February 9, 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.
- The only known public image of China’s just launched X-37B copycat
Called Shenlong, it launched yesterday for its fourth mission.
- The head of the UK Space Agency steps down
No surprise, as this was expected when the Starmer government decided in August to close down the agency.
- Musk: SpaceX has for the moment shifted focus from Mars to the Moon
This really isn’t that big a news story. SpaceX’s contracts to land NASA astronauts on the Moon using Starship was going to force the company to do a lot of Moon work. That work is also great for developing the engineering needed by the Mars colony to follow. Even if Musk didn’t declare this change it would have happened naturally.
- Canadian satellite startup Terrestar will partner with “middle power” countries to build its direct-to-cell constellation
Its main competitors are Starlink and AST SpaceMobile, both of which have a gigantic head start.
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.
- The only known public image of China’s just launched X-37B copycat
Called Shenlong, it launched yesterday for its fourth mission.
- The head of the UK Space Agency steps down
No surprise, as this was expected when the Starmer government decided in August to close down the agency.
- Musk: SpaceX has for the moment shifted focus from Mars to the Moon
This really isn’t that big a news story. SpaceX’s contracts to land NASA astronauts on the Moon using Starship was going to force the company to do a lot of Moon work. That work is also great for developing the engineering needed by the Mars colony to follow. Even if Musk didn’t declare this change it would have happened naturally.
- Canadian satellite startup Terrestar will partner with “middle power” countries to build its direct-to-cell constellation
Its main competitors are Starlink and AST SpaceMobile, both of which have a gigantic head start.
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

