February 27, 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.
- Gilmour’s demo payload on the first launch of its Eris rocket will be a jar of Vegemite
Launch is scheduled for March 15, 2025, and if successful will be the first private launch by an Australian company, from Australia.
- Astroforge has issues communicating with Odin asteroid probe launched yesterday
It appears, with the help of ham radio operators they have a plan to fix the issue. More here.
- Vast touts the testing of “trace contaminant control system” to be used to scrub its Haven-1 environment
They also plan to use this same system on future Haven modules.
- AST SpaceMobile wins $43 million contract from the Pentagon’s Space Development Agency
It appears the contract is to upgrade its phone-to-satellite satellite technology for secure military use.
- A map showing the part of the Moon captured by one of Blue Ghost’s recent lunar orbital movies
The region was in the southwest quadrant of the Moon’s far side.
- On this day NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the experimental HL-10 lifting body to 90,030 feet
It is that lifting body design that Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser uses, as well as the military’s X-37B. The Soviets also copied it and did the only lifting body orbital test flights. It only took almost a half century for someone in the U.S. to finally utilize it as a method for returning from space.
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. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
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.
- Gilmour’s demo payload on the first launch of its Eris rocket will be a jar of Vegemite
Launch is scheduled for March 15, 2025, and if successful will be the first private launch by an Australian company, from Australia.
- Astroforge has issues communicating with Odin asteroid probe launched yesterday
It appears, with the help of ham radio operators they have a plan to fix the issue. More here.
- Vast touts the testing of “trace contaminant control system” to be used to scrub its Haven-1 environment
They also plan to use this same system on future Haven modules.
- AST SpaceMobile wins $43 million contract from the Pentagon’s Space Development Agency
It appears the contract is to upgrade its phone-to-satellite satellite technology for secure military use.
- A map showing the part of the Moon captured by one of Blue Ghost’s recent lunar orbital movies
The region was in the southwest quadrant of the Moon’s far side.
- On this day NASA pilot Bill Dana flew the experimental HL-10 lifting body to 90,030 feet
It is that lifting body design that Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser uses, as well as the military’s X-37B. The Soviets also copied it and did the only lifting body orbital test flights. It only took almost a half century for someone in the U.S. to finally utilize it as a method for returning from space.
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. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. 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
OMG, Gilmour are permitted to be launching a biological weapon payload – Vegemite!
My first thought was similar: everyone freaks out any time we talk about launching probes fueled with radioactive isotopes, and now they want to put a payload of Vegemite on an untested prototype launcher!?!?!
Dream Chaser is closer to X-38/HL-20/BOR-4 and a hair closer to X-24 than HL-10.
The Spaceplane currently aloft stems from X-37/X-40/OSP studies in SLI as I recall.
Great article called “Superelastic alloy that functions in extreme temperatures could aid space exploration.”
That from Tohoku University along with an article called “Unraveling how a magnetic twist induces one-way electric flow.”
Curtin U is behind the article “Sound waves create permanently water-repellant glass.”
These articles–as well as as a report on how ISS is overly sterile–all at phys org
I didn’t realize Bill Dana actually got to space.
https://youtu.be/i6ckW7uRRNw?feature=shared
I tried Vegemite once. With any luck, that jar will burn up on reentry.
Varda’s Winnebago-2 spacecraft has successfully re-entered and landed in Australia. The vehicle looks intact, so hopefully the payload survived and is OK.
“I tried Vegemite once. With any luck, that jar will burn up on reentry.”
I’m Australian. I agree with you.
NASA has been having communication problems with Lunar Trailblazer as well, alas. Seems to be a power issue.
It’s intermittent, so I have hope that it’s fixable. This mission can tell us a good deal more about water presence on the Moon.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/trailblazer/2025/02/27/nasa-working-to-reestablish-communications-with-lunar-trailblazer/
Joe Rogan Experience Episode 2281
Elon Musk
https://youtu.be/sSOxPJD-VNo
3:11:07
I am eating Vegemite on toast as I type.