May 3, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- SpaceX releases video taken from one fairing on its descent after release from Falcon Heavy
Quite cool. As the tweet notes, this “was the hottest and fastest [fairing return] we’ve ever attempted.”
- NASA whines it might not have enough plutonium for future deep space missions
Most of this is simply lobbying for more money. The shortage of plutonium will only matter if NASA’s planetary program gets a gigantic budget boost.
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Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- SpaceX releases video taken from one fairing on its descent after release from Falcon Heavy
Quite cool. As the tweet notes, this “was the hottest and fastest [fairing return] we’ve ever attempted.”
- NASA whines it might not have enough plutonium for future deep space missions
Most of this is simply lobbying for more money. The shortage of plutonium will only matter if NASA’s planetary program gets a gigantic budget boost.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows 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. 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. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally 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.
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.
Haven’t NASA been complaining about this for decades? I’m sure I had a conversation on some forum ( here? ) Regarding the particular isotope that nasa uses, the lack of it, and the fact no one is producing it any more. It was long ago, and my memory is woozy, but I believe it is the same isotope used for medical practice. I am pretty sure since then we have had New horizons, and 2 Mars rovers at least powered by plutonium. That seems a long time to keep something with a relatively short half life in storage.
I’m also sure that someone here can refresh my memory with more details please… I find the very notion that the same element can have very different properties absolutely fascinating, even though I understand the physics.
( Bob, you didn’t include the link..)
On an absolute side note… My daughter today got the result that she aced an A+ on her biology exam… I just hope she doesn’t become a serial underachiever like Father… If not, she is destined to certainly become a scientist in one branch or another… I couldn’t be more proud :-)
Lee S: Link added. Sorry about that.
Lee,
Good questions. The half-life of the Pu-238 is about 88 years. This isotope is not weapons grade material, that is Pu-239. We are back to producing it at INL (Idaho National Laboratories), just not a great quantities. We also purchased Pu-238 from the Russians a few times.
To answer your question about medicine, they quit using the same material in pacemakers a few decades ago. They use Lithium batteries now, starting in the early 80’s.
Bob did talk about this shortage a couple years ago in this article.
@Jay, Thanks for the info and the link back to Bob’s post.
On a tangential note, it’s funny how as we all get older, over 5 years becomes “a couple of years” !! ;-)
Some quotes:
“NASA / DOD are producing Plutonium 238.
It’s a different isotope, great for RTGs, useless for nuclear reactors.”
“Plutonium 239
Great for nuclear reactors, useless for RTGs.”
https://thebulletin.org/2020/04/britain-has-139-tons-of-plutonium-thats-a-real-problem/