May 21, 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.
- Anther new startup, Cochrane Exploration, proposes two direct-to-orbit spaceplanes
So far nothing more than great graphics.
- Computer simulations say Jupiter was once twice its size and had a much more powerful magnetic field
To say there is uncertainty in these conclusions is a mild understatement.
- Axiom touts its partnership with Omega watches
As Jay notes, “I remember Mel Brooks from Space Balls: ‘Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made.'”
- Video of fire at SpaceX test stand during static fire test
The tweet speculates this might have been a failure of a Raptor-3 engine.
- French parliament report worries about job losses if Airbus and Thalia Alenia merger goes through
The report also worried about decreasing interest in ESA’s government Iris2 constellation, proposed to compete with Starlink but far more expensive and not expected to launch for years.
The second point is actually more important. It signals the shift among European governments away from the failed government model, something that the French parliament is apparently not yet able to comprehend.
- On this day in 1978 Pioneer Venus was launched to orbit Venus
It was the first orbiter to arrive there, and operated from late 1978 until October 1992.
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.
- Anther new startup, Cochrane Exploration, proposes two direct-to-orbit spaceplanes
So far nothing more than great graphics.
- Computer simulations say Jupiter was once twice its size and had a much more powerful magnetic field
To say there is uncertainty in these conclusions is a mild understatement.
- Axiom touts its partnership with Omega watches
As Jay notes, “I remember Mel Brooks from Space Balls: ‘Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made.'”
- Video of fire at SpaceX test stand during static fire test
The tweet speculates this might have been a failure of a Raptor-3 engine.
- French parliament report worries about job losses if Airbus and Thalia Alenia merger goes through
The report also worried about decreasing interest in ESA’s government Iris2 constellation, proposed to compete with Starlink but far more expensive and not expected to launch for years.The second point is actually more important. It signals the shift among European governments away from the failed government model, something that the French parliament is apparently not yet able to comprehend.
- On this day in 1978 Pioneer Venus was launched to orbit Venus
It was the first orbiter to arrive there, and operated from late 1978 until October 1992.
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.
The one condition George Lucas gave Mel Brooks when he okayed Spaceballs was “No merchandising”