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.
Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of founder of the Mars Society.
All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. The ebook can also be purchased direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from me (hardback $24.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $5.00). Just email me at zimmerman @ nasw dot org.
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.
Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of founder of the Mars Society.
All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. The ebook can also be purchased direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from me (hardback $24.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $5.00). Just email me at zimmerman @ nasw dot org.
SES—they’re a big deal.
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.
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/
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!