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Readers! A November fund-raising drive!

 

It is unfortunately time for another November fund-raising campaign to support my work here at Behind the Black. I really dislike doing these, but 2025 is so far turning out to be a very poor year for donations and subscriptions, the worst since 2020. I very much need your support for this webpage to survive.

 

And I think I provide real value. Fifteen years ago I said SLS was garbage and should be cancelled. Almost a decade ago I said Orion was a lie and a bad idea. As early as 1998, long before almost anyone else, I predicted in my first book, Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, that private enterprise and freedom would conquer the solar system, not government. Very early in the COVID panic and continuing throughout I noted that every policy put forth by the government (masks, social distancing, lockdowns, jab mandates) was wrong, misguided, and did more harm than good. In planetary science, while everyone else in the media still thinks Mars has no water, I have been reporting the real results from the orbiters now for more than five years, that Mars is in fact a planet largely covered with ice.

 

I could continue with numerous other examples. If you want to know what others will discover a decade hence, read what I write here at Behind the Black. And if you read my most recent book, Conscious Choice, you will find out what is going to happen in space in the next century.

 

 

This last claim might sound like hubris on my part, but I base it on my overall track record.

 

So please consider donating or subscribing to Behind the Black, either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. I could really use the support at this time. There are five 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. Takes about a 10% cut.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription, which takes about a 15% cut:

 

4. Donate by check. I get whatever you donate. Make the check payable to Robert Zimmerman and mail it to
 
Behind The Black
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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.


Space Perspectives unveils luxurious interior of Neptune high altitude balloon

Capitalism in space: Space Perspectives has now unveiled the high class stateroom interior that it plans to put inside its Neptune high altitude balloon that will take tourists to 30+ miles altitude.

Space Perspective just released artist’s illustrations of the interior of Spaceship Neptune, which will include 360-degree panoramic windows and even a restroom with a view. The announcement Tuesday (April 12) coincided with the anniversary of the first human spaceflight by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961.

Based on the imagery, Spaceship Neptune’s cabin appears to come in at least a couple of configurations. One has reclining seats, for example, while another with couches can accommodate a “more intimate dinner for two or special event,” Space Perspective representatives said in a statement on Tuesday.

Space Perspective will provide food and beverage services, and the capsule features mood lighting that can be dimmed to see stars or the curvature of Earth outside. Also included in the capsule’s “Space Lounge” will be a telescope, interactive screens and decorations such as floor lamps and plants to “remind us of the interconnected nature of our planet,” the company added.

The company hopes to begin commercial flights by ’24, each of which will last about six hours. Tickets are priced at $125K each, with the company saying it already has 600 people on its waiting list.

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 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

5 comments

  • Skunk Bucket

    $125k would be a good value for space tourism, except for one thing – you’re going nowhere near space. Still, if I had that kind of money just laying around, I might do it. It sounds like a lot of fun.

  • Mike Puckett

    How do the steer and recover the gondola?

  • For the actual flight of six hours, the cost comes to about $350/minute, but depending on what the price includes (transportation/hotel/meals), could be amortized over more time. Still.

    Is there a badge for the 30-Mile Club?

  • Jeff Wright

    This is a good altitude-above the clouds, longer stay than suborbital-comfy. Chute mostly pre-deployed with balloon above? Have suborbitals fly past perhaps..severe storms north to look at sprites.

  • jburn

    This will be an extremely and comfortable approach to an off planet experience. Imagine a high altitude yacht, with almost every creature comfort available on land and incredible, breath taking views on the edge of planets atmosphere.

    Of course you would miss the nausea, vomiting, difficult and messy toilets, migraine headaches, truly horrible food, lack of adult beverages, cramped quarters, lack of privacy and small windows found on space stations. However, there are zero g air flights if you’re craving these experiences to check off something on your bucket list.

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