December 29, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- India’s first launch in 2024 will take place while it is still 2023 in the western hemisphere
The launch is with India’s smaller PSLV rocket. I will assign this launch to 2024, which if successful will put India on top for a short while.
- During Falcon Heavy launch a two-second clip showed the X-37B being deployed
The video does not show much, as all we can see is one end of the spacecraft as it moves away, with one wing sticking up in the background. It does appear however that some experiments have been placed outside the cargo bay.
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Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- India’s first launch in 2024 will take place while it is still 2023 in the western hemisphere
The launch is with India’s smaller PSLV rocket. I will assign this launch to 2024, which if successful will put India on top for a short while.
- During Falcon Heavy launch a two-second clip showed the X-37B being deployed
The video does not show much, as all we can see is one end of the spacecraft as it moves away, with one wing sticking up in the background. It does appear however that some experiments have been placed outside the cargo bay.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. 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.
I wonder if SpaceX will get gigged for showing the payload on the Falcon Heavy launch, however briefly, in the live stream?
Unless this was Operational Deception play by US Space Force?
I’m sure the Space Force is not happy with that, there was not supposed to be any upper stage footage shown. HOW unhappy we may or may not ever find out.
Musk planning update.
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1740775393580245232?s=46
The war zone had links to this tweet (now “X”’s ??): and a Boeing YouTube
Falcon Heavy transits the moon – cool picture
https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1740541251454460360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1740541251454460360%7Ctwgr%5Ec70b59ce3feaf44878827e20274a4e37e4f79eb7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fthe-war-zone%2Fthis-appears-to-be-our-first-look-at-an-x-37b-in-space
YouTube showing some aft packaging on a prior flight at ~ 0:30. Not sure of the mission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-rNiyhYO2A&t=34s