November 1, 2024 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.
- Sierra Space claims it is in the final steps to getting its LIFE inflatable module approved by NASA
This module will be about the only thing in the Orbital Reef station that is moving forward aggressively.
- Interview with NASA’s deputy manager supervising SpaceX’s contract for building the manned lunar lander based on Starship
Essentially, he outlines why a fixed-price contract and letting the company run the show, makes things happen. It also appears his office is doing things right.
- NASA’s corrupt and useless safety panel scolds SpaceX for not being perfect
This panel should have been disbanded years ago, when it claimed fueling the Falcon 9 with crew on board would be more dangerous. It is all politics, and it actually knows very little about modern rocketry.
- ULA’s Vulcan rocket wins 2024 Dr. Wernher von Braun spaceflight Trophy Award
This is essentially a participation award for a big contractor in the Huntsville area.
- Chinese pseudo-company claims it will build a rocket which will land using its own chopstick tower, and do it by ’26 at the latest
All they have right now is a short video animation essentially redrawing the actual Superheavy landing SpaceX did last month, plus about $14 million in funding.
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 refuse 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.
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.
- Sierra Space claims it is in the final steps to getting its LIFE inflatable module approved by NASA
This module will be about the only thing in the Orbital Reef station that is moving forward aggressively.
- Interview with NASA’s deputy manager supervising SpaceX’s contract for building the manned lunar lander based on Starship
Essentially, he outlines why a fixed-price contract and letting the company run the show, makes things happen. It also appears his office is doing things right.
- NASA’s corrupt and useless safety panel scolds SpaceX for not being perfect
This panel should have been disbanded years ago, when it claimed fueling the Falcon 9 with crew on board would be more dangerous. It is all politics, and it actually knows very little about modern rocketry.
- ULA’s Vulcan rocket wins 2024 Dr. Wernher von Braun spaceflight Trophy Award
This is essentially a participation award for a big contractor in the Huntsville area.
- Chinese pseudo-company claims it will build a rocket which will land using its own chopstick tower, and do it by ’26 at the latest
All they have right now is a short video animation essentially redrawing the actual Superheavy landing SpaceX did last month, plus about $14 million in funding.
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 refuse 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.
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.