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Readers!

 

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.

 

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 four ways of doing so:

 

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SpaceX launches two SES communication satellites

Only a few hours after SpaceX launched 52 Starlink satellites from California, the company successfully launched two communications satellites for the Luxembourg company SES, using its Falcon 9 rocket launching from Cape Canaveral.

The first stage completed its sixth flight, landing safely on a drone ship in the Atlantic. The rocket’s two fairings completed their third and seventh flights, respectively.

The leaders in the 2023 launch race:

19 SpaceX
11 China
4 Russia
2 Rocket Lab

American private enterprise now leads China 21 to 11 in the national rankings of this year’s launches, and the whole world combined 21 to 17. SpaceX by itself is tied with the rest of the world, including other American companies, 19 to 19.

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

4 comments

  • Jeff Wright

    SES—they’re a big deal.

  • sippin_bourbon

    Mr Z,

    Did you not used to have a link for story tips along with your evening pauses?

  • sippin_bourbon: I have periodically posted the guidelines below, while mentioning that if you have something you want to suggest, mention this fact in the comments (without posting a link), and I will get in touch with you. I have emailed you.

    The guidelines for submitting Evening Pauses:
    1. The subject line should say “evening pause.”
    2. Please send only one suggestion per email.
    3. Variety! Don’t send me five from the same artist. I can only use one. Pick your favorite and send that.
    4. Live performance preferred.
    5. Quirky technology, humor, and short entertaining films also work.
    6. Suggestions should generally be short, less than 10 minutes, preferable under 5 minutes
    7. Search BtB first to make sure your suggestion hasn’t already been posted.
    8. I might not respond immediately, as I schedule these in a bunch.
    9. Avoid the politics of the day. The pause is a break from such discussion.

  • Edward

    I remember less than a decade ago, more than five decades into the space age, ULA made a big deal out of launching twice within six days. Now, about a decade and a half after its first orbital launch, SpaceX has launched twice on the same day, and it is *yawn* no big deal, because it isn’t even the first time SpaceX has done so.

    What a difference a little commercial operations makes. I can hardly wait until Rocket lab begins multiple launches on the same day, and until even more commercial companies launch multiple times daily, too. Then we will really be “cooking with gas.”

    Because commercial space has made access to space more regular and less expensive, there are far more companies today doing business in space than there were before commercial space made its mark:
    https://spacenews.com/the-next-space-frontier-your-backyard/

    Lower entry barriers

    Technology evolution, decreasing launch costs, and higher demand for space products and services have created opportunities for entrepreneurs. The pandemic provided additional momentum with virtual incubators and accelerators. Investors, talent, suppliers, customers, and other resources became suddenly reachable through videoconference calls. Additionally, large and well-capitalized space companies, such as Blue Origin, are actively working on initiatives to help reduce barriers and costs to access and stay in space.

    ULA was a bit optimistic in 2016 when they predicted 20 people working in space by 2021, but the attitude and eagerness still exists inside many new and old companies.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxftPmpt7aA (“ULA Innovation: CisLunar-1000” 7 minutes)

    We are held back in manned space, because we are still in competition with government. Bigelow’s space habitat company went belly up because government delayed commercial manned space. Virgin Orbit is in serious danger of going belly up due to government delays in approving its launch license. Starship is still waiting for a launch approval two years after the FAA received the application. Boo government!

    Fortunately, NASA is working to solve, by the end of the decade, the problem of government competition. NASA’s plan is to get out of the way of commercial manned space and to use their commercial products instead of its own. Hurray NASA!

    Joe, one of the commenters here on BTB, started his own company to supply solar arrays for small cubesats. He is part of the solution. Hurray Joe!

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.

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