September 26, 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.
- Stoke Space touts the water deluge system for its new engine test stand
If I were them, I wouldn’t broadcast this as it increases the chances that the thugs at the EPA will move in to shut it down.
- Rocket startup Maiaspace wins lease to take over old Soyuz launchpad in French Guiana
The startup is owned entirely by ArianeGroup, builder of the Ariane-6 rocket, and is attempting to build a smaller reusuable rocket.
- Total debris from breakup of Chinese upper stage Long March 6 rocket in August now totals 538 objects
Tracking detected an additional 149.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
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.
- Stoke Space touts the water deluge system for its new engine test stand
If I were them, I wouldn’t broadcast this as it increases the chances that the thugs at the EPA will move in to shut it down.
- Rocket startup Maiaspace wins lease to take over old Soyuz launchpad in French Guiana
The startup is owned entirely by ArianeGroup, builder of the Ariane-6 rocket, and is attempting to build a smaller reusuable rocket.
- Total debris from breakup of Chinese upper stage Long March 6 rocket in August now totals 538 objects
Tracking detected an additional 149.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Netanyahu Issues Clear Warning To Iran
(9-27-24)
https://youtu.be/uA16IyrWy8c
35:52
This is kind of big. Via Ryan Caton of NASASpaceFlight just now, a remarkable revelation from the NASA Crew-9 Pre-launch briefing:
“@NASA’s Steve Stich announced that Dragon now has the ability to utilise its SuperDraco thrusters, designed for a launch escape scenario, during splashdown in the event that all 4 parachutes fail. @SpaceX’s Bill Gerstenmaier says that this capability has been flown before, however this is just the first time it is being flown on a @NASA mission. He confirms it allows Dragon to fire the SuperDracos “at the very end” to provide a “tolerable landing” for the crew. @SpaceX got “good comments” from the @PolarisProgram Dawn crew, and will share those with the spaceflight community. “We have extra confidence in our Draco thrusters” – I wonder what this could be referencing.”
https://x.com/dpoddolphinpro/status/1839791191258255771
NASA briefing video, in full, on X: https://x.com/NASA/status/1839774343464735043
Now, to be sure, the chances of all four Dragon parachutes ever failing simultaneously on a Crew Dragon EDL are….pretty goshdarned remote. As in, “move your decimal point over a few places” remote. But it is still very interesting to learn that NASA has sanctioned a regime for retropropulsive EDL for a crewed spaceship with its astronauts on board, a regime which has been worked out carefully and programmed with NASA approval — even if it is only for a last resort scenario. Because this could be the first crack in the door that gets us to regularized retropropulsive landing of crewed spacecraft on Earth. Even if it ends up taking NASA longer than commercial customers to make it normative for *its* employees.
Being really pedantic here – comment under first link: “If I were they”. Sounds weird, but calls for the nominative case.
Andi: What I wrote just sounds right, even if it is wrong grammatically.
Bob: fair enough. The stone those rules are cast in isn’t all that hard.. :)