March 31, 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.
- Picture of the Qingzhou prototype cargo spacecraft launched two days ago on Kinetica-2’s maiden flight
It is being developed as a cheaper alternative to the Tianzhou cargo capsule presently being used to supply China’s Tiangong-3 station.
- On this day in 1970 the first American satellite, Explorer 1, re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere after 12 years in orbit
It made the first detection of the Van Allen radiation belt, returning data until its batteries were exhausted after nearly four months.
- On this day in 1991 the Soviet Union launched Almaz-1 to do military radar imaging
The Almaz module was originally conceived as a manned surveillance station, but was repurposed for all of the Soviet civilian Salyut stations as well as the basic module for all subsequent Russian stations. After 18 months Almaz-1 was de-orbited on October 17, 1992 over the Pacific Ocean.
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.
- Picture of the Qingzhou prototype cargo spacecraft launched two days ago on Kinetica-2’s maiden flight
It is being developed as a cheaper alternative to the Tianzhou cargo capsule presently being used to supply China’s Tiangong-3 station.
- On this day in 1970 the first American satellite, Explorer 1, re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere after 12 years in orbit
It made the first detection of the Van Allen radiation belt, returning data until its batteries were exhausted after nearly four months.
- On this day in 1991 the Soviet Union launched Almaz-1 to do military radar imaging
The Almaz module was originally conceived as a manned surveillance station, but was repurposed for all of the Soviet civilian Salyut stations as well as the basic module for all subsequent Russian stations. After 18 months Almaz-1 was de-orbited on October 17, 1992 over the Pacific Ocean.
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
In terms of rocketry, might this advance be helpful?
https://phys.org/news/2026-03-soda-cans-mathematics-corrugation-formation.html
I could see some pre-corrigation, then filled with HTP/ kerosene (pressure-fed, room temperature).
Upon emptying, tankage telescopes down, meaning less surface area for heat shielding.
TPS in the nosecones that hinges over first to eject the payload…..engine and tankage nesting perhaps.