November 9, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who sent them on time but I am late posting them.
- Blue Origin issues another short PR promo
This is same all-sizzle-no-steak stuff we’ve seen seeing from the company now for seven years.
- Astra’s co-founders offer to buy up the company’s stock to take it private
They are offering $1.5 per share, about double the share’s present price. If accepted it will be very entertaining to see if this action saves Astra. It surely appears however that these men, Chris Kemp and Adam London, are still firmly committed to the company.
- Chinese pseudo-company Space Pioneer touts its Falcon-9-class rocket targeting a June 2024 launch
The pseudo-company has raised a lot of cash, and has one successful orbital launch with its first version of this rocket.
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.
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Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who sent them on time but I am late posting them.
- Blue Origin issues another short PR promo
This is same all-sizzle-no-steak stuff we’ve seen seeing from the company now for seven years.
- Astra’s co-founders offer to buy up the company’s stock to take it private
They are offering $1.5 per share, about double the share’s present price. If accepted it will be very entertaining to see if this action saves Astra. It surely appears however that these men, Chris Kemp and Adam London, are still firmly committed to the company.
- Chinese pseudo-company Space Pioneer touts its Falcon-9-class rocket targeting a June 2024 launch
The pseudo-company has raised a lot of cash, and has one successful orbital launch with its first version of this rocket.
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.
This move by Astra shows that they were premature in their move to go private.
I am not familiar with liquidation sales.
Is it easier and involve less regulations if Astra goes private and then liquidate?
This feels like desperation.
Chinese F9 competitor claims to have “reusable engines”, but also shows bthings in photo that could be landing legs.
We shall see. I have a hunch that SpaceX has made relanding appear to be a bit easier than it actually is!
Ray,
Let’s look at two things. Yes, many of the competitors made the claim of reusable engines. So far all their tests are just re-firing the engines many times in a row or just servicing and re–firing the same engine. The test they have not done yet is firing an engine after reentry. The one thing we talk about much at work is the materials they use in the engines and this is something the Chinese are behind in.
The second item is the landing legs. Lots of the designs have cables to help the landing. I would not be surprised if they use a parachute to help with the first three landings.