December 4, 2022 Quick space links
These links are courtesy of myself, as it is Sunday and want to provide them quickly so I can do other things.
- Shenzhou-14 return capsule lands safely
During this crew’s six month mission they installed the station’s last big modules.
- Astronauts install new solar array outside International Space Station
This was the second set of new roll-out panels that essentially replace the station’s older panels.
- SpaceX creates division expressly designed to sell space products to the military
Rocket Lab did a similar thing earlier this week. Both appear to recognize that the American military bureaucracy is very unimaginative. It needs to be catered to like children or it will fail to perceive the value to itself of some products.
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. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
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
These links are courtesy of myself, as it is Sunday and want to provide them quickly so I can do other things.
- Shenzhou-14 return capsule lands safely
During this crew’s six month mission they installed the station’s last big modules.
- Astronauts install new solar array outside International Space Station
This was the second set of new roll-out panels that essentially replace the station’s older panels.
- SpaceX creates division expressly designed to sell space products to the military
Rocket Lab did a similar thing earlier this week. Both appear to recognize that the American military bureaucracy is very unimaginative. It needs to be catered to like children or it will fail to perceive the value to itself of some products.
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. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Check out this article decrying this “Huge” new satellites that is now one of the brightest objects in the sky, destroying astronomy.
It is 693 square feet, a fraction of the size of the ISS’s solar array.
Talk about hyperbolic headlines!
https://www.vice.com/en/article/ake8m4/a-huge-satellite-is-officially-one-of-the-brightest-objects-in-the-sky-astronomers-warn
That’s Blue Walker…think a Lower orbit version of the Orbital Antenna Farm.
It (they) will allow your cell phone to be a satellite phone. No 500$ Starlink terminal. Big terminal means smaller sats…smaller means you have bigger sats.
I track satellites regularly using the Heavens-above.com site. I’ve found it quite reliable regarding locations, tracks, times and magnitudes. Blue Walker’s magnitude is never listed as brighter than 3.0 and frequently in the 4s and 5s. The reports in the above link are not in line with observations from the satellite site. Another issue is that satellites are not stationary. They move quickly – depending on time and position above horizon, anywhere from seconds to 5 minutes of visibility. I find it hard to believe they are that disruptive of astrophotography.
https://heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=53807&lat=33.9562&lng=-83.988&loc=Lawrenceville&alt=0&tz=EST
And finally, as Bob has said numerous times, get rid of the issue entirely with space based telescopes.
@Gary… I think it’s wrong to disregard the threat to ground based astronomy from huge satellite constellations, even if this particular one has been over hyperboled. Once they are up, they are up.
Ground based telescopes, especially given adaptive optics, will be the “go to” in astronomy for many years to come. Have you had a look at the bills for Hubble and the James Webb? For most purposes, big mirrors on the ground are here stay for now.
Lee, you have a good point IF we base our costs for space based telescopes on the economics of being put up by government space programs. If we use SpaceX and other suppliers as the basis for costs, that should make the economics much more favorable.
For reference, this:
https://behindtheblack.com/?s=celestron