February 24, 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.
- Varda about to de-orbit its second orbiting capsule
It will land in Australia (because the U.S. bureaucracy made landing it in the U.S. too complicated). Varda also predicted it will do three more similar capsule missions this year.
- Rocket Lab’s Pioneer service module (used by Varda’s capsules above) has now been approved by the Space Force for a mission to test rendezvous and proximity operations in orbit
The contract also requires Rocket Lab to launch Pioneer on an Electron rocket with only 24 hours notice, in order to prove its rapid response capability.
- Blue Ghost has completed its last orbital engine burn, placing it in the final orbit for descent to the Moon’s surface on March 2, 2025
The tweet includes a spectacular movie of the Moon produced by Blue Ghost’s camera shortly after its previous orbital engine burn.
- On this day in 2011 the space shuttle Discovery launched on its final flight, docking with ISS
After this mission there were only two more shuttle missions, both in 2011.
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. 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.
- Varda about to de-orbit its second orbiting capsule
It will land in Australia (because the U.S. bureaucracy made landing it in the U.S. too complicated). Varda also predicted it will do three more similar capsule missions this year.
- Rocket Lab’s Pioneer service module (used by Varda’s capsules above) has now been approved by the Space Force for a mission to test rendezvous and proximity operations in orbit
The contract also requires Rocket Lab to launch Pioneer on an Electron rocket with only 24 hours notice, in order to prove its rapid response capability.
- Blue Ghost has completed its last orbital engine burn, placing it in the final orbit for descent to the Moon’s surface on March 2, 2025
The tweet includes a spectacular movie of the Moon produced by Blue Ghost’s camera shortly after its previous orbital engine burn.
- On this day in 2011 the space shuttle Discovery launched on its final flight, docking with ISS
After this mission there were only two more shuttle missions, both in 2011.
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.
”Varda also predicted it will do three more similar capsule missions this year.”
That’s interesting. My understanding is that Varda’s contract with Rocket Lab is for a total of four spacecraft (the second of which is on orbit now). Are they building the fifth one in-house, or did they extend the contract with Rocket Lab while I wasn’t looking?
mkent: I have the same questions. The tweet is very unclear.