January 4, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- SpaceX aiming to do two launches on the same day this weekend, from opposite coasts
The launch from Vandenberg is a set of Starlink satellites, while the Kennedy launch is a set of OneWeb satellites. The author at the link breaks down the number of launches last year at each pad, and notes SpaceX’s goals this year.
- Launch of China’s Long March 7A now set for January 8-9, 2023
This launch was originally set for December but was postponed. It is unclear whether it will be China’s first launch in 2023.
- Norfolk Naval Station by Taijing-3-01 remote sensing satellite, Sept 2022
China gives us a hint at its satellite reconnaissance capability, which according to Jay, in this case has less resolution than Google Earth.
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 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.
- SpaceX aiming to do two launches on the same day this weekend, from opposite coasts
The launch from Vandenberg is a set of Starlink satellites, while the Kennedy launch is a set of OneWeb satellites. The author at the link breaks down the number of launches last year at each pad, and notes SpaceX’s goals this year.
- Launch of China’s Long March 7A now set for January 8-9, 2023
This launch was originally set for December but was postponed. It is unclear whether it will be China’s first launch in 2023.
- Norfolk Naval Station by Taijing-3-01 remote sensing satellite, Sept 2022
China gives us a hint at its satellite reconnaissance capability, which according to Jay, in this case has less resolution than Google Earth.
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 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
My best guess is that the image was intentionally less sharp to surprise the U. S., later. “Gosh! If that’s all the better the Reds can do, why spend time, effort, and money on cloaking?”
The good Colonel is correct. I seriously doubt they released the fully resolved image.
But even then, put two or three images together, and you can refine the resolution.
Analysis all the way down to the smallest pixel can reveal all kinds of detail. NRO has been doing it for decades.
And I, for one, do not underestimate the Chinese.
Norfolk is wide open anyway. Anyone with a motor boat can drive through Chesapeake bay with a go pro on the bow, and record activity. Plenty of small aircraft can fly near enough with todays optics to see the big stuff like this. Naval vessels in port cannot be hidden. Yamamoto knew this, and used it to his advantage.
I am also reminded of the “Big Carrier” debate. Is is better to have 10 or so big super carriers, (only a portion of which can be at sea at any given time) or is should we be building many less expensive carriers.
Guys, I was poking fun at the Chinese. They were trying to shock people with their picture of Norfolk. Anyone with a satellite can take photos. We have been taking satellite photos for over sixty years. Sometimes when the Chinese try to look and sound serious, the propaganda comes off as comical.
One item that was not posted was a video of a Chinese rocket to Mars, but they screwed up and used the planet Venus. Another video from a few years ago was showing off one of their new J-Class jets and they mixed in scenes from the movie “Top Gun”.
I do take them seriously as I watch their developments in technology from their pseudo-companies. I note and compare their engines, the rocket capabilities, and their improvements to Russian technology. I have been following them since I first heard about their manned space program-“Project 921” in 1998 (I thought it was going to be a mini shuttle like Hermes, but it is a copy of a Soyuz). You learn to sift through to the good information and weed out the propaganda.
” ‘Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak” – Sun Tzu, A long time ago.