July 5, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who trolls Twitter so I don’t have to. For the past few days Twitter links were unavailable to anyone who did not register there. I won’t link to such sites, so we held off doing the daily quick links. It seems that Twitter has reopened access to everyone, though Jay indicates there might still be some issues. If you have difficulty accessing any one of these links, please comment below.
- Rocket Lab plans back-to-back launches of its Electron rocket
The launch window for the first opens on July 14th, and they will attempt recovery of the first stage.
- PLD Space wins government contract from Spain to develop its smallsat rocket
The initial award is for 1.5 million Euros. The next phase could provide up to 40.5 million Euros more.
- India private rocket startup Skyroot completes carbon-fiber winding and curing of its first stage “motor case.”
This is for Skyroot’s orbital rocket, dubbed Vikram-1. The company has already successfully completed a suborbital test launch.
- The New York Times discovers, decades late, that India is no longer communist, and has a thriving private and competitive aerospace industry
I love it when these partisan Democratic Party news outlets suddenly peek outside their leftist bubble to report “scoops” on stories that have been evident for years.
- Chinese pseudo-company Landspace sets July 12th as its next orbital launch attempt for its Zhuque-2 rocket
If successful, it would be the first methane-fueled rocket to reach orbit. This launch will be the company’s second attempt
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.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who trolls Twitter so I don’t have to. For the past few days Twitter links were unavailable to anyone who did not register there. I won’t link to such sites, so we held off doing the daily quick links. It seems that Twitter has reopened access to everyone, though Jay indicates there might still be some issues. If you have difficulty accessing any one of these links, please comment below.
- Rocket Lab plans back-to-back launches of its Electron rocket
The launch window for the first opens on July 14th, and they will attempt recovery of the first stage.
- PLD Space wins government contract from Spain to develop its smallsat rocket
The initial award is for 1.5 million Euros. The next phase could provide up to 40.5 million Euros more.
- India private rocket startup Skyroot completes carbon-fiber winding and curing of its first stage “motor case.”
This is for Skyroot’s orbital rocket, dubbed Vikram-1. The company has already successfully completed a suborbital test launch.
- The New York Times discovers, decades late, that India is no longer communist, and has a thriving private and competitive aerospace industry
I love it when these partisan Democratic Party news outlets suddenly peek outside their leftist bubble to report “scoops” on stories that have been evident for years.
- Chinese pseudo-company Landspace sets July 12th as its next orbital launch attempt for its Zhuque-2 rocket
If successful, it would be the first methane-fueled rocket to reach orbit. This launch will be the company’s second attempt
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.
NYT is paywalled (and nothing of value was lost…)
It will be nice to see Rocketlab jump over Russia in the count rankings.