October 24, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Chinese video fantasizing about building an underground lunar base
Pure powerpoint engineering. The concepts are fun, but this is very removed from reality.
- Indian rocket startup Skyroot releases animation of launch of its proposed Vikram-1 rocket
The music track actually detracts from this, as it makes it look like all sizzle and no steak.
- International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is considering regulating communications on the Moon
Hey, what could possibly go wrong, especially as the FCC is also getting involved? They are representatives of the government, here to help!
- Russia is considering using a Soyuz rocket as a missile to attack the Ukraine
This is junk news that makes little sense. It is unconfirmed, could be disinformation, and besides, it makes no technical sense to use an orbital rocket in this manner.
Readers!
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For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. 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.
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Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Chinese video fantasizing about building an underground lunar base
Pure powerpoint engineering. The concepts are fun, but this is very removed from reality.
- Indian rocket startup Skyroot releases animation of launch of its proposed Vikram-1 rocket
The music track actually detracts from this, as it makes it look like all sizzle and no steak.
- International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is considering regulating communications on the Moon
Hey, what could possibly go wrong, especially as the FCC is also getting involved? They are representatives of the government, here to help!
- Russia is considering using a Soyuz rocket as a missile to attack the Ukraine
This is junk news that makes little sense. It is unconfirmed, could be disinformation, and besides, it makes no technical sense to use an orbital rocket in this manner.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. 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.
I am hoping that Skyroot is successful. We have a pair of sats going up with them as a test. The first flight is most likely going to fail. They will learn and come back again. I hope.
R-7 now as the world’s largest IRBM?
Don’t put it past them
The reason Russians developed rockets was for use as weapons to threaten others. That’s it.
An orbital class rocket with an extra heavy payload with a superior guidance system can become a point to point delivery device as in https://spacenews.com/spacex-wins-102-million-air-force-contract-to-demonstrate-technologies-for-point-to-point-space-transportation/
It is a threat anyway, and an out of box response to ATACMS.
The question is if Russia could create a suitable payload.
R-7 used as an IRBM could field a larger than normal payload that would come almost straight down… plunging fire. That may be very hard to counter.