March 7, 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.
- Varda releases video showing the inside view during its second capsule’s return from space
The capsule returned on February 27, 2025.
- Cool video of Blue Ghost shooting four tethered electrodes from an 8-foot mast at the top of the lander
The electrodes flew quite a distance, though the fisheye lens exaggerates that impression.
- NASA and the press team up to lobby against possible significant cuts to the agency’s science budget
I have been following NASA science work for decades, and though much of it is extremely worthwhile, much of it is also fat that could be trimmed, most especially centers and programs that have been shown to fudge climate numbers to fit the theory of human-caused global warming (I’m most specifically looking at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York). These should be shut down as fast as possible.
- China’s government endorses its pseudo-commercial space industry
It definitely likes the innovation and lower costs that come with competition, but it also still retains a very tight grip of control over these pseudo-companies. They do nothing on their own, but do what the government wants them to do.
- X-37B successfully de-orbited early this morning, landing at Vandenberg in California
More information to come.
- On March 6, 2009 the Kepler space telescope was launched
Over nine years of observations it discovered over 2,600 transiting exoplanets.
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:
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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.
- Varda releases video showing the inside view during its second capsule’s return from space
The capsule returned on February 27, 2025.
- Cool video of Blue Ghost shooting four tethered electrodes from an 8-foot mast at the top of the lander
The electrodes flew quite a distance, though the fisheye lens exaggerates that impression.
- NASA and the press team up to lobby against possible significant cuts to the agency’s science budget
I have been following NASA science work for decades, and though much of it is extremely worthwhile, much of it is also fat that could be trimmed, most especially centers and programs that have been shown to fudge climate numbers to fit the theory of human-caused global warming (I’m most specifically looking at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York). These should be shut down as fast as possible.
- China’s government endorses its pseudo-commercial space industry
It definitely likes the innovation and lower costs that come with competition, but it also still retains a very tight grip of control over these pseudo-companies. They do nothing on their own, but do what the government wants them to do.
- X-37B successfully de-orbited early this morning, landing at Vandenberg in California
More information to come.
- On March 6, 2009 the Kepler space telescope was launched
Over nine years of observations it discovered over 2,600 transiting exoplanets.
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.
Re X-37, lots of questions online about why guys in hazmat suits. Probable answer is same as for Shuttle landings – fumes from hyperbolic propellants used in thrusters. Deadly until dissipated.
“Cool video of Blue Ghost shooting four tethered electrodes …. to study the deep interior of the Moon – up to 2/3rds the distance to the Moon’s center – to learn more about the structure and composition of the Moon’s mantle.”
Would get even better moon-mantle info if there had been a second, small, lander, landing 120 to 180 degrees apart from the Ghost, on the lunar surface. This lander would carry a few M-80s to deliver the moonquakes for excitation. Could measure P-, S-, and surface-waves together.
If the latest/greatest belief is that the moon is really-old-earth dirt, from a Mars-sized hit, data should be similar to what we find on earth. And since there is little volcanic or tectonic motion occurring now on the moon – who cares?
Ray,
Yes you are right. For the hypergolic fuel they are either using monomethylhydrazine/dinitrogen tetroxide like what the shuttles used or good old hydrazine/nitrogen tetroxide.
One other item I forgot to include in the links is that the X-37B was up for 434 days, a new record.
From the NASA Science budget article:
I guess the Planetary Society would know. But if half the budget is extinction-level, then that means that only half the budget is being used on science. If that is the case, then maybe the people at NASA are smart enough to cut mostly the parts that are not used on science and leave most of the parts that are.
Dreier’s comment tells me that cutting half the budget may be the correct move.
Hmm. There were no private individuals or companies able or willing to independently pursue manned space until NASA chose to cede ISS resupply missions to commercial space companies and then cede ISS manned transport, too. Through the Space Shuttle, NASA was the sole source as well as customer for all American manned missions, and it wasn’t until NASA announced that it would buy these services from the private sector that any investors would venture into this potential market. Even at that, NASA remains the sole customer for cargo transport to orbit, and the commercial manned spacecraft market is still largely NASA, with only about one non-NASA manned mission flying per year. At least there is a non-NASA market.
The reason is the same for space sciences. NASA is the sole source as well as customer for all American space sciences missions. The CLPS missions are the exception, where commercial companies are being hired by NASA to transport mostly NASA Science instruments to the Moon. For almost a decade, there has been talk of commercial satellites supplying data for weather forecasting, but I haven’t heard success at NOAA for that, at least not yet.
This looks like the perfect opportunity for commercial companies to get into the space science market. They may not be able to pursue “boundary-pushing, breakthrough science missions” this year or next, but I’m pretty sure that a whole lot of them are willing to get there by the beginning of next decade.
I never much cared for The Planetary Society myself–as they were also an enemy of shuttle-derived HLLVs.
Instead Louis Friedman wasted Planetary Society money on not one but two Volna missions that both went into the drink.
Instead of the Trump administration going after MSFC—perhaps he and Elon need to look at this:
https://www.fedweek.com/federal-managers-daily-report/the-troubled-history-of-waste-and-abuse-in-the-u-s-postal-inspection-service-doge-are-you-listening/
I remember watching the most nauseating bit of pageantry at some lavish Postal function where folks on stage had more medals than Zhukov did at the end of WW II.
good grief.
I’m noticing a pattern in the “American” military personel giving classified information to China.
“‘Unconscionable:’ Active-duty JBLM soldier indicted for espionage, bribery; 2 others also charged”
• Sergeant Jian Zhao
• JBLM soldier Li Tian
• former U.S. Army soldier Ruoyu Duan
https://mynorthwest.com/local/jblm-soldier-indictment/4058510
Another pattern, if you buy hunters paintings… or pay off the mortgage again, on one of Joe Biden‘s mansions.
“Xu and Ji Chaoqun, who were both convicted of espionage, were granted clemency last month, along with Shanlin Jin, who was convicted of possession of more than 47,000 images of child pornography while a doctoral student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 2021.”
“Their clemencies, signed by President Biden, are dated Nov. 22”
They were always going to have loyalties to the mother country—this isn’t WWII so the best you can hope for is shuffling folks to lower level duties.
Of course, none of this had to happen
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qian_Xuesen
Other voices
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-7m3ighNQ5c
The folks in the Army were a bit more laid back with him and Oppenheimer—Fuchs did the most damage—him and Johnny Walker Red…
Not sure where to put this, but it seemed worth putting it somewhere, and Quick Links is Bob’s default invitation for new items of interest. There is some more leaked information about what may have caused the Flight 8 loss, and apparently from the same guy who leaked the image of the S34 aft section after the explosion. Discussion online in the usual places is generating a general though not perfect consensus that it may be for real. I have to say, it at least sounds *plausible*, though even so one might not agree with the speculative glosses and opinions in there.
https://twitter.com/HalcyonHypnotic/status/1898251889239617821
If true, this could be a significant delay in the Starship program. A major redesign and more ground testing may well be needed.
Some of us will be brought to mind of the Saturn V’s problems with pogo oscillation. After Apollo 6’s infamous brush with the problem in April 1968, NASA and contractor engineers did frantic, heroic work to come up with mitigations for the problem in time for the Apollo 8 launch later that year. But *mitigations* is what they were: The problem was never really solved, and it continued to haunt the engineers, as the problem continued to rear its head through the program. On Apollo 13, the oscillations were so severe that it forced the shutdown of the center S2 engine two minutes early, forcing Mission Control to burn the outboard engines for longer to compensate.
SpaceX works fast and under the whip of a very demanding boss, but it is not under a deadline in the way Apollo was. So if this leak is true, they have some time to really try to fix it, rather than kludge their way through as their Apollo forebears did.
Anyway, if this is legitimate, I suppose we will know soon enough. If it’s not, that will become apparent, too.
Thanks to Richard M for the possible info from SpaceX on the failure.
I’m back to my guess in the thread several posts ago: Would it be simpler to roll the Block 3 Ships and Raptor 3 engines forward bypassing Block 2 entirely? Can you do that quicker than troubleshooting the current plumbing and redesigning it? Or do you buy more problems?
Most important question would be to figure out if Block 3 will have the same problem. Does Raptor 3 require less plumbing in the attic? Will simplification of the engine simplify the feed lines that are vibrating? Alternately, will more powerful engines make the vibrations worse? Remember that they want to put another couple(?) engines in the aft end of Ship as they ramp up performance.
The other obvious question would be why did they not see this in Block 1 (or maybe they did) and now see it in Block 2. That would tend to argue for increased engine power being a factor.
Tough problem. Good luck, guys. Cheers –
Oh dear, oh dear: Staff cuts hit NASA!
But then it turns out that this only whacked 23 jobs; killed a DEI office; killed an office created just 3 years ago by the Biden Administration for rather politicized ends; and the Office of the Chief Scientist, whose actual role at the agency over the last four decades has always been rather curious, and which is currently held by a climate scientist.
Honestly, this looks like low-hanging fruit for any Trump Administration chainsaw. This should also be good for at least 3,000 rage posts at r/space and r/politics. Honestly, the White House should send Reddit a bill for the traffic boost.
More than one person at the NSF forum thread has proposed just that.
It’s impossible to say from the outside, since we don’t know enough either about the problem, or how far along the V3 design actually is. If this really is an unexpected phenomenon, then whatever the Starship team does, they really need to understand it and engineer for it. It is tricky if it only reveals itself in flight, in conditions that can’t be fully simulated on the ground.
SpaceX has some extremely smart and highly motivated people on that team. If anyone can figure it out, they can. It may take a little time, though.
Richard M: This is a typical Jeff Foust article, designed to support the bureaucracy no matter what. Your analysis is correct, which is essentially what I would have written had I chosen to post a link.
All of these jobs contribute nothing to anything. They are fat, and should never have been created. That almost all of them didn’t exist until Biden became president proves this.
Hi Bob,
I appreciate Foust’s role as a full-time daily beat space reporter, who pumps out more sheer volume of coverage of the space industry than anyone else. I think he’s a professional, but I think he also has some obvious prejudice that slips more often than I would like into his beat stories. He’s a creature of the American space establishment, and the slants on his stories (and not just his op-ed pieces) reflect that. He’s clearly been a skeptic of Elon Musk for a long time, even if he’s not as openly deranged about it as some people we could name.
But yes, these cuts went for small, easy-to-grab political offices who had to know they’d be on the chopping block. It’s not like DOGE just took APL’s Dragonfly engineering staff and put them up against a wall for summary execution.
In terms of HLLVs, I always supported parallel staging and side payload mount.
Aerodynamicists and mass efficiency gurus hate it—but such a set up means
no hot-staging
all engines at pad level
attachment points far, far from engines, etc.
No hot stage ring I should say