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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.
 

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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.


Update on SpaceX activities leading to the next Superheavy/Starship orbital test flight

Link here. Lots happening, including fueling and static fire tests of Starship prototype #26 (which will not fly) and major changes on Starship prototype #30, which is slated to make that fifth test flight:

Ship 30 continues to receive upgrades, preparing it for Flight Five. Now, with most of the older tiles removed [18,000 total], new similar-sized tiles are being attached to Ship 30. These tiles could potentially have a different formula, which would make them more resistant to heat while holding a similar size.

Also, an ablative pyron layer is being added to the hot spots where Ship 30 is most likely infiltrated by plasma during entry. Pyron is used in the Falcon 9’s engine bay and is a material that SpaceX knows and trusts.

SpaceX has said it is targeting July for the flight, and the FAA has said the company’s launch license will allow it to launch whenever it is ready, with no FAA red tape to stand in the way.

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

4 comments

  • ” . . . FAA has said the company’s launch license will allow it to launch whenever it is ready, with no FAA red tape to stand in the way.”

    Could it be, that the ‘We really need this capability, folks’ lobby is gaining influence in Washington?

  • MDN

    Actually there is a caveat wrt the launch license status. As it stands SpaceX appears clear to fly again with a mission profile substantively similar to that flight 4. If however they do want to attempt a true Return to Launch Site booster recovery with a Megazilla Catch maneuver, then they are going to need to file an updated launch profile and an amended license for the flight.

    Given the heat shield refurb under way on ship 30 and the pace of progress on Tower 2, I wouldn’t be surprised if they do decide to go for it. My logic here is as follows:

    – The ship 30 work will probably take a few more weeks than expected, so call it late August instead of July

    – All the parts for Tower 2 are essentially done and ready to stack

    – The crane to stack them is now on site and being assembled too, so erecting the tower by lickity split seems feasible

    – With that done but not yet plumbed into the tank farm or having an orbital launch mount, Tower 2 would still seem fully ready to try a catch with

    – And if that goes badly they hit a snag, but the main Tower 1 and Stage 0 infrastructure would likely be OK unless they fubar wildly

    So my guess is end of August with a catch attempt on Tower 2.. But that is all it is, a guess.

  • MDN: While everything you say makes sense, I think it would be a mistake for SpaceX to go for a chopstick landing on the next launch. I say, better to get off the ground quickly to test the new tiles and learn more about getting Starship back to Earth in one piece. If they launch in July and succeed at this, they could then apply immediately with the FAA for a chopstick landing on the next flight, and possibly be ready to launch again in August or early September, with FAA approval.

    This provides a much faster pace of operations, something SpaceX is known for.

  • Jeff Wright

    Agreed… maybe an even steeper trajectory to see how much Starship can take.

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