January 30, 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.
- PLD provides detailed update on construction of its MIURA 5 rocket
Very impressive video. They continue to appear on schedule for a 2026 launch.
- Astrolab touts its FLEX unmanned demo lunar rover, and its compact configuration during transport
Once on the Moon it will unfold.
- Chinese pseudo-company Ispace admits the first launch of its Hyperbola-3 rocket will be postponed
The tweet touts tests of their strongback, and only mentions the delay as an aside. Jay says the company is now saying it will slip to 2027.
- SpaceX to offer at no cost to all satellite operators the data from its Stargaze system used by Starlink satellites to determine positions precisely
It is doing this to help avoid collisions. Others should do the same, though no one knows what the large Chinese satellite constellation operators will do.
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.
- PLD provides detailed update on construction of its MIURA 5 rocket
Very impressive video. They continue to appear on schedule for a 2026 launch.
- Astrolab touts its FLEX unmanned demo lunar rover, and its compact configuration during transport
Once on the Moon it will unfold.
- Chinese pseudo-company Ispace admits the first launch of its Hyperbola-3 rocket will be postponed
The tweet touts tests of their strongback, and only mentions the delay as an aside. Jay says the company is now saying it will slip to 2027.
- SpaceX to offer at no cost to all satellite operators the data from its Stargaze system used by Starlink satellites to determine positions precisely
It is doing this to help avoid collisions. Others should do the same, though no one knows what the large Chinese satellite constellation operators will do.
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


In other news today, Blue Origin has suspended flights of its New Shepard for at least two years in order to “focus on New Glenn.”
What a shame! They were just getting to a monthly cadence and flying through what their own announcement said was a multi-year backlog. With both New Shepard and Virgin Galactic suspended, the cheapest ticket to space is now $65 million. Come to think of it, with NASA’s private astronaut missions also suspended, the cheapest ticket is to buy an entire manned Dragon flight for about $250 million. I guess non-billionaires need not apply.
You have to feel bad for Andrew Yaffe. He bought his ticket, went through the training, got sick two days before the flight, got bumped to next next flight, and now that flight will likely never happen. A lifelong dream crushed at the last minute.
mkent: What this news about New Shepard tells me is that Blue Origin under David Limp wants to focus on things of importance that can move the company forward. New Shepard is not doing that. New Glenn will, in innumerable ways.
It IS tragic for those holding tickets who wanted to fly, but hey, there is always Virgin Galactic (he says with tongue firmly in cheek).