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The time has come for my annual short Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, 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. 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. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally 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.

 

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SpaceX launches two more Galileo GPS-type satellites for Europe

SpaceX this afternoon successfully launched two Galileo GPS-type satellites for Europe, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral.

The first stage completed its 22nd flight, landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic. The fairings flew their for their 3rd and 8th times respectively. The launch was the second launch by SpaceX for Europe’s Galileo constellation. The European Commission was forced to award this multi-launch contract to SpaceX because Europe’s Ariane-6 rocket was four years behind schedule and not available when needed.

The leaders in the 2024 launch race:

92 SpaceX
38 China
11 Russia
10 Rocket Lab

American private enterprise now leads the rest of the world combined in successful launches 107 to 60, while SpaceX by itself still leads the entire world, including American companies, 92 to 75.

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

  • Terry

    Jan……10
    Feb…….9
    Mar…..13 (1 was IFT-3 of Starship/Super Heavy)
    Apr…..12
    May….13
    June…12 (1 was IFT-4 of Starship/Super Heavy, 1 was Falcon Heavy)
    July……5 (FAA stand down of two weeks)
    Aug.…12
    Sep…….6 (5 at mid-month)

    134 (12 flights monthly for remaining 4 months)
    138 (13 flights monthly for remaining 4 months)
    142 (14 flights monthly for remaining 4 months)

    I am now projecting the 2024 SpaceX flights to total in the low 130 range now that open lawfare has erupted between SpaceX and the FAA. I would love to be proven wrong on this

  • Edward

    Terry,
    Thank you for the numbers. It looks to me as though there were 48 Falcon 9 launches in the 122 days of March through June. This cadence could come to 143.6 launches in a 365 day year (144 for this year). Since the cadence has not been improving much this past half year, SpaceX may be finding its maximum rate that it can launch Falcon 9s.

    If I add in the Falcon Heavy launches, then there were 50 launches in the 122 day period, suggesting that SpaceX has a capability to launch 150 times in a 366-day year. Plus Starship launches.

    I remember that a dozen years ago SpaceX had done a test to see if it could turn around their launch pad in 24 hours. It was a dry run without a launch beforehand. I do not remember whether they gave a report on how successful they were, but they did get a Falcon vertical on the pad within 24 hours. That part is relatively easy, but there is a lot of other work that gets done to prepare for a launch.

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