July 27, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Space Force at Cape Canaveral touts the possibility tonight of SpaceX setting a new record for the shortest interval between two launches
Unfortunately, it ain’t gonna happen. The Falcon 9 Starlink launch is still scheduled for 10:20 pm (Eastern) (live stream here), but the Falcon Heavy launch on an adjacent launchpad of a commercial communications satellite at 11:04 pm (Eastern) has now been postponed until tomorrow.
- Impulse Space says it has raised $45 million in investment capital in funding round
The company was founded by Tom Mueller, one of SpaceX’s original employees who developed the Merlin engine. You can listen to an hour long interview with him here.
- ISRO completes another static fire test of the full propulsion system for the service module of its Gaganyaan manned capsule
This test simulated the de-orbit burn. It has two more static fire burns left in this test program.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID 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. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
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.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Space Force at Cape Canaveral touts the possibility tonight of SpaceX setting a new record for the shortest interval between two launches
Unfortunately, it ain’t gonna happen. The Falcon 9 Starlink launch is still scheduled for 10:20 pm (Eastern) (live stream here), but the Falcon Heavy launch on an adjacent launchpad of a commercial communications satellite at 11:04 pm (Eastern) has now been postponed until tomorrow.
- Impulse Space says it has raised $45 million in investment capital in funding round
The company was founded by Tom Mueller, one of SpaceX’s original employees who developed the Merlin engine. You can listen to an hour long interview with him here.
- ISRO completes another static fire test of the full propulsion system for the service module of its Gaganyaan manned capsule
This test simulated the de-orbit burn. It has two more static fire burns left in this test program.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID 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. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
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.
Thanks for the Tom Mueller link! I’m looking forward to a chance to watch the whole thing. He built and launched the smallest liquid rocket I’ve ever seen.