Ghana is the fourth African country to issue such a warning, after South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Senegal. Apparently the citizens of those countries are tired of bad phone and internet service, and have been bypassing their incompetent government to get it on the black market from private enterprise. In other words, they are exercising independence, and we can’t have that!
- ISRO confirms its manned mission to ISS in 2024 in partnership with NASA
The tweet adds that the mission will fly on a Falcon 9 using a Dragon capsule.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID 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. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
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.
Launch scrubbed due to ground issue. New scheduled launch tomorrow at 8:24 p.m. ET (01:24 UTC, 02:24 CET, December 12).
The article about Ghana and “illegal” Starlink use has me wondering. I thought Starlink service was supposed to be geofenced to countries & areas where the service was officially approved (with a few exceptions like Iran where Starlink is enabled but there is no hope of ever getting regulatory approval). Can anyone with a Starlink terminal just use it anywhere? I don’t see anything on their website explicitly answering what happens if you have “Global Mobile” service and you happen to venture into a country where Starlink is not officially allowed. Would it work as long as your account is domiciled in a country where Starlink *is* permitted? Or maybe the government of Ghana is just redundantly telling its people not do to something that is not possible to begin with.
In the “Martime” section of their web site, it does say that “if a vessel strays into the waters of a country which prohibits Starlink from operating within it, our satellites will be unable to communicate with it effectively.” What is “effectively” supposed to mean? It’s all as clear as mud.
P.S. In doing some searching on this topic, I saw a story stating that the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has demanded that Starlink cease operations in Iran. Imagine how surprised I am to learn that this UN body is doing the work of the mullahs in Tehran.
Jason,
I am sure some people have hacked the dish so it can be seen anywhere. Some people have been bringing their Starlink dishes out to the remote south Pacific islands with no problems at all. Also, there has been use of Starlink out of China.
Remember that the U.N. made Iran the chair of the Human Rights Council last month!