To read this post please scroll down.

 

Readers! A November fund-raising drive!

 

It is unfortunately time for another November fund-raising campaign to support my work here at Behind the Black. I really dislike doing these, but 2025 is so far turning out to be a very poor year for donations and subscriptions, the worst since 2020. I very much need your support for this webpage to survive.

 

And I think I provide real value. Fifteen years ago I said SLS was garbage and should be cancelled. Almost a decade ago I said Orion was a lie and a bad idea. As early as 1998, long before almost anyone else, I predicted in my first book, Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, that private enterprise and freedom would conquer the solar system, not government. Very early in the COVID panic and continuing throughout I noted that every policy put forth by the government (masks, social distancing, lockdowns, jab mandates) was wrong, misguided, and did more harm than good. In planetary science, while everyone else in the media still thinks Mars has no water, I have been reporting the real results from the orbiters now for more than five years, that Mars is in fact a planet largely covered with ice.

 

I could continue with numerous other examples. If you want to know what others will discover a decade hence, read what I write here at Behind the Black. And if you read my most recent book, Conscious Choice, you will find out what is going to happen in space in the next century.

 

 

This last claim might sound like hubris on my part, but I base it on my overall track record.

 

So please consider donating or subscribing to Behind the Black, either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. I could really use the support at this time. There are five 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. Takes about a 10% cut.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription, which takes about a 15% cut:

 

4. Donate by check. I get whatever you donate. Make the check payable to Robert Zimmerman and mail it 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.


Falcon Heavy static fire test scrubbed for today

Capitalism in space: SpaceX decided to scrub its Falcon Heavy static fire test today soon after they had loaded propellants into the rocket during countdown.

No details, but it appears to me that they are taking this test very seriously, and approaching each step with care. This was the first time they had loaded the entire Falcon Heavy, and I am not surprised they saw an issue that made them hesitate about continuing.

Genesis cover

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

4 comments

  • ken anthony

    Elon has made the point that FH is not just 3 F9s with the center core a major modification. A lot is riding on the FH even though it is already obsolete before its first flight. Business schools will be developing SpaceX case studies for decades.

    It’s a living example of Zeno’s paradox. By the time the industry catches up to the FH (if they ever do?) SpaceX will have moved their entire production on to the next level… BFR: one ship to rule them all.

    Their caution is well justified because it doesn’t paralyze them from continuing to move forward. Without a visionary at the helm the others can’t make the moves to keep up or surpass. Bezos might get into the game at some point because Blue Origin has both the funding and the possibility of being flexible enough. I think the failures SpaceX had in the passed have given them experience to avoid the slow downs that come with it.

    BE-4 looks like it will be a success. While they are going for high performance Raptor has had its thrust lowered. What does Elon know that Jeff doesn’t? Reuse perhaps? What will the life of the Raptor be compared to the BE-4?

  • wodun

    This is probably just my perception but it felt like toward the end of last year, there was a bit of a rush and a lot of will/won’t they speculation about getting FH off before the end of the year. Obviously they weren’t worried about launching by the end of the year but now that the time has passed, maybe there is less pressure from the outside and SpaceX feels more comfortable taking a bit more time to get things right.

    Adding some extra words cause of a duplicate comment problem. Gee I sure hope this is enough. I am already tired of typing, so tough!

  • Michael

    Ran across this: “Wet Dress Rehearsal successful (old news) – static fire was postponed because a minor issue with one of the hold down clamps (update).” It appears the issue was gse related.

    https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-first-static-fire-test-cape-canaveral-scrubbed

    I have not seen this web site before so I do not know its reliability,

  • Edward

    Michael,
    Thanks for the link. A problem with a hold-down clamp would explain why the rocket was lowered then raised again, this morning.
    https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/01/09/falcon-heavy-demo-flight-preparations/

    I noticed that the new test schedule is for sometime between 5PM and 10PM (EST) Tomorrow (Saturday).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *