June 2, 2026 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.
- Spanish rocket startup PLD provides short update on its launchpad construction at French Guiana
It appears to be getting very close to being ready for the first launch of its Miura-5 rocket.
- A plug for Russia’s own Starlink-style satellite network, dubbed Rassvet
Only 16 satellites have been launched, with the entire constellation not expected to be in orbit until 2035, if then. And it also appears the orbit of one satellite might already be decaying.
- On June 2, 1955 the Soviet Union opened its Baikonur Cosmodrome
It was then part of the Soviet Union. And though it is still Russia’s main spaceport, it is now located in a foreign country, Kazakhstan.
- On June 2, 1966 Surveyor 1 completed the first soft landing on the Moon.
It proved that the lunar surface was not deep in soft dust, and that a manned lunar module could safely land there.
- On June 1, 2011 the space shuttle Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Center, completing its last mission
This was the next-to-last shuttle mission.
- Video of the June 2, 2003 launch of Europe’s Mars Express orbiter
It is still working, its images providing a wider view than Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
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