February 17, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, except for the last two.
- Soyuz capsule placed inside its payload fairing for a likely February 21th launch
That date, reported by Roscosmos two days ago, is three days earlier than the date listed at the link. Unless something has changed and not been reported, I would favor the earlier reported date.
- Images of the new Angara rocket assembly stand at Vostochny
Looks very clean and sleek, but also has taken decades to build.
- Damaged Progress to undock from ISS shortly
Live stream is here, scheduled to go live around 6:15 pm Pacific. Following undocking the freighter will be maneuvered so that the leak in its coolant system on its service module can be photographed.
- U.S. military is loosening its rules for bidding on its launches
The language in the screen capture at the link is typical bureaucratic blather, but the bottom line is that the military is no longer limiting bidding on launch contracts to just SpaceX and ULA, a foolish program I have begging the military to abandon for years. At this point they will let others bid on missions that are less risk tolerant. Expect with time this policy to loosen even more, as more competition can only save the military money, while providing it more redundancy and capability.
- China’s Xuntian Space Telescope, a Hubble-class optical space telescope, is still targeting a ’24 launch
The telescope will orbit close to Tiangong-3, and according to images at the link, will dock with the station for maintenance.
- NASA’s corrupt safety panel worries about NASA’s “safety culture” in its Artemis program
Though in this case the panel is likely right, I don’t take anything it says seriously. It has been so wrong so many times in the past, clearly biased against private space while favoring NASA, its analysis is simply worthless. I only include the link to its report now for completeness.
- FAA proposes fining SpaceX $175K for not providing “launch collision analysis trajectory data” prior to a August 19, 2022 Starlink launch
SpaceX has 30 days to respond. Considering the increased hostility by the bureaucracy to SpaceX since Biden took office, I think it is understandable to think this is simply another bureaucratic attack for political reasons.
- One instrument on the Parker Solar Probe is temporarily down
It appears the problem simply requires a software upload of that instrument, which cannot be done for another few weeks because the spacecraft is in a blackout period due to orbital mechanics.
- Boeing and NASA still aiming for mid-April launch of first manned Starliner mission to ISS
That timeline remains in flux, and will be finalized in early March when they decide on when to begin fueling the service module. Once that happens, they need to launch with 60 days. Expect an actual launch date to announced around then.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the 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. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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, except for the last two.
- Soyuz capsule placed inside its payload fairing for a likely February 21th launch
That date, reported by Roscosmos two days ago, is three days earlier than the date listed at the link. Unless something has changed and not been reported, I would favor the earlier reported date.
- Images of the new Angara rocket assembly stand at Vostochny
Looks very clean and sleek, but also has taken decades to build.
- Damaged Progress to undock from ISS shortly
Live stream is here, scheduled to go live around 6:15 pm Pacific. Following undocking the freighter will be maneuvered so that the leak in its coolant system on its service module can be photographed.
- U.S. military is loosening its rules for bidding on its launches
The language in the screen capture at the link is typical bureaucratic blather, but the bottom line is that the military is no longer limiting bidding on launch contracts to just SpaceX and ULA, a foolish program I have begging the military to abandon for years. At this point they will let others bid on missions that are less risk tolerant. Expect with time this policy to loosen even more, as more competition can only save the military money, while providing it more redundancy and capability.
- China’s Xuntian Space Telescope, a Hubble-class optical space telescope, is still targeting a ’24 launch
The telescope will orbit close to Tiangong-3, and according to images at the link, will dock with the station for maintenance.
- NASA’s corrupt safety panel worries about NASA’s “safety culture” in its Artemis program
Though in this case the panel is likely right, I don’t take anything it says seriously. It has been so wrong so many times in the past, clearly biased against private space while favoring NASA, its analysis is simply worthless. I only include the link to its report now for completeness.
- FAA proposes fining SpaceX $175K for not providing “launch collision analysis trajectory data” prior to a August 19, 2022 Starlink launch
SpaceX has 30 days to respond. Considering the increased hostility by the bureaucracy to SpaceX since Biden took office, I think it is understandable to think this is simply another bureaucratic attack for political reasons.
- One instrument on the Parker Solar Probe is temporarily down
It appears the problem simply requires a software upload of that instrument, which cannot be done for another few weeks because the spacecraft is in a blackout period due to orbital mechanics.
- Boeing and NASA still aiming for mid-April launch of first manned Starliner mission to ISS
That timeline remains in flux, and will be finalized in early March when they decide on when to begin fueling the service module. Once that happens, they need to launch with 60 days. Expect an actual launch date to announced around then.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the 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. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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.
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