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Readers!

 

My July fund-raising campaign to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary since I began Behind the Black is now over. I want to thank all those who so generously donated or subscribed, especially those who have become regular supporters. I can't do this without your help. I also find it increasingly hard to express how much your support means to me. God bless you all!

 

The donations during this year's campaign were sadly less than previous years, but for this I blame myself. I am tired of begging for money, and so I put up the campaign announcement at the start of the month but had no desire to update it weekly to encourage more donations, as I have done in past years. This lack of begging likely contributed to the drop in donations.

 

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Is Google negotiating to become an investor in Virgin Galactic?

Is Google negotiating to become an investor in Virgin Galactic?

Several stories today say yes, but neither company is commenting. I suspect that if this is true, it is partly because Branson needs to find more investment capital because of the many delays in getting SpaceShipTwo off the ground.

Genesis cover

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

6 comments

  • Pzatchok

    It looks like Google just wants to toss its cash all over the place.

    Virgin has no way to insert satellites into a stable orbit so why would Google want to invest in them?

    Their best bet would a be a company that can put their new satellites into orbit.

  • Kelly Starks

    Google has other interest – possibly even moving into manned suborbital and orbital space? Virgin has problems, but they are a lot farther along then Google in this field.

  • Pzatchok

    Virgin has no plan or way of making an orbit.

    All they are planning is pogo rides into sub space. How is that going to help Google?

    The thing is Google has a load of stuff I call vapor cash. Cash made just from the increase in stock prices. Nothing material or service wise backing it.
    AOL was like that at first but because it never diversified or purchased actual real business they eventually melted away. Now they are little more than a remaining thought on the internet.

    Google is quickly trying to expand and has so much cash it can afford to toss a bunch into things that might not ever make a dollar. They can just write it off as a loss on their taxes.

  • Ron

    LauncherOne?

  • DK Williams

    Google would be better off working out a deal with Elon Musk.

  • Kelly Starks

    Elons not looking like a buy recommendation to the market – and he doesn’t play well with others.

    Though if they did want to develop a orbital capacity, there are better folks to team with.

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