South Korea signs the Artemis Accords
On May 24 South Korea officially signed the Artemis Accords, joining nine other countries in the agreement designed as a work around of the Outer Space Treaty’s provisions in order to protect property rights in space.
By my count, that makes eight signatories, including Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates and Italy.
Essentially, the space-faring nations of the world are splitting into two groups, those who will follow these accords, and those who won’t, led by China and Russia. In a sense, we are seeing a renewal of the Cold War in space, with the western powers that believe in private enterprise and freedom aligned against those whose cultures are authoritarian and ruled from above.
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 or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. 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
On May 24 South Korea officially signed the Artemis Accords, joining nine other countries in the agreement designed as a work around of the Outer Space Treaty’s provisions in order to protect property rights in space.
By my count, that makes eight signatories, including Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates and Italy.
Essentially, the space-faring nations of the world are splitting into two groups, those who will follow these accords, and those who won’t, led by China and Russia. In a sense, we are seeing a renewal of the Cold War in space, with the western powers that believe in private enterprise and freedom aligned against those whose cultures are authoritarian and ruled from above.
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 or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. 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
Japan listed twice. Are their countries that want to join?
Mark: You are right. I have corrected the post.
Ukraine also signed.
In a sense, we are seeing a renewal of the Cold War in space, with the western powers that believe in private enterprise and freedom aligned against those whose cultures are authoritarian and ruled from above.
It’s good to see UAE in the former camp. They seem to be genuinely working towards still having an economy once the oil runs out.
Are their countries that want to join?
Several. Brazil and New Zealand are thought to be next.
The Spacenews website had an article from May 27th indicating that Brazil and New Zealand were likely the next two countries to sign the Artemis accords. Brazil last year signed a letter of intent. So opportunities for private space continue to grow around the world. I hope that Brazil can advance in smallsats. Just last week, Vaya Space announced that it will create a Brazilian subsidiary, and is now picking a location to manufacture. In New Zealand, Rocket Lab has a launch facility and there is more venture capital there going into private space, The future’s so bright, Bob gotta wear shades.
By c. AD 2050 – 2125, as global demographics crater and dustmote Earth confronts cyclical, plate-tectonic induced 102-kiloyear Pleistocene glaciations due to cover 60%+ of habitable landmasses with ice-sheets two miles thick (the Holocene Interglacial ended 670 years ago, in AD 1350), quantum “telesponding” –instantaneous entanglement/superposition from A to B anywhere in the dual-dynamic cosmos’ 94-billion LY “Eternal Present” interface)– will have rendered classical action-reaction rocketry as obsolete as canal boats vs. an SR-71.
As for neural-net AI, virtually immortal trans-human capabilities via hyperlinked, self-aware Cloud Minds will have superseded organic evolution: If hominids can’t lick our powerful creations, we’ll just join ’em. What form that takes is beyond current comprehension… but what we do know is, contemporaries’ extraordinarily self-deluded ignorance, reigning oligarchs’ antipathy to anything that smacks of noumenal reality, will go the way of Nineveh and Tyre.
Residual populations born c. 2050 will take all this for granted. But for our benighted milieu, three generations into the greatest cultural dearth since Late Roman times, the coming century will see more changes than all four previous eras from AD 1600.
“The future’s so bright, Bob gotta wear shades.”
Have the album, and the following effort (also pretty good). Appreciate the reference.
Dr. Who –
Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966)
[the Peter Cushing variant]
https://youtu.be/WCIk3Mf-hIc
4:57