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Readers!

 

It is now July, time once again to celebrate the start of this webpage in 2010 with my annual July fund-raising campaign.

 

This year I celebrate the fifteenth anniversary since I began Behind the Black. During that time I have done more than 33,000 posts, mostly covering the global space industry and the related planetary and astronomical science that comes from it. Along the way I have also felt compelled as a free American citizen to regularly post my thoughts on the politics and culture of the time, partly because I think it is important for free Americans to do so, and partly because those politics and that culture have a direct impact on the future of our civilization and its on-going efforts to explore and eventually colonize the solar system.

 

You can’t understand one without understanding the other.

 

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Sierra Space signs up its first customer for its commercial space station

Capitalism in space: Sierra Space, the newly created space division of Sierra Nevada, announced last week that it has signed an agreement with Redwire, formerly known as Made in Space, to establish manufacturing facilities on its LIFE private space station.

The press release is vague about details, being mostly a sales pitch for encouraging other in-space manufacturing companies to consider partnering with Sierra. This in turn suggests the agreement is nothing more that a statement by Redwire that should Sierra’s station launch, it will then be willing to launch its 3D printing technology to it.

Nonetheless, this agreement lends weight to Sierra’s station proposal, which while plausible still remains somewhat vague as there is no indication on when the company plans to launch it.

Genesis cover

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

2 comments

  • STARBIRD

    I always remembered that Space Stations were always ring shaped with central sphear and they rotated to create artificial gravity

  • Edward

    From the linked article:

    The memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) in the emerging In-Space Manufacturing (ISM) industry is among new commercial agreements for Sierra Space [new subsidiary of Sierra Nevada] across multiple industries – including space-enabled manufacturing, biopharma research, on-orbit satellite servicing assembly and manufacturing, and microgravity research.

    This is excellent news. Even though it is only a memorandum of understanding, it shows that there is growing interest in space manufacturing facilities. The coming decade should be very exciting.

    “The market demand for a ‘space-as-a-service’ business model, offering space transportation, destinations and infrastructure, is truly exciting.”

    Wait. Wasn’t that what I just said?

    “The companies and countries that master microgravity R&D and manufacturing will be the economic leaders of tomorrow,” said Mike Gold, who, last month, left his position at NASA as Associate Administrator for Policy and Partnerships to join Redwire …

    Sierra Space and Axiom seem serious about putting space habitats in orbit. If Bigelow comes back, they seem serious, too. I have not heard from Ixion in a while, but they had ideas for space habitats, as well. Getting someone from such a high position at NASA makes it look like Redwire is serious about space manufacturing. Have I mentioned that this coming decade should be very exciting?

    Robert wrote: “… Sierra’s station proposal, which while plausible still remains somewhat vague as there is no indication on when the company plans to launch it.

    Which means that it is not yet a plan. Redwire must have received some indication as to when Sierra’s station could or should be ready, so that Redwire can plan and finance their manufacturing facility.

    Depending upon how far along the design is, Sierra Space could use Redwire’s requirements as an important guide for that design.

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