February 12, 2026 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.
- Isar Aerospace touts its new 40,000 square meter headquarters/rocket factory
It plans to produce up to 40 rockets per year once fully operational. Of course, the company needs to successfully launch its rocket first.
- New ‘sungrazing’ comet could become visible to the naked eye, if the sun doesn’t destroy it
The odds of it surviving its close approach, around a half million miles on April 4, are very slim.
- France commits €1 billion to support replenishment of Eutelsat’s OneWeb constellation
The writer of the tweet thinks this deal by France is absurd and will simply be a waste of money. And based on OneWeb’s performance so far in competing with Starlink, this opinion could very well be right.
- On this day in 1970 Japan became the fourth country to launch its own satellite on its own rocket
The satellite, Ohsumi, operated for less than a day, though it remained in orbit until 2003.
- On this day in 1984, Challenger became the first shuttle to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Previously all shuttles landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
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.
- Isar Aerospace touts its new 40,000 square meter headquarters/rocket factory
It plans to produce up to 40 rockets per year once fully operational. Of course, the company needs to successfully launch its rocket first.
- New ‘sungrazing’ comet could become visible to the naked eye, if the sun doesn’t destroy it
The odds of it surviving its close approach, around a half million miles on April 4, are very slim.
- France commits €1 billion to support replenishment of Eutelsat’s OneWeb constellation
The writer of the tweet thinks this deal by France is absurd and will simply be a waste of money. And based on OneWeb’s performance so far in competing with Starlink, this opinion could very well be right.
- On this day in 1970 Japan became the fourth country to launch its own satellite on its own rocket
The satellite, Ohsumi, operated for less than a day, though it remained in orbit until 2003.
- On this day in 1984, Challenger became the first shuttle to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Previously all shuttles landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
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

