December 4, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Boeing touts the 25th anniversary of the launch of its first ISS module, Unity
Ah, those were the days, when Boeing could actually build something that works.
- Today in 1965 a Titan rocket launched Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on the planned two-week long Gemini 7 mission
The mission proved humans could live in space long enough to go to and from the Moon. As the astronauts both explained to me, it was like being locked in a compact car for two weeks, the windows closed and the wheel tied down so that all you could do was go in circles.
- Russians were forced to dock a Progress manually on December 2nd because of problems with Kurs automatic system
The real questions are this: What exactly was the problem, and what is being done to fix it?
- Chinese pseudo-company CAS Space releases new images of its proposed family of rockets
As noted at the tweet, all look identical to various SpaceX rockets. Let me add that these designs are nothing more than engineering by powerpoint, and at this moment represent nothing but fantasies.
- Indian engineers have brought the Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module back into Earth orbit, from the Moon
This achievement is way cool. They used multiple gravity assists over two months to shift the module’s lunar orbit so that crossed back into the Earth’s sphere of influence and thus return back to Earth.
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.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Boeing touts the 25th anniversary of the launch of its first ISS module, Unity
Ah, those were the days, when Boeing could actually build something that works.
- Today in 1965 a Titan rocket launched Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on the planned two-week long Gemini 7 mission
The mission proved humans could live in space long enough to go to and from the Moon. As the astronauts both explained to me, it was like being locked in a compact car for two weeks, the windows closed and the wheel tied down so that all you could do was go in circles.
- Russians were forced to dock a Progress manually on December 2nd because of problems with Kurs automatic system
The real questions are this: What exactly was the problem, and what is being done to fix it?
- Chinese pseudo-company CAS Space releases new images of its proposed family of rockets
As noted at the tweet, all look identical to various SpaceX rockets. Let me add that these designs are nothing more than engineering by powerpoint, and at this moment represent nothing but fantasies.
- Indian engineers have brought the Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module back into Earth orbit, from the Moon
This achievement is way cool. They used multiple gravity assists over two months to shift the module’s lunar orbit so that crossed back into the Earth’s sphere of influence and thus return back to Earth.
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.
I remember reading somewhere that Russian cosmonauts get a bonus if they have to perform a manual docking. So the automatic system tends to “malfunction” regularly.
(Might be an urban legend, though…)
V-Man,
You are correct, I first read about that in “Dragonfly: NASA and the Crisis Aboard Mir” by Bryan Burrough. Yes on both the Soyuz spacecraft and the Progress as well. They switch over from KURS to the manual TORU system. I don’t know if they still give the docking bonus anymore. Good question.
India just looks more and more impressive
Dragonfly is a great read! It has the full gamet of Russian disasters, including (but not limited to) fire and collision in space. I highly recommend it!