Scroll down to read this post.

 

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


SpaceX has about 100 Starlink terminals working in Iran

Though the Iranian government opposes their use, according to a tweet by Elon Musk SpaceX now has almost 100 Starlink terminals working in Iran.

Elon Musk announced that SpaceX has almost 100 Starlink terminals active in Iran. SpaceX activated Starlink services in Iran in September, supporting the United States’ stance on providing internet freedom and free flow of information to Iranians.

Unlike Ukraine, SpaceX does not have the cooperation of the Iranian government to expand Starlink services in the country. In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zlenskyy and the Minister of digital transformation Mykhailo Feorov have actively supports Starlink connection during the war with Russia.

In contrast, the Iranian government is actively trying to limit its citizens’ internet access. The United States government has taken a stance against the Iranian government’s decision regarding internet access for its people.

SpaceX has routinely cooperated with foreign governments before selling terminals, likely because to do otherwise would get it in trouble with the U.S. State Department. In this case however the State Department appears to have approved this action, and SpaceX then made it happen.

The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.

 

Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the 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. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

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.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. 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.
 

3. A Paypal Donation:

4. A Paypal subscription:


5. 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. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.

9 comments

  • Skunk Bucket

    Just one more reason to appreciate Elon Musk.

  • pzatchok

    Even if he didn’t do it intentionally the rich in Iran would travel out of country and find a way to get their own Links back inside the country to use. Its is happening every place.
    All they have to do is keep paying the bills by credit card.
    All Musk has to do is keep the satellites active over those countries. Personally if I was him I would just never turn them off.

  • Ray Van Dune

    The Russians supposedly have the technical means to locate a StarLink ground station at some distance, for use in Ukraine warfighting. Since they share points of view and drones with the Iranian tyrants, we can expect that ability to be quickly shared with Iran, making the possession of a StarLink ground station a dangerous proposition, and the capture of a ground station by the mullahs a threat to be realized at any time.

  • Col Beausabre

    Does the ground station emit a signal?

  • Ray Van Dune

    Col. Beausabre, to enable two-way communication, the ground station would have to emit a signal of some sort., whether it encoded its location or merely served as a beacon. The obvious conclusion is that if the mullahs snatched a disk, now they’re broadcasting THEIR location! And if the Russians can locate it, you can bet some others can do so even better!

  • Edward_2

    I hope the Iranian people are successful in overthrowing the cruel Ayatola regime who control that once great country which has been worse than the Shah had ever been.

  • Christopher Lopes

    Is there any proof (as in destroyed ground stations) that the Russians actually have this ability?

  • pzatchok

    Its a directional signal. Up. and not sending all the time. Plus the units are mobile.

    I bet at least a few of the units are in the hands of the Iranian security forces and a few in the direct hands of the mullahs themselves.
    Identify the rich who routinely travel in and out of the country and you will have found the most likely to be the first to acquire them. And those are the very people who have the ability to hide them.

    As for the Russians finding them. There is no proof they have captured or destroyed any by radio wave triangulation in the Ukraine let alone in Russia.

  • Jeff Wright

    What could Iran do to LEO? The Russians at least have some space presence they might like to keep. Iran doesn’t care.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *