February 20, 2025 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.
- India decides to forego a heavy lift rocket for its manned Moon missions
Essentially they are going to use their own variation of the concept developed in NASA in the 1960s for getting to the Moon that used the Gemini capsules and smaller rockets, assembling the lunar mission in Earth orbit.
- India’s Mars lander/rover/helicopter mission gets preliminary government approval
It still needs approval by the government’s Union Cabinet. The mission is targeting a launch in the 2031 window.
- Rocket Lab touts a video showing all sixty of its launches in 60 seconds
I am pretty certain it does not include the company’s relatively few launch failures, which were simply par for the course in building new rockets.
- Another Chinese pseudo-company, Space Epoch (Jianyuan) touts the upcoming hop test of the first stage of its Yuanxingzhe-1 rocket
It appears the flight will attempt a soft splashdown in the ocean. According to Jay, “Looking at the numbers, it is less than a Falcon-9 rocket.”
- China’s first asteroid sample return mission is being readied for launch this spring
The article provides a nice summary of the planned mission.
- Intuitive Machines next lunar lander, Athena, is now installed in its Falcon 9 rocket for launch
Launch is targeting February 26, 2025.
- On this day in 1962 John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth
He completed three orbits in a five hour flight.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. 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
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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. 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.
- India decides to forego a heavy lift rocket for its manned Moon missions
Essentially they are going to use their own variation of the concept developed in NASA in the 1960s for getting to the Moon that used the Gemini capsules and smaller rockets, assembling the lunar mission in Earth orbit.
- India’s Mars lander/rover/helicopter mission gets preliminary government approval
It still needs approval by the government’s Union Cabinet. The mission is targeting a launch in the 2031 window.
- Rocket Lab touts a video showing all sixty of its launches in 60 seconds
I am pretty certain it does not include the company’s relatively few launch failures, which were simply par for the course in building new rockets.
- Another Chinese pseudo-company, Space Epoch (Jianyuan) touts the upcoming hop test of the first stage of its Yuanxingzhe-1 rocket
It appears the flight will attempt a soft splashdown in the ocean. According to Jay, “Looking at the numbers, it is less than a Falcon-9 rocket.”
- China’s first asteroid sample return mission is being readied for launch this spring
The article provides a nice summary of the planned mission.
- Intuitive Machines next lunar lander, Athena, is now installed in its Falcon 9 rocket for launch
Launch is targeting February 26, 2025.
- On this day in 1962 John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth
He completed three orbits in a five hour flight.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. 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.
And should India end up needing a large booster or two, they know where they can rent one at a very competitive price.
Harkening back to the discussions of the 1950s, it will be interesting to observe how this alternative approach to going to the moon actually works out. If successful, it should offer an economical model for other countries.