November 20, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- NASA and Boeing are now targeting an April 14, 2024 launch of the first manned Starliner mission
That date still depends on the results from a planned January parachute drop test to see if Boeing has fixed their faulty design.
- How to watch the final minutes of Ariane-6’s final dress rehearsal countdown, including an 8-minute engine burn of the rocket’s core stage
The test is scheduled for November 23, 2023
- Upcoming Chinese launches will have drop zones in habitable areas of China
The link has maps showing a variety of drop zones, but because the text is in Chinese, it is unclear when those launches will occur, and with what rocket. If anyone can translate please comment here.
- Boeing today celebrates 25 years of ISS operations
The picture shows the first module, Russian-built Zarya, the completion of which was paid for by American taxpayers. One wonders if its condition is as bad now as Russia’s other early module, Zvezda.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. 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.
- NASA and Boeing are now targeting an April 14, 2024 launch of the first manned Starliner mission
That date still depends on the results from a planned January parachute drop test to see if Boeing has fixed their faulty design.
- How to watch the final minutes of Ariane-6’s final dress rehearsal countdown, including an 8-minute engine burn of the rocket’s core stage
The test is scheduled for November 23, 2023
- Upcoming Chinese launches will have drop zones in habitable areas of China
The link has maps showing a variety of drop zones, but because the text is in Chinese, it is unclear when those launches will occur, and with what rocket. If anyone can translate please comment here.
- Boeing today celebrates 25 years of ISS operations
The picture shows the first module, Russian-built Zarya, the completion of which was paid for by American taxpayers. One wonders if its condition is as bad now as Russia’s other early module, Zvezda.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. 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.
Interesting response from Tory Bruno on ULA’s development approach vs SpaceX.
https://x.com/torybruno/status/1726278308466467167?s=46
Looks like the Chinese launches are on Nov 23. I didn’t see any times for that date though
To Gary
What he means is: ” I work for cheapskate dirtbags.”
Gary,
Bruno’s “Test-fail-fix” experience may have been under a slower developmental system.
Since SpaceX has so many newer versions of test units, it is possible that some of their units already have updated versions of what has failed on the most recent test. This latest one already had an electrical, rather than hydraulic, Flight Termination System.
A variety of looks at the Starship launch.
https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-second-launch-test-amazing-photos