May 2, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Axiom once again touts images of its first space station under construction by Thales Alenia
These are the same two images the company posted on April 10th, so either nothing is happening, or they are simply not telling us anything.
- Some Chinese operation dubbed HIT has built a vacuum chamber to test the impact of lunar dust on equipment
The idea is to simulate the lunar environment and find out ways to eliminate dust issues.
- China touts the construction progress for its first commercial launchpad at its coastal Wenchang spaceport
It appears the launch tower will be completed one month early, in May, with the foundation hole for the second pad 96% dug.
- Court approves Virgin Orbits proposed bankruptcy plan
The company hopes with this plan it will be bought whole by a single buyer and thus saved. There remains no guarantee that will happen. The auction will now occur on May 18th.
- A diagram detailing the status of the number Starship and Superheavy prototypes already built or under construction
All told, completed or parts of 11 Starships exist, as well as completed or parts of 8 Superheavies.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the 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. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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.
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Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Axiom once again touts images of its first space station under construction by Thales Alenia
These are the same two images the company posted on April 10th, so either nothing is happening, or they are simply not telling us anything.
- Some Chinese operation dubbed HIT has built a vacuum chamber to test the impact of lunar dust on equipment
The idea is to simulate the lunar environment and find out ways to eliminate dust issues.
- China touts the construction progress for its first commercial launchpad at its coastal Wenchang spaceport
It appears the launch tower will be completed one month early, in May, with the foundation hole for the second pad 96% dug.
- Court approves Virgin Orbits proposed bankruptcy plan
The company hopes with this plan it will be bought whole by a single buyer and thus saved. There remains no guarantee that will happen. The auction will now occur on May 18th.
- A diagram detailing the status of the number Starship and Superheavy prototypes already built or under construction
All told, completed or parts of 11 Starships exist, as well as completed or parts of 8 Superheavies.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the 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. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five 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:
5. 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. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
I was looking for records of the meeting of the creditors committe for the under chapter 11 and found this.
https://cases.ra.kroll.com/virginorbit/Home-Index
I have not yet found a court record that said Kroll was appointed by the court but it is worth investigating.
Arty II on the way
https://www.universetoday.com/159406/were-going-to-see-at-least-five-more-sls-rockets-launch-in-the-coming-years/