October 18, 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.
- Varda has gotten okay from Australia to land its capsules at the commercial Southern Launch range/spaceport
The company did this I am sure because of the hassles the FAA and Army gave it in returning its capsules in the U.S.
- Another pseudo-Chinese rocket company appears, dubbed “CosmoLeap”
The graphic is hilarious. They plan to use this new idea of using launch tower chopsticks to catch their first stage. What originality! And I’m sure they have this working in no time!
- Someone takes a close look at the cost overruns by Bechtel in failing to build the SLS 2nd mobile launcher
His conclusion: “With the right attitude and cost plus contract structures there are no limits to how expensive something can become.”
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.
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.
- Varda has gotten okay from Australia to land its capsules at the commercial Southern Launch range/spaceport
The company did this I am sure because of the hassles the FAA and Army gave it in returning its capsules in the U.S.
- Another pseudo-Chinese rocket company appears, dubbed “CosmoLeap”
The graphic is hilarious. They plan to use this new idea of using launch tower chopsticks to catch their first stage. What originality! And I’m sure they have this working in no time!
- Someone takes a close look at the cost overruns by Bechtel in failing to build the SLS 2nd mobile launcher
His conclusion: “With the right attitude and cost plus contract structures there are no limits to how expensive something can become.”
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.
Elon Musk’s Mother, Father, and ex-wives talking about him
August 2024
https://youtu.be/EsXQ_TpmCwg
14:29
Even Gavin Newsom finds the California Coastal Commission indefensible!
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/18/elon-newsom-musk-california-spacex-00184408
Elon reacted on X: “Nice to hear”
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1847387207612715354