June 10, 2025 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.
I post this early because I have a hour-long taping with Robert Pratt of Pratt on Texas this afternoon, and want to get it up beforehand.
- Astrolab touts the prototype it is using on Earth to test its Flip lunar rover
They are using it to do trials of the rover’s remote control systems.
- Relativity provides a May update of its work developing its Terran-R rocket
It certainly does appear real progress is being made toward a 2026 launch date, though an earlier report suggested that schedule will slip.
- Astronomers develop new numbers for the mass, spin, and accretion rate for the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy M87
The mass is estimated at 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. The spin is estimated to be 80% of the speed of light. The accretion rate says material is falling into the black hole at about 20% of the speed of light, and is catching about 40% of the Sun’s mass per year.
- United shuts down Starlink on its regional jets because it was causing interference with the pilot’s radio equipment
Jay notes that he has experienced a lot of WiFi issues on United, not just its regional jets, and thinks the company might be trying to pin the blame for own equipment issues on Starlink.
- On this day in 2003 the rover Spirit was launched on a Delta-2 rocket
The rover, designed for a 90-day mission, operated on the surface of Mars for six years, traveling 4.8 miles.
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. 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.
I post this early because I have a hour-long taping with Robert Pratt of Pratt on Texas this afternoon, and want to get it up beforehand.
- Astrolab touts the prototype it is using on Earth to test its Flip lunar rover
They are using it to do trials of the rover’s remote control systems.
- Relativity provides a May update of its work developing its Terran-R rocket
It certainly does appear real progress is being made toward a 2026 launch date, though an earlier report suggested that schedule will slip.
- Astronomers develop new numbers for the mass, spin, and accretion rate for the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy M87
The mass is estimated at 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. The spin is estimated to be 80% of the speed of light. The accretion rate says material is falling into the black hole at about 20% of the speed of light, and is catching about 40% of the Sun’s mass per year.
- United shuts down Starlink on its regional jets because it was causing interference with the pilot’s radio equipment
Jay notes that he has experienced a lot of WiFi issues on United, not just its regional jets, and thinks the company might be trying to pin the blame for own equipment issues on Starlink.
- On this day in 2003 the rover Spirit was launched on a Delta-2 rocket
The rover, designed for a 90-day mission, operated on the surface of Mars for six years, traveling 4.8 miles.
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.
Readers: the rules for commenting!
No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.
However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.
Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.