July 18, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who acts as a second pair of eyes to make sure we don’t miss anything.
- Insurance rep says Viasat’s $420 million claim for satellite failure will impact other customers
In plain English, insurance companies might have to raise rates to satellite companies to cover Viasat’s claim, an entirely ordinary situation when it comes to satellite insurance.
- Video of NASA press conference in advance of the last Antares/Cygnus launch using Russian engines
The launch date is presently August 1, 2023 at 8:30 pm (Eastern). After this launch Northrop Grumman will not be able to launch an Antares rocket until it gets new engines and first stage from Firefly. In the meantime it will use SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to launch three Cygnus capsules to ISS.
- Another Chinese pseudo-company, Nayuta Space, proposes a methane rocket dubbed “Space Chaser-1”
The company also claims it will have a reusable suborbital launcher that sounds awfully like New Shepard, with variations.
- A new “ultra-high-speed” wind tunnel in China
It appears designed above all to simulate conditions needed for the hypersonic testing.
- Video of first test of SpaceX’s Superheavy launchpad deluge system
It was a partial test, but indicates again that SpaceX will be ready for another Starship/Superheavy orbital test launch in August, as promised. Will the FAA? I remain doubtful.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who acts as a second pair of eyes to make sure we don’t miss anything.
- Insurance rep says Viasat’s $420 million claim for satellite failure will impact other customers
In plain English, insurance companies might have to raise rates to satellite companies to cover Viasat’s claim, an entirely ordinary situation when it comes to satellite insurance.
- Video of NASA press conference in advance of the last Antares/Cygnus launch using Russian engines
The launch date is presently August 1, 2023 at 8:30 pm (Eastern). After this launch Northrop Grumman will not be able to launch an Antares rocket until it gets new engines and first stage from Firefly. In the meantime it will use SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to launch three Cygnus capsules to ISS.
- Another Chinese pseudo-company, Nayuta Space, proposes a methane rocket dubbed “Space Chaser-1”
The company also claims it will have a reusable suborbital launcher that sounds awfully like New Shepard, with variations.
- A new “ultra-high-speed” wind tunnel in China
It appears designed above all to simulate conditions needed for the hypersonic testing.
- Video of first test of SpaceX’s Superheavy launchpad deluge system
It was a partial test, but indicates again that SpaceX will be ready for another Starship/Superheavy orbital test launch in August, as promised. Will the FAA? I remain doubtful.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
I searched for articles with more detail on the Viasat problem, especially to see any mention of a repair robot. Probably too early for that and maybe too expensive, although it would be a cool kind of x prize.
https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/07/viasats-new-broadband-satellite-could-be-a-total-loss/