September 27, 2022 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who trolls Twitter so I don’t have to.
I will believe it when it actually happens.
Just a cool image.
More specifically, the “Crimean Federal District which will include Crimea and the occupied territories of Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.” If so, Rogozin’s head is essentially being put on the block. Ukrainian partisan forces have been very successful at killing such leaders.
I guess this is a reward by Putin for Rogozin’s skill at losing Russia billions in commercial satellite sales.
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:
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Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who trolls Twitter so I don’t have to.
I will believe it when it actually happens.
Just a cool image.
More specifically, the “Crimean Federal District which will include Crimea and the occupied territories of Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.” If so, Rogozin’s head is essentially being put on the block. Ukrainian partisan forces have been very successful at killing such leaders.
I guess this is a reward by Putin for Rogozin’s skill at losing Russia billions in commercial satellite sales.
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.
Rumor has it Putin had convinced Bezos to put Rogozin in charge of getting the BE-4 into high-rate production. But when he saw the design, Putin relented and put him in charge of occupied Ukraine instead. Putin reportedly said “Sure, I’m a stone-cold killer, but I just couldn’t do it to the poor guy!”
Ha! In lighter news-it looks like a book is in the works on AMT’s best seller:
https://culttvman.com/main/amts-enterprise-at-55/
Do a search on “Shaw’s AMT model drawings” and you will find a great drawing of it-Jay Chaldek has a good write-up.
The Kerr/Casimiro drawings of the 11 foot filming model are top notch.
I don’t really get the “Where are my engine, Jeff?” thing that is somewhat going on. Yes, there were delays, but it happens. New Glenn was announced in 2016, same year as Starship.
Up to this day, none of them reached an Orbit. But that is also true for Ariane 6 and H3, all rockets “from” 2016 with a NET-launch in 2020.
In late 2018 BO was making it clear that New Glenn won’t fly in 2020. One year later (end of September 2019) E Musk was still talking of doing Orbital Test with the MK-series in half a year (April 2020). Again, none of them were able to reach an Orbit until now. But BO was way more realistic and open about their delays, which is striking because they don’t talk much compared to SpaceX.
The other point is that normally rockets fly for several decades. The Atlas 5, Delta 4, Ariane 6, H-II, Proton… so another 3 months of delays are bad, but not the end of the world. Probably they will still be used for quite some time.
I see it this way. If SpaceX for some reason would fall apart (or Starship is nowhere near as an all-rounder as hoped), we would still get a Vulcan that is partially reusable and has some advantages over a falcon 9 (not in every category but they exist). And we get an overall better version of a Falcon Heavy with New Glenn. The expensive days of Atlas 5 and Delta 4 are gone.
I’m looking forward to all “paper” rockets, knowing very well that some companies will fail, and some won’t have a big impact on the field.
Every month with get new delays, it is unavoidable. So let’s celebrate the good news. I’m mean, the good news (progress) are the one keeping use interested and exited for this.