October 4, 2022 Quick space links
- Northrop Grumman names next Cygnus cargo freighter after Sally Ride
The launch is presently scheduled for November 6, 2022.
- China to develop nine new rocket engines by 2028
The first on the list is their attempt to copy or beat SpaceX’s Raptor-2 engine. I wonder if their academic spies in the U.S. have managed to steal some juicy engineering data.
- Astronauts growing rice and tomatoes on Tiangong-3 space station
Too early to say if these experiments are a success, but they follow many similar planet experiments on the Salyut stations, Mir, and ISS.
- Iran completes suborbital rocket test launch
According to the state-run press, the rocket, dubbed Saman, tested an “orbital transmission system and … its capability to change the orbit of satellites in near-space conditions.”
- Viasat sells off part of its company to pay debts
Company officials try to paint a rosy picture, but the future does not look good for this established geosynchronous satellite company.
- OneWeb satellites installed on GSLV rocket for October launch
Though OneWeb signed first with SpaceX to replace the Russians launch services, it appears the company wants to launch first with India.
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.
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- Northrop Grumman names next Cygnus cargo freighter after Sally Ride
The launch is presently scheduled for November 6, 2022.
- China to develop nine new rocket engines by 2028
The first on the list is their attempt to copy or beat SpaceX’s Raptor-2 engine. I wonder if their academic spies in the U.S. have managed to steal some juicy engineering data.
- Astronauts growing rice and tomatoes on Tiangong-3 space station
Too early to say if these experiments are a success, but they follow many similar planet experiments on the Salyut stations, Mir, and ISS.
- Iran completes suborbital rocket test launch
According to the state-run press, the rocket, dubbed Saman, tested an “orbital transmission system and … its capability to change the orbit of satellites in near-space conditions.”
- Viasat sells off part of its company to pay debts
Company officials try to paint a rosy picture, but the future does not look good for this established geosynchronous satellite company.
- OneWeb satellites installed on GSLV rocket for October launch
Though OneWeb signed first with SpaceX to replace the Russians launch services, it appears the company wants to launch first with India.
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.
“China to develop nine new rocket engines by 2028”
There are infrequent times that I think China steals things from us because the rest of us steal from everyone else, them too.
Then I remember that China is older than most all the ages of the current world’s countries combined.
What a role model.
.
For one astronaut’s take on Sally Ride, read “Riding Rockets” by Mike Mullane. A hell of a good book about the real “right stuff”. Safe to say he would prefer a spacecraft named after Judith Resnick.