December 23, 2025 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. 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.
- Sidus Space wins contract from Missile Defense Agency
The press release is very vague, par for the course for these kind of defense contract awards. It appears the program could be worth up to $151 billion, but I doubt that is all going to Sidus.
- Video from Chile shows Japan’s H3 rocket’s second stage burning up after its launch failure two days ago
The location suggests it survived just one orbit.
- Video of the Long March 12A first stage break-up prior to landing
The video doesn’t show much, other than the stage appeared to fail prior to landing.
- On this day in 1999, astronauts worked the first of three spacewalks for the third Hubble servicing mission
The crew replaced failed gyroscopes and installed a new computer and fine guidance sensor.
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
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. 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.
- Sidus Space wins contract from Missile Defense Agency
The press release is very vague, par for the course for these kind of defense contract awards. It appears the program could be worth up to $151 billion, but I doubt that is all going to Sidus.
- Video from Chile shows Japan’s H3 rocket’s second stage burning up after its launch failure two days ago
The location suggests it survived just one orbit.
- Video of the Long March 12A first stage break-up prior to landing
The video doesn’t show much, other than the stage appeared to fail prior to landing.
- On this day in 1999, astronauts worked the first of three spacewalks for the third Hubble servicing mission
The crew replaced failed gyroscopes and installed a new computer and fine guidance sensor.
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
Re: Hubble – I reeeeeeeally hope they will upgrade, or at the very least, save Hubble with some more giros.
I suppose now that Isaacman is officially the head of NASA, he will not be one of the astronauts going to Hubble. Then again, he is the boss.
Either way, a mission to Hubble is necessary. Yes, there are, and will be, better space telescopes. The heritage of Hubble will live on for centuries. Keeping it going a little while longer is simply a good idea.
I’m confident that a Hubble servicing mission will happen. Until there is another generation of orbital optical telescopes ready to go, it simply makes financial sense to keep the old girl functioning at her peak.
Regarding the Sidus Space news release, Sidus is one of over 2,000 firms that have been pre-qualified to possibly receive a contract from MDA (emphasis on possibly). It’s the entire SHIELD program that has a cap of $151 billion, and each pre-qualified firm could possibly receive an IDIQ contract, which often translates to they receive $zero. All 2,000+ firms could have issued a similar news release; many already have. https://breakingdefense.com/2025/12/mda-adds-1086-firms-to-its-shield-pool-for-golden-dome-related-tech/
ISRU technology has been given two great advances:
The first
If Martian brine water is not available, methane itself can be a source of hydrogen needed to convert Mars’CO2 atmosphere to more fuel.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01925-3
This process also produces carbon nanotubes.
The second:
Hydrogen peroxide looks easier to synthesize
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ai-based-blueprint-catalysts-materials.html