Scroll down to read this post.

 

Readers!

 

The time has come for my annual short Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, 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. 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.

 

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 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.


May 3, 2023 Quick space links

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

 

Genesis cover

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. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. 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

5 comments

  • Lee S

    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.

  • Jay

    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.

  • Lee S

    @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” !! ;-)

  • Jeff Wright

    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/

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *