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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 20 Starlink satellites

SpaceX tonight successfully launched 20 Starlink satellites, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Vandenberg in California.

The satellites included 13 of the Starlink direct-to-cell satellites. The first stage successfully completed its eighth flight, landing on a drone ship in the Pacific.

The leaders in the 2024 launch race:

113 SpaceX
51 China
13 Russia
12 Rocket Lab

American private enterprise now leads the rest of the world combined in successful launches 131 to 76, while SpaceX by itself leads the entire world, including American companies, 113 to 94.

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

One comment

  • 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…….9
    Oct…..12 (Another FAA stand down)(1 was IFT-5 of Starship/Super Heavy, 1 was Falcon Heavy)
    Nov……7. (At mid-month)

    129 (11 flights monthly for remaining 2 months)
    131 (12 flights monthly for remaining 2 months)
    133 (13 flights monthly for remaining 2months)
    135 (14 flights monthly for remaining 2 months)

    My projected range is now 129 to 135 flights in 2024, as compared to my last projection in mid-October of 128 to 137 flights.

    The SpaceX launch pace quickened to 14 flights from mid-October to mid-November. It will be interesting to see if SpaceX can manage a record breaking 14 (or more) flights in the full month of November.

    Unfortunately, 150 flights this year is completely out of the question as SpaceX would need to launch at a cadence of 21.5 flights per month starting November 1. Even 140 flights is out of reach now as they would need a cadence of 16.5 flights per month. SpaceX’s best month in 2024 is only 13 flights and they have only done that twice.

    I am still projecting the 2024 SpaceX flight total to be in the low 130’s, but the chances of the mid-130’s has increased due to Musk targeting 30 flights for November and December.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

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