July 6, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Seattle press goes ga-ga over Blue Origin pr event
The article touts the “thousands of jobs” Blue Origin will bring the city. It seems unaware the company’s accomplishments so far have been remarkably disappointing.
- Another Vega-C engine failure during static fire test
The test was part of the investigation following a failure of an identical engine during a Vega-C December 2022 launch. This new failure was on an engine that had been upgraded, so the European Space Agency has now begun an independent review. Vega-C will thus not resume launches this year.
- At international conference Russia offers other nations participation in its proposed Russian Orbital Station
A diagram of that station can be found here. As Jay quite correctly notes, “China does not want them, we don’t want them, and India signed the Artemis Accords. This new station is made up of leftovers from the ISS and one module that was never launched. Their program has become a side-show.”
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. 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
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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.
- Seattle press goes ga-ga over Blue Origin pr event
The article touts the “thousands of jobs” Blue Origin will bring the city. It seems unaware the company’s accomplishments so far have been remarkably disappointing.
- Another Vega-C engine failure during static fire test
The test was part of the investigation following a failure of an identical engine during a Vega-C December 2022 launch. This new failure was on an engine that had been upgraded, so the European Space Agency has now begun an independent review. Vega-C will thus not resume launches this year.
- At international conference Russia offers other nations participation in its proposed Russian Orbital Station
A diagram of that station can be found here. As Jay quite correctly notes, “China does not want them, we don’t want them, and India signed the Artemis Accords. This new station is made up of leftovers from the ISS and one module that was never launched. Their program has become a side-show.”
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. 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.
Two years ago, Jeff Bezos retired from Amazon to take over Blue Origin. I have not seen a lot of improvement in Blue Origin’s operations. They may be doing better at getting contracts, but I don’t see the performance I wanted to see. I suspect that Bezos’s efforts have not been in the direction that I had expected.
In today’s space link on the topic of Blue Origin, it looks like the company has done well with public relations.