June 10, 2024 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- ABL gets cubesat payload for its RS1 rocket
The cubesat will fly on the launch following the next launch attempt, set for June 2024. RS1 has had one failed launch attempt so far, in January 2023.
- Boeing releases audio of crew during Starliner launch
Only a minute long, showing just a few snippets.
- Video showing Blue Origin’s effort to make a reusable 2nd stage, based on its patents
What is most interesting is that it appears Stoke Space is doing similar stuff, but is farther long in actual development and testing.
- NASA awards seven companies $1.5 million each for 90-day studies to come up with new concepts for recovering Perseverance’s core samples on Mars
The companies are Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Quantum Space, SpaceX and Whittinghill Aerospace.
- ESA will pay Arianespace 340 million euros per year to operate Ariane-6
ESA will also give Arianespace 21 million euros to operate the Vega family of rockets. Why ESA is giving Arianespace anything is beyond sensible, since ArianeGroup supposedly builds and owns Ariane-6 and Avio supposedly now builds and owns the Vega rocket family. France meanwhile has retaken ownership of the French Guiana spaceport. Arianespace really has nothing left for it to do.
- ISRO planning third flight landing test of its X-37B copy for first half of June
This would be another drop test from a helicopter, with the prototype then gliding to a runway landing.
- Chinese pseudo-company postpones vertical hop test of its first stage prototype
The hop was supposed to go up to 10 kilometers.
- China’s next unmanned lunar probe, Chang’e-7, will go to the south pole, and release a hopper
Launch is targeting 2026.
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 print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. 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. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- ABL gets cubesat payload for its RS1 rocket
The cubesat will fly on the launch following the next launch attempt, set for June 2024. RS1 has had one failed launch attempt so far, in January 2023.
- Boeing releases audio of crew during Starliner launch
Only a minute long, showing just a few snippets.
- Video showing Blue Origin’s effort to make a reusable 2nd stage, based on its patents
What is most interesting is that it appears Stoke Space is doing similar stuff, but is farther long in actual development and testing.
- NASA awards seven companies $1.5 million each for 90-day studies to come up with new concepts for recovering Perseverance’s core samples on Mars
The companies are Aerojet Rocketdyne, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Quantum Space, SpaceX and Whittinghill Aerospace.
- ESA will pay Arianespace 340 million euros per year to operate Ariane-6
ESA will also give Arianespace 21 million euros to operate the Vega family of rockets. Why ESA is giving Arianespace anything is beyond sensible, since ArianeGroup supposedly builds and owns Ariane-6 and Avio supposedly now builds and owns the Vega rocket family. France meanwhile has retaken ownership of the French Guiana spaceport. Arianespace really has nothing left for it to do.
- ISRO planning third flight landing test of its X-37B copy for first half of June
This would be another drop test from a helicopter, with the prototype then gliding to a runway landing.
- Chinese pseudo-company postpones vertical hop test of its first stage prototype
The hop was supposed to go up to 10 kilometers.
- China’s next unmanned lunar probe, Chang’e-7, will go to the south pole, and release a hopper
Launch is targeting 2026.
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 print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. 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
NASA awards seven companies $1.5 million each for 90-day studies to come up with new concepts for recovering Perseverance’s core samples on Mars:
Company Solution Bid Amount
Aerojet Rocketdyne No bid
Blue Origin. Is that higher than Karman Line?
Lockheed Martin. Beaucoup
Northrop Grumman. Even more than that
Quantum Space. No bid
SpaceX. No charge – will be in area anyway.
Whittinghill. No bid
I followed the Blue Origin link to YouTube and after watching it eventually got to this which is the first time I saw Jeff Bezos talk rocket tech https://youtu.be/bAAg4Dq_Q2k?feature=shared
There isn’t enough space here to contrast Bezos and Musk.
The godless Chicom commies may be able to return samples from the moon, but our NASA is gayer.
NASA’s new pride month video (4 minutes):
“Together We Rise”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr8XNrVCFUw
Here is an article about NASA’s video:
“‘New ways of solving problems’: NASA promotes men dressed as women as part of ‘diverse and inclusive teams'”
https://www.theblaze.com/news/nasa-diversity-teams-trans-nonb
Kudos to Bezos for adopting Phil Bono’s plug-nozzle concept.
Here’s hoping New Armstrong is Big Onion
This is not related to anything space, but will affect our lives. Saudi Arabia just dropped the Petro dollar. Without Saudi Arabia Using/absorbing/trading our currency, well I am not sure what it’s going to happen. Didn’t help that President Biden drained out oil Reserve.
First thing a found on the subject, a little history speculation.
https://youtu.be/yolCkHT1S_o?si=xMiPg5kCe9OavFi7
Be prepared for some rapid change.
More;
Addressing a crowd of 12,000 attendees from more than 100 countries of the world at the 27th annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Putin said such a transaction system would be “unmoved by political pressure, abuse and external sanctions”.
The news came on the back of the president’s announcement that Russia has overtaken Japan to become the fourth largest economy in the world.
https://www.bizcommunity.com/article/putin-confirms-brics-independent-payment-system-in-the-pipeline-458719a
“”A movement away from the dollar—even in slow motion—will mean a rising cost of living for Americans. With fewer foreigners holding on to dollars, the US regime’s current runaway monetary inflation will create more domestic price inflation. In other words, movement away from the dollar will mean the US regime must engage in less monetization of the nation’s debt if it wishes to avoid runaway inflation. It also likely will lead to a need to pay higher interest rates on US government bonds, and that will mean a need for more taxpayer money to service the debt. It will mean that it will become more difficult for the US regime to finance every new war, program, and pet project that Washington can think up””
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/the-us-is-facing-a-major-challenge-as-petrodollar-loses-force-1032063614
I had heard Scott Ritter (and other journalists)was to speak at the Russian conference but an agency stopped him from boarding the plane took his passport without leaving a receipt forbidden him to travel without due diligence. Very un-American and Nazi like.
https://rumble.com/v4zno1e-the-government-did-what-to-scotts-passport.html
Is the United States prepared to go to war to stop this from happening? Another ballistic missile test and aircraft that normally carry nuclear weapons have been making training Runs that are unusual.
Canadian Prepper reads off a long list from just this month.
https://youtu.be/Sq-IFIfXWxs?si=nRRY8pIVhV0Umjih
Max–
Good stuff.
Pricing oil in dollars (and using dollars as reserve currency) has enabled us to export our inflation to some extent. But the rest of the World is getting sick of it.
Nice to hear the enthusiasm of space veterans Butch and Sunni as they return to space. They have waited a long time and Captain Wilmore’s speech to the team was just perfect, regardless of what one may think about Boeing overall performance.
I like Ray’s bid summary for Mars Return mission.
I want to add something more to my comments. I want to express my thanks to Robert and Jay for the link on Blue Origin’s attempt to make New Glenn fully reusable. After watching that video, I found that the video maker on YouTube, Eager Space, has many good and fairly technical space and rocket propulsion topics on his channel that are very interesting.
I’ve added Eager Space to my list of YouTube spaceflight channels.
Thank you guys!