November 13, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Sierra Space prepares for first full scale test-to-failure of its inflatable manned LIFE module.
The company is targeting a December 2023 test.
- ESA is apparently rigging things to favor one space cargo company
After announcing the program allowing private European companies to build their own cargo freighters to bring supplies to space stations and compete for contracts, it appears the European Space Agency (ESA) revised the rules so that the only capsule that meets the specs is being built by The Exploration Company in France. In other words, Europe still doesn’t understand capitalism and competition, and is fixing the game. The result will once again be more failure from ESA.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Sierra Space prepares for first full scale test-to-failure of its inflatable manned LIFE module.
The company is targeting a December 2023 test.
- ESA is apparently rigging things to favor one space cargo company
After announcing the program allowing private European companies to build their own cargo freighters to bring supplies to space stations and compete for contracts, it appears the European Space Agency (ESA) revised the rules so that the only capsule that meets the specs is being built by The Exploration Company in France. In other words, Europe still doesn’t understand capitalism and competition, and is fixing the game. The result will once again be more failure from ESA.
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, 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 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
Real Pushback: Conservative family sues Biden Justice Department for “‘Malicious and Retaliatory Prosecution”
The Houck Family: Targets of FBI harassment and arrest.
It is surprisng the Gestapo FBI didn’t frog march the mother
and her children to prison as well. Can’t have anyone raising
children to be Christian and upstanding, can we?
Bring a gun to a knife fight: Mark Houck, who was arrested by a Justice Department SWAT team aiming guns and rifles at him and his family and was quickly found innocent of all charges, has now sued the Biden Justice Department and Merrick Garland for committing a “malicious and retaliatory prosecution.”
Actually, two lawsuits were filed. While Houck has sued for $1.1 million, his wife Ryan-Marie Houck is seeking $3.25 million in damages for the mental harm the arrest caused herself and her children.
Ryan-Marie Houck’s complaint describes how profoundly her husband’s arrest has impacted their children, Mark Jr., Ava Marie, Kathryn, Therese, Joshua, Augustine, and Imelda.
“Her children have also suffered immense emotional trauma and physical manifestations of stress that Mrs. Houck has carried alone while her husband was away during his imprisonment and prosecution,” the complaint says. Most tragically of all, her complaint says, Ryan-Marie and Mark Houck have lost three babies through miscarriages “due to the stress of the FBI’s conduct and resulting prosecution.”
“The stress of these events was so difficult that the Houcks have been diagnosed with infertility,” the complaint says.
This story is an update of two previous blacklist columns, in September 2022, just after the arrest, and January 2023, after Houck was found innocent of all charges. From the beginning the charges by the Biden Justice Department could clearly be seen as trumped up and malicious. The original minor pushing incident between Houck and pro-abortion activist — in order to stop that activist from harassing his young son — was so minor that a local court had immediately dismissed it. When Justice renewed those charges Houck told them he would be glad to surrender himself peaceable.
Instead, Justice sent a well-armed large SWAT team to invade his home at 6:30 in the morning, pointing weapons at everyone, including the screaming children. » Read more
The Houck Family: Targets of FBI harassment and arrest.
It is surprisng the Gestapo FBI didn’t frog march the mother
and her children to prison as well. Can’t have anyone raising
children to be Christian and upstanding, can we?
Bring a gun to a knife fight: Mark Houck, who was arrested by a Justice Department SWAT team aiming guns and rifles at him and his family and was quickly found innocent of all charges, has now sued the Biden Justice Department and Merrick Garland for committing a “malicious and retaliatory prosecution.”
Actually, two lawsuits were filed. While Houck has sued for $1.1 million, his wife Ryan-Marie Houck is seeking $3.25 million in damages for the mental harm the arrest caused herself and her children.
Ryan-Marie Houck’s complaint describes how profoundly her husband’s arrest has impacted their children, Mark Jr., Ava Marie, Kathryn, Therese, Joshua, Augustine, and Imelda.
“Her children have also suffered immense emotional trauma and physical manifestations of stress that Mrs. Houck has carried alone while her husband was away during his imprisonment and prosecution,” the complaint says. Most tragically of all, her complaint says, Ryan-Marie and Mark Houck have lost three babies through miscarriages “due to the stress of the FBI’s conduct and resulting prosecution.”
“The stress of these events was so difficult that the Houcks have been diagnosed with infertility,” the complaint says.
This story is an update of two previous blacklist columns, in September 2022, just after the arrest, and January 2023, after Houck was found innocent of all charges. From the beginning the charges by the Biden Justice Department could clearly be seen as trumped up and malicious. The original minor pushing incident between Houck and pro-abortion activist — in order to stop that activist from harassing his young son — was so minor that a local court had immediately dismissed it. When Justice renewed those charges Houck told them he would be glad to surrender himself peaceable.
Instead, Justice sent a well-armed large SWAT team to invade his home at 6:30 in the morning, pointing weapons at everyone, including the screaming children. » Read more
Curiosity looks back at Gale Crater one last time before month-long communications break
Click for image.
Click for interactive map
Though the view has not changed much since early October, when I last posted a Curiosity navigation image looking out across Gale Crater from the present heights of Mount Sharp, today’s image above, taken on November 8, 2023, sol 4001 since the rover landed on Mars, signals the beginning of the monthlong solar conjunction, when all communications with Mars is blocked because the Sun has moved between the Earth and the Red Planet.
Solar conjunction occurs every two years, with this being the sixth conjunction experienced by Curiosity. It officially began on November 6th and is expected to end around November 29th. The picture above however was obtained two days into that conjuction, and is unusual in that it does not have the large drop-outs now seen in many other images taken then, both from Curiosity and Perseverance. We should expect there to be very few additional images before the end of November.
The blue dot in the overview map to the right shows Curiosity’s present position, with the yellow lines indicating roughly the area covered by the picture above. The crater rim is about 20 to 25 miles away, with the peak of Mount Sharp about the same distance away in the opposite direction. The rover has climbed about 2,500 feet, but it still sits about 13,000 feet below the mountain’s peak. Though the photo encompasses Curiosity’s entire route since landing, most of it is out of sight, the lower flanks of Mount Sharp blocking our view.
Click for image.
Click for interactive map
Though the view has not changed much since early October, when I last posted a Curiosity navigation image looking out across Gale Crater from the present heights of Mount Sharp, today’s image above, taken on November 8, 2023, sol 4001 since the rover landed on Mars, signals the beginning of the monthlong solar conjunction, when all communications with Mars is blocked because the Sun has moved between the Earth and the Red Planet.
Solar conjunction occurs every two years, with this being the sixth conjunction experienced by Curiosity. It officially began on November 6th and is expected to end around November 29th. The picture above however was obtained two days into that conjuction, and is unusual in that it does not have the large drop-outs now seen in many other images taken then, both from Curiosity and Perseverance. We should expect there to be very few additional images before the end of November.
The blue dot in the overview map to the right shows Curiosity’s present position, with the yellow lines indicating roughly the area covered by the picture above. The crater rim is about 20 to 25 miles away, with the peak of Mount Sharp about the same distance away in the opposite direction. The rover has climbed about 2,500 feet, but it still sits about 13,000 feet below the mountain’s peak. Though the photo encompasses Curiosity’s entire route since landing, most of it is out of sight, the lower flanks of Mount Sharp blocking our view.
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 the Mars Society.
All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. All editions can also be purchased direct from the ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from the author (hardback $29.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $6.00). Just send an email to zimmerman @ nasw dot org.
Spanish court indicts two high-altitude balloon companies for stealing from third
In a legal battle between the three Spanish high-altitude balloon tourist companies (Zero-2, Halo, and Eos-X), a court in Spain has indicted the latter two for stealing trade secrets from the first.
The case stems from Zero 2 Infinity’s allegations that the people hired to raise money for its space tourism business established two competing firms based on Zero 2 Infinity’s intellectual property.
After asking for extensive documentation to share with potential investors, some of the individuals indicted “changed the logo in the presentations and managed to raise 1 million euros for a company that was just a website with some” computer generated imagery, Jose Mariano Lopez-Urdiales, Zero 2 Infinity founder and CEO, told SpaceNews. “They thought they could do that because Zero 2 Infinity was in financial distress, in part because we were expecting that 1 million euros to arrive.”
…The law in question carries potential penalties “of imprisonment from three to five years” if the secrets in question were “disseminated, revealed, or transferred to third parties” in addition to fines, Spanish attorney Leonardo López Marcos, co-founder of the International Legal Center for Space Sustainability, said by email.
One of the companies, Halo, apparently used the fund-raisers as a go-between so that it never had any direct links to the original company, Zero-2. Of the three companies, Halo has now done the most test flights. Whether this ruling will force it to shut down remains unclear.
In a legal battle between the three Spanish high-altitude balloon tourist companies (Zero-2, Halo, and Eos-X), a court in Spain has indicted the latter two for stealing trade secrets from the first.
The case stems from Zero 2 Infinity’s allegations that the people hired to raise money for its space tourism business established two competing firms based on Zero 2 Infinity’s intellectual property.
After asking for extensive documentation to share with potential investors, some of the individuals indicted “changed the logo in the presentations and managed to raise 1 million euros for a company that was just a website with some” computer generated imagery, Jose Mariano Lopez-Urdiales, Zero 2 Infinity founder and CEO, told SpaceNews. “They thought they could do that because Zero 2 Infinity was in financial distress, in part because we were expecting that 1 million euros to arrive.”
…The law in question carries potential penalties “of imprisonment from three to five years” if the secrets in question were “disseminated, revealed, or transferred to third parties” in addition to fines, Spanish attorney Leonardo López Marcos, co-founder of the International Legal Center for Space Sustainability, said by email.
One of the companies, Halo, apparently used the fund-raisers as a go-between so that it never had any direct links to the original company, Zero-2. Of the three companies, Halo has now done the most test flights. Whether this ruling will force it to shut down remains unclear.
SpaceX successfully launches two communications satellites
SpaceX today successfully launched its third pair of communications satellites for the Luxembourg satellite company SES, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral.
The first stage completed its ninth flight, landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
83 SpaceX
51 China
14 Russia
7 Rocket Lab
7 India
American private enterprise now leads China 95 to 51 in successful launches, and the entire world combined 95 to 80. SpaceX by itself is now leads the rest of the world (excluding American companies) 83 to 80.
SpaceX today successfully launched its third pair of communications satellites for the Luxembourg satellite company SES, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral.
The first stage completed its ninth flight, landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
83 SpaceX
51 China
14 Russia
7 Rocket Lab
7 India
American private enterprise now leads China 95 to 51 in successful launches, and the entire world combined 95 to 80. SpaceX by itself is now leads the rest of the world (excluding American companies) 83 to 80.
Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel, can be purchased as an ebook everywhere for only $3.99 (before discount) at amazon, Barnes & Noble, all ebook vendors, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big oppressive tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
Winner of the 2003 Eugene M. Emme Award of the American Astronautical Society.
"Leaving Earth is one of the best and certainly the most comprehensive summary of our drive into space that I have ever read. It will be invaluable to future scholars because it will tell them how the next chapter of human history opened." -- Arthur C. Clarke
SpaceX launches 90 payloads on its ninth smallsat Transporter mission
SpaceX today successfully launched 90 payloads on its ninth smallsat Transporter mission, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Vandenberg in California.
From the link: “There will be 90 payloads on this flight deployed by Falcon 9, including CubeSats, MicroSats, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying an additional 23 spacecraft to be deployed at a later time.”
The first stage completed its twelth flight, landing back at Vandenberg.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
82 SpaceX
51 China
14 Russia
7 Rocket Lab
7 India
American private enterprise now leads China 94 to 51 in successful launches, and the entire world combined 94 to 80. SpaceX by itself is now leads the rest of the world (excluding American companies) 82 to 80.
SpaceX today successfully launched 90 payloads on its ninth smallsat Transporter mission, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Vandenberg in California.
From the link: “There will be 90 payloads on this flight deployed by Falcon 9, including CubeSats, MicroSats, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying an additional 23 spacecraft to be deployed at a later time.”
The first stage completed its twelth flight, landing back at Vandenberg.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
82 SpaceX
51 China
14 Russia
7 Rocket Lab
7 India
American private enterprise now leads China 94 to 51 in successful launches, and the entire world combined 94 to 80. SpaceX by itself is now leads the rest of the world (excluding American companies) 82 to 80.
November 10, 2023 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast
Embedded below the fold in two parts.
To listen to all of John Batchelor’s podcasts, go here.
» Read more
Embedded below the fold in two parts.
To listen to all of John Batchelor’s podcasts, go here.
» Read more
Irwin Allen – The Time Tunnel
An evening pause: For those like myself who as a kid watched all of Irwin Allen’s sometimes good, often boringly predictable, but always truly cheesy sci-fi television shows, this documentary will bring back memories. Allen’s shows also explain why Star Trek became the phenomenon it did, as it was so much better.
And can you guess the name of the documentary’s narrator/anchor?
Hat tip Robert Pratt.
November 10, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Live stream from Ispace about its second commercial Hakuto-R lander mission to the moon
The press conference is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 15, 8:00 pm (Eastern). The mission has targeted launch in 2024.
- South Korea rocket startup Innospace touts reusable rocket engine
The company has completed one suborbital flight in March 2023. No word on when further flight tests will take place.
- In connection with its founders move to buy the company and go private, Astra has cancelled its third quarterly earnings call to stockholders
There has also been a shake-up in management. It appears the founders are pushing out the outside investors and their managers.
- Satellite companies debate proposal to change the rules limiting satellite power levels
Designed to reduce signal interference in orbit, some companies want the restrictions eased, others want them tightened, and still others like the status quo. Amazon is leading the group wanted a review of the rules.
- Juno data and computer modeling suggest a better understanding of Jupiter’s atmosphere and winds
For me, this study defines the uncertainty of science. The data is not rich enough to come to any conclusion at all, though the computer modeling suggests one.
- SpaceX gets license to provide Starlink in India
In 2022 SpaceX had regulatory problems in India that forced it to exit the market. This new development indicates those problems have been overcome.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- Live stream from Ispace about its second commercial Hakuto-R lander mission to the moon
The press conference is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 15, 8:00 pm (Eastern). The mission has targeted launch in 2024.
- South Korea rocket startup Innospace touts reusable rocket engine
The company has completed one suborbital flight in March 2023. No word on when further flight tests will take place.
- In connection with its founders move to buy the company and go private, Astra has cancelled its third quarterly earnings call to stockholders
There has also been a shake-up in management. It appears the founders are pushing out the outside investors and their managers.
- Satellite companies debate proposal to change the rules limiting satellite power levels
Designed to reduce signal interference in orbit, some companies want the restrictions eased, others want them tightened, and still others like the status quo. Amazon is leading the group wanted a review of the rules.
- Juno data and computer modeling suggest a better understanding of Jupiter’s atmosphere and winds
For me, this study defines the uncertainty of science. The data is not rich enough to come to any conclusion at all, though the computer modeling suggests one.
- SpaceX gets license to provide Starlink in India
In 2022 SpaceX had regulatory problems in India that forced it to exit the market. This new development indicates those problems have been overcome.
Frank Borman, an old-fashioned American of the highest order, passes away at 95
Frank Borman, suited up just before
the launch of Apollo 8 in 1968
Frank Borman, who was the commander of both the Gemini 7 manned mission that proved that humans could live in weightlessness for two weeks as well as the Apollo 8 mission to the moon, the first human mission ever to another world, passed away on November 7, 2023 in Montana at the age of 95.
For a detailed obituary, go here. Though still survived by his crewmates on Apollo 8, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, his death ends that mission’s status as the last fully surviving crew of an Apollo mission.
My experience with Frank Borman was personal, as I interviewed him several times in writing Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8. In fact, he in many ways made the book possible. At the time I was still a relatively new science journalist, with no books to my credit. In trying to reach all three astronauts from Apollo 8, I did many web searches, and though I was able to locate the business numbers of Borman and Lovell, I found it impossible to locate contact information for Bill Anders.
Nonetheless, I started with Borman, and cold-called the car dealership he then owned in Corpus Cristi. When the phone was answered I was astonished to recognize the voice of Borman on the other end saying “How can I help you?” (Apparently it was lunch time, and Borman was holding the fort while his staff went out to eat.)
I immediately asked, “Is this commander Borman?” and got a very skeptical and suddenly doubtful “Yes” in reply. I realized immediately that Borman’s fame meant he was often harassed by fans in ways that could be annoying. I quickly explained who I was and that I wanted to write a history of the Apollo 8 mission, and to do so I wished to personally interview both him and his wife Susan. I explained that I strongly felt the story of the mission couldn’t be told properly without her perspective.
» Read more
Samson’s flying car completes its first test flight
Samson’s Switchblade flying car, designed to convert from a car to a small airplane with the touch of a button, has successfully completed its first test flight.
At the Grant Country International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, the Switchblade lifted off for an exhilarating first flight, reaching an altitude of 500 ft (150 m) and circling around to touch down some six minutes later.
In September the company had the plane perform a number of runway hop tests, but this was the first actual flight. At present the company says it has more than two thousand preorders for the flying car.
Samson’s Switchblade flying car, designed to convert from a car to a small airplane with the touch of a button, has successfully completed its first test flight.
At the Grant Country International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, the Switchblade lifted off for an exhilarating first flight, reaching an altitude of 500 ft (150 m) and circling around to touch down some six minutes later.
In September the company had the plane perform a number of runway hop tests, but this was the first actual flight. At present the company says it has more than two thousand preorders for the flying car.
November 9, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who sent them on time but I am late posting them.
- Blue Origin issues another short PR promo
This is same all-sizzle-no-steak stuff we’ve seen seeing from the company now for seven years.
- Astra’s co-founders offer to buy up the company’s stock to take it private
They are offering $1.5 per share, about double the share’s present price. If accepted it will be very entertaining to see if this action saves Astra. It surely appears however that these men, Chris Kemp and Adam London, are still firmly committed to the company.
- Chinese pseudo-company Space Pioneer touts its Falcon-9-class rocket targeting a June 2024 launch
The pseudo-company has raised a lot of cash, and has one successful orbital launch with its first version of this rocket.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who sent them on time but I am late posting them.
- Blue Origin issues another short PR promo
This is same all-sizzle-no-steak stuff we’ve seen seeing from the company now for seven years.
- Astra’s co-founders offer to buy up the company’s stock to take it private
They are offering $1.5 per share, about double the share’s present price. If accepted it will be very entertaining to see if this action saves Astra. It surely appears however that these men, Chris Kemp and Adam London, are still firmly committed to the company.
- Chinese pseudo-company Space Pioneer touts its Falcon-9-class rocket targeting a June 2024 launch
The pseudo-company has raised a lot of cash, and has one successful orbital launch with its first version of this rocket.
FCC extends SpaceX’s communications license for Starship/Superheavy launch
The FCC tonight extended SpaceX’s communications license for Starship/Superheavy launch from December 1, 2023 to February 23, 2024.
Though there are a lot of rumors that Fish and Wildlife is about to approve the launch, which will allow the FAA to issue the actual launch license, this extension suggests SpaceX is covering its bets in case the approvals are further delayed, or if they are approved in November weather issues force a delay into December.
I remain pessimistic about a November launch, not because I don’t want it to happen (I do), but because I have no faith in the federal government’s desire to allow it to happen. The bureaucracy has now delayed this launch more than two months (SpaceX was ready to launch in September) and the politics continue to sugges the delays will continue.
Hat tip to BtB’s stringer Jay for the link.
The FCC tonight extended SpaceX’s communications license for Starship/Superheavy launch from December 1, 2023 to February 23, 2024.
Though there are a lot of rumors that Fish and Wildlife is about to approve the launch, which will allow the FAA to issue the actual launch license, this extension suggests SpaceX is covering its bets in case the approvals are further delayed, or if they are approved in November weather issues force a delay into December.
I remain pessimistic about a November launch, not because I don’t want it to happen (I do), but because I have no faith in the federal government’s desire to allow it to happen. The bureaucracy has now delayed this launch more than two months (SpaceX was ready to launch in September) and the politics continue to sugges the delays will continue.
Hat tip to BtB’s stringer Jay for the link.
SpaceX successfully launches a cargo Dragon to ISS
Using a Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral, SpaceX tonight successfully launched a cargo Dragon carrying supplies to ISS.
This Dragon capsule is making its second flight. The first stage also completed its second flight, landing back at Cape Canaveral. The capsule itself will dock with ISS early Saturday morning.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
81 SpaceX
51 China
14 Russia
7 Rocket Lab
7 India
American private enterprise now leads China 93 to 51 in successful launches, and the entire world combined 93 to 80. SpaceX by itself is once again leading the rest of the world (excluding American companies) 81 to 80.
Using a Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral, SpaceX tonight successfully launched a cargo Dragon carrying supplies to ISS.
This Dragon capsule is making its second flight. The first stage also completed its second flight, landing back at Cape Canaveral. The capsule itself will dock with ISS early Saturday morning.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
81 SpaceX
51 China
14 Russia
7 Rocket Lab
7 India
American private enterprise now leads China 93 to 51 in successful launches, and the entire world combined 93 to 80. SpaceX by itself is once again leading the rest of the world (excluding American companies) 81 to 80.
Stephanie Trick & Paolo Alderighi – Home in Pasadena
Intellectual dishonesty caused the experts to misread the Gaza military situation
Lies from CNN
Lies from MSNBC
Before Israel began its full scale ground assault on Gaza and the Hamas tunnels two weeks ago, the general consensus from practically every expert interviewed or writing about the attack assumed it would be long, hard, and difficult, taking many months before Israeli troops were able to take control of the Gaza strip and render Hamas impotent.
A good example of that analysis can be seen in this October 13, 2023 article. To quote:
When the huge force Israel has amassed is finally given the orders to enter Gaza and destroy Hamas, they will face a deeply dug-in, well-armed enemy with thousands of anti-tank weapons, drones, and small arms on the most complex battlefield there is. Hamas will be fighting from tunnels, sewers, and strong points set up in high-rise buildings and rubble. They will rake incoming troops with machine guns from alleyways and windows, as well as employ heavier weapons from rooftops and prepared cover, and then melt into the urban maze that makes up much of the Gaza Strip. There will be no element of surprise for this sojourn into deeply hostile territory.
Israeli troops “will face the greatest challenge of their lifetime,” John Spencer, chairman of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point told The War Zone. “Attacking a defended city like this will be combat in hell. I do believe they can do it, but the cost will be high in urban warfare like this, since they will be attacking multiple cities.”
All the experts generally predicted the offensive would take months, and would involve huge casualties on the Israeli side.
I however predicted that the offensive, though not easy, would unfold far faster than these predictions.
This invasion will not be easy, but I also suspect it will not be as hard as many have suggested. Hamas’s power is mostly that of a bully, all threats and violence against the weak and helpless, with little real military capabilities. Israel now enraged is neither weak nor helpless. It will steadily but implacably work its way through Hamas’s tunnel system, but I think it will do so within a month.
Based on this report today, the experts now admit their pessimistic assessments were all wrong, and my analysis was right.
» Read more
The strange craters in the high northern latitudes of Mars
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, reduced, and enhanced to post here, was taken on August 22, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). I have also inserted data from a July 28, 2008 context camera image into the blank strip that now exists in the center of high resolution camera images due to the failure of one sensor.
This photo is what the camera team calls a terrain sample, and was probably taken not as part of any specific request but to fill a gap in the camera’s schedule in order to maintain its proper temperature. When the camera team does this they try to find locations that either have not been observed in much detail previously or have interesting features. In this case the team accomplished both. The interesting features are the two pedestal craters, both surrounded by splash aprons. Neither has been observed in high resolution previously, and the context camera has only taken two pictures of this location in total.
» Read more
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, reduced, and enhanced to post here, was taken on August 22, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). I have also inserted data from a July 28, 2008 context camera image into the blank strip that now exists in the center of high resolution camera images due to the failure of one sensor.
This photo is what the camera team calls a terrain sample, and was probably taken not as part of any specific request but to fill a gap in the camera’s schedule in order to maintain its proper temperature. When the camera team does this they try to find locations that either have not been observed in much detail previously or have interesting features. In this case the team accomplished both. The interesting features are the two pedestal craters, both surrounded by splash aprons. Neither has been observed in high resolution previously, and the context camera has only taken two pictures of this location in total.
» Read more
China’s Long March 3B rocket launches communications satellite
China last night successfully put a geosynchronous communications satellite into orbit, its Long March 3B rocket lifting off from its Xichang spaceport in southern China.
No word on where the rocket’s core stage, second stage, and four side boosters crashed inside China. All use extremely toxic hypergolic fuels, so anyone approaching any wreckage risks serious health issues.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
80 SpaceX
51 China
14 Russia
7 Rocket Lab
7 India
American private enterprise still leads China 92 to 51 in successful launches, and the entire world combined 92 to 80. SpaceX by itself is once again tied with the rest of the world (excluding American companies) 80 to 80, but this will probably change later today, when the company launches a cargo Dragon to ISS. NASA’s live stream is here.
China last night successfully put a geosynchronous communications satellite into orbit, its Long March 3B rocket lifting off from its Xichang spaceport in southern China.
No word on where the rocket’s core stage, second stage, and four side boosters crashed inside China. All use extremely toxic hypergolic fuels, so anyone approaching any wreckage risks serious health issues.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
80 SpaceX
51 China
14 Russia
7 Rocket Lab
7 India
American private enterprise still leads China 92 to 51 in successful launches, and the entire world combined 92 to 80. SpaceX by itself is once again tied with the rest of the world (excluding American companies) 80 to 80, but this will probably change later today, when the company launches a cargo Dragon to ISS. NASA’s live stream is here.
NASA awards company contract to develop new advanced solar panels
NASA has awarded the solar panel company Solestial its second development contract, with both contracts worth more than one million dollars, to develop new advanced solar panels for use on future commercial space stations.
The 18-month SBIR Phase II contract will provide funds to support development of next generation, 50-kilowatt (kW) class solar array wings. Solestial’s silicon solar blanket technology will allow for arrays larger than any ever built, while also maintaining lower mass and competitive efficiency. The array will be developed in collaboration with Opterus Research & Development, who will develop a low-cost, novel deployment system for Solestial’s ultrathin, flexible, silicon solar blankets.
These blankets will be an upgrade from the new panels presently being deployed on ISS, that unroll like a blanket rather than unfold like hard panels. The design is lighter weight, easier to deploy, and cheaper. It will thus become a valuable product that every private space station will want to buy.
NASA has awarded the solar panel company Solestial its second development contract, with both contracts worth more than one million dollars, to develop new advanced solar panels for use on future commercial space stations.
The 18-month SBIR Phase II contract will provide funds to support development of next generation, 50-kilowatt (kW) class solar array wings. Solestial’s silicon solar blanket technology will allow for arrays larger than any ever built, while also maintaining lower mass and competitive efficiency. The array will be developed in collaboration with Opterus Research & Development, who will develop a low-cost, novel deployment system for Solestial’s ultrathin, flexible, silicon solar blankets.
These blankets will be an upgrade from the new panels presently being deployed on ISS, that unroll like a blanket rather than unfold like hard panels. The design is lighter weight, easier to deploy, and cheaper. It will thus become a valuable product that every private space station will want to buy.
Federal judge throws out Justice’s discrimination lawsuit against SpaceX
A federal judge in Texas yesterday dismissed the Biden Justice Department lawsuit against SpaceX that accused the company of discrimination for not hiring illegal immigrants.
A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday halted the Justice Department’s case, after the company called it “factually and legally insupportable.” Musk has argued that SpaceX was barred from hiring foreign nationals because of restrictions placed on sharing of information related to rocket technology.
The Justice Department had been investigating SpaceX’s hiring practices since 2020 after receiving a complaint from a person who claimed he was turned down for a job after revealing during an interview that he wasn’t a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident.
At the present Biden’s Justice department has not responded to this decision. The lawsuit might have been idiotic on its face, but its deeper intention was simply to harass SpaceX and Elon Musk — now considered an enemy to Democratic Party rule — and in that it has so far succeeded. Appealing this decision will continue that harassment, even if it is patently obvious that the suit has no merits at all.
A federal judge in Texas yesterday dismissed the Biden Justice Department lawsuit against SpaceX that accused the company of discrimination for not hiring illegal immigrants.
A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday halted the Justice Department’s case, after the company called it “factually and legally insupportable.” Musk has argued that SpaceX was barred from hiring foreign nationals because of restrictions placed on sharing of information related to rocket technology.
The Justice Department had been investigating SpaceX’s hiring practices since 2020 after receiving a complaint from a person who claimed he was turned down for a job after revealing during an interview that he wasn’t a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident.
At the present Biden’s Justice department has not responded to this decision. The lawsuit might have been idiotic on its face, but its deeper intention was simply to harass SpaceX and Elon Musk — now considered an enemy to Democratic Party rule — and in that it has so far succeeded. Appealing this decision will continue that harassment, even if it is patently obvious that the suit has no merits at all.
Firefly wins Australian payload for its second Blue Ghost lunar lander mission
Firefly yesterday announced that the Australian commercial company, Fleet Space Technologies, will fly its seismometer on Firefly’s second Blue Ghost lunar lander mission, planned to land on the far side of the Moon in 2026.
Fleet Space’s SPIDER payload is part of the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars initiative that’s aligned with NASA’s Artemis program to support future habitation on the Moon. Upon deployment of the payload, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander will provide ongoing power and communications, enabling SPIDER to capture seismic data from the lunar surface for up to 14 days. This data will offer insights into the geological properties of the lunar subsurface and its mineral profile, such as water ice, that can support lunar infrastructure and further regolith exploration.
The mission also has payloads from NASA and the European Space Agency. Note that all three governments are buying the lunar landing services from this private company, rather than build the lander themselves.
Firefly yesterday announced that the Australian commercial company, Fleet Space Technologies, will fly its seismometer on Firefly’s second Blue Ghost lunar lander mission, planned to land on the far side of the Moon in 2026.
Fleet Space’s SPIDER payload is part of the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars initiative that’s aligned with NASA’s Artemis program to support future habitation on the Moon. Upon deployment of the payload, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander will provide ongoing power and communications, enabling SPIDER to capture seismic data from the lunar surface for up to 14 days. This data will offer insights into the geological properties of the lunar subsurface and its mineral profile, such as water ice, that can support lunar infrastructure and further regolith exploration.
The mission also has payloads from NASA and the European Space Agency. Note that all three governments are buying the lunar landing services from this private company, rather than build the lander themselves.
Next X-37B launch now scheduled for early December on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy
The next X-37B launch has now been scheduled for a December 7, 2023 launch, and will be sent into orbit for the first time on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket.
The mission, designated USSF-52, will conduct a wide range of tests, including operating the reusable spaceplane in new orbital regimes, experimenting with space domain awareness technologies, and investigating the radiation effects on materials provided by NASA, the Space Force said in a statement Nov. 8. “We are excited to expand the envelope of the reusable X-37B’s capabilities,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, the X-37B program director. The NASA experiment onboard, known as Seeds-2, will expose plant seeds to the harsh radiation environment of long-duration spaceflight.
SpaceX was awarded a $130 million contract in June 2018 to launch USSF-52. The mission was originally scheduled to launch in 2021 and has been delayed by payload and range availability.
The use of the Falcon Heavy suggests the payloads on this next flight are heavier and require that rocket’s extra boost. This will be the seventh X-37B flight of the Space Force’s fleet of two reusable mini-shuttles, beginning in 2010. The previous mission lasted 908 days in orbit, and landed one year ago in November.
The next X-37B launch has now been scheduled for a December 7, 2023 launch, and will be sent into orbit for the first time on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket.
The mission, designated USSF-52, will conduct a wide range of tests, including operating the reusable spaceplane in new orbital regimes, experimenting with space domain awareness technologies, and investigating the radiation effects on materials provided by NASA, the Space Force said in a statement Nov. 8. “We are excited to expand the envelope of the reusable X-37B’s capabilities,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Fritschen, the X-37B program director. The NASA experiment onboard, known as Seeds-2, will expose plant seeds to the harsh radiation environment of long-duration spaceflight.
SpaceX was awarded a $130 million contract in June 2018 to launch USSF-52. The mission was originally scheduled to launch in 2021 and has been delayed by payload and range availability.
The use of the Falcon Heavy suggests the payloads on this next flight are heavier and require that rocket’s extra boost. This will be the seventh X-37B flight of the Space Force’s fleet of two reusable mini-shuttles, beginning in 2010. The previous mission lasted 908 days in orbit, and landed one year ago in November.
Japanese billionaire finally concedes his Starship Moon mission won’t happen in 2023
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa finally admitted publicly today that his manned Moon mission using SpaceX’s Starship/Superheavy rocket won’t happen in 2023 as first announced in 2018.
The most significant part of the announcement? “”We’re not sure when the flight will be,” Maezawa noted on X. Though SpaceX and several news sources claim that federal approval for the next test launch could occur as soon mid-November, Maezawa — as one of SpaceX’s most important customers — might have more detailed non-public information about that approval process.
Even if that second flight get approved and flies in November, it does not mean Maezawa’s manned mission will soon follow. SpaceX will certainly not be ready for manned Starship launches following this test. It will likely require at least a few more unmanned test launches, with each likely delayed months by the same federal bureaucracy that delayed the second test launch by months.
Unless something significant changes in how the federal government is regulating SpaceX at Boca Chica, the first manned flight of Starship is likely years away, no sooner than 2025, but more likely 2026 or 2027.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa finally admitted publicly today that his manned Moon mission using SpaceX’s Starship/Superheavy rocket won’t happen in 2023 as first announced in 2018.
The most significant part of the announcement? “”We’re not sure when the flight will be,” Maezawa noted on X. Though SpaceX and several news sources claim that federal approval for the next test launch could occur as soon mid-November, Maezawa — as one of SpaceX’s most important customers — might have more detailed non-public information about that approval process.
Even if that second flight get approved and flies in November, it does not mean Maezawa’s manned mission will soon follow. SpaceX will certainly not be ready for manned Starship launches following this test. It will likely require at least a few more unmanned test launches, with each likely delayed months by the same federal bureaucracy that delayed the second test launch by months.
Unless something significant changes in how the federal government is regulating SpaceX at Boca Chica, the first manned flight of Starship is likely years away, no sooner than 2025, but more likely 2026 or 2027.
Rocket Lab schedules next launch, plans 22 launches in 2024
Rocket Lab has completed its investigation into a September 2023 launch failure and has now scheduled its next Electron launch for the end of November.
More significant, it says it has 22 booked launches scheduled for 2024, a pace that would more than double its previous annual record of 9 launches in 2022.
In its third quarterly report it also revealed that it lost just over $40 million in that quarter, more than last year’s third quarter by 17%. The September launch failure impacted those numbers, though the company’s revenue in the third quarter still grew by 7% from the previous year.
To achieve 22 launches next year will require the company to launch twice a month. With three launchpads (two in New Zealand and one in the U.S.) this is possible, but challenging. Of those launches, nine will attempt to recover and reuse the first stage, and two will not be orbital but suborbital hypersonic tests for the military.
Rocket Lab has completed its investigation into a September 2023 launch failure and has now scheduled its next Electron launch for the end of November.
More significant, it says it has 22 booked launches scheduled for 2024, a pace that would more than double its previous annual record of 9 launches in 2022.
In its third quarterly report it also revealed that it lost just over $40 million in that quarter, more than last year’s third quarter by 17%. The September launch failure impacted those numbers, though the company’s revenue in the third quarter still grew by 7% from the previous year.
To achieve 22 launches next year will require the company to launch twice a month. With three launchpads (two in New Zealand and one in the U.S.) this is possible, but challenging. Of those launches, nine will attempt to recover and reuse the first stage, and two will not be orbital but suborbital hypersonic tests for the military.
November 8, 2023 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast
Embedded below the fold in two parts.
To listen to all of John Batchelor’s podcasts, go here.
» Read more
Embedded below the fold in two parts.
To listen to all of John Batchelor’s podcasts, go here.
» Read more
Berlin & Teri Nunn – Take My Breath Away
An evening pause: Performed live 2023. The sound and camerawork could be better, but her performance more than compensates.
Hat tip Alton Blevins.
November 8, 2023 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- DHL touts its deal with Astrobotic to send more than 100,000 messages to the Moon
Anyone can send a picture, which will go digitally on Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander scheduled for launch late this year.
- Lynk satellite constellation starts cell phone to satellite service in Solomon Islands
Because Lynk only has three satellites in orbit, the service is presently limited to text and emergency messages.
- ESA shifts control of Vega-C rocket from Arianespace to the private Italian company Avio
The press release at the link summarizes all the actions taken by ESA at its just ended conference, all except this story had been covered here previously. Avio essentially builds Vega-C. It will now have full ownership and control. Arianespace — the government middle-man that never made a profit — is meanwhile slowly going away.
- Three companies tout their partnership to develop nuclear power propulsion for interplanetary travel
Lockheed Martin is the lead contractor for DARPA. The contract was awarded in July 2023.
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.
- DHL touts its deal with Astrobotic to send more than 100,000 messages to the Moon
Anyone can send a picture, which will go digitally on Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander scheduled for launch late this year.
- Lynk satellite constellation starts cell phone to satellite service in Solomon Islands
Because Lynk only has three satellites in orbit, the service is presently limited to text and emergency messages.
- ESA shifts control of Vega-C rocket from Arianespace to the private Italian company Avio
The press release at the link summarizes all the actions taken by ESA at its just ended conference, all except this story had been covered here previously. Avio essentially builds Vega-C. It will now have full ownership and control. Arianespace — the government middle-man that never made a profit — is meanwhile slowly going away.
- Three companies tout their partnership to develop nuclear power propulsion for interplanetary travel
Lockheed Martin is the lead contractor for DARPA. The contract was awarded in July 2023.
The Democratic Party and its voters endorse bigots and murderers
Democrats: The party of genocide and bigotry
My headline could not be more blunt, but it is also an honest appraisal. Today, when the House of Representatives voted 234-188 to censure congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) for her support for Hamas and her public endorsement of its goal to kill all Israelis, 184 of those nay votes were Democrats. Only 22 were willing to condemn her actions.
What did these Democrats vote against? Here is what the House resolution [pdf] stated Tlaib was guilty of doing:
Whereas Representative Rashida Tlaib, within 24 hours of the October 7 barbaric attack on Jewish citizens of the State of Israel, representing the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, defended the brutal rapes, murders, be-headings, and kidnapping – including of Americans – by Hamas as justified ‘‘resistance’’ to the ‘‘apartheid state’’;
Whereas Representative Tlaib’s October 8 statement claimed that Hamas’ October 7 attack on the Jewish people was partly attributable to United States security aid provided to Israel, which ignores the fact that the Iron Dome, a co-developed air defense system, saved lives that day by intercepting rockets launched from the Gaza Strip against Israeli civilian targets;
Whereas on October 18, 2023, Representative Tlaib continued to knowingly spread the false narrative that Israel intentionally bombed the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital on October 17 after United States intelligence, Israeli intelligence, and President Biden assessed with high confidence that Israel did not cause the explosion;
» Read more
Strange meandering ridge amidst Martian glaciers
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on June 21, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissence Orbiter (MRO). Its focus is the meandering ridge in the center of the picture, which the scientists intentially describe vaguely as a “ridged flow-like feature”.
The elevation difference between the high and low points within the picture is about 500 feet, though most of that slope occurs in the lighter terrain on the right. The darker area where the ridge is located has no clear elevation trend, though there are hints of depressions and rises within it.
The yellow dot on the overview map above marks this location, deep within the chaos terrain dubbed Deuteronilus Mensae, on the western end of the 2,000 long northern mid-latitude strip I dub glacier country, because practially every image from there shows glacial features.
To underline this fact, the red and white dots mark previous cool images from 2020 and 2021, with the first showing an eroded glacier and the second glacial ice sheets.
The mesa to the east of this picture rises more than 6,000 feet to its peak, as indicated by the black dot. This is also the highest point for this entire grouping of mesas. All are surrounded by a single large apron of material, likely a mixture of alluvial fill and ice.
What however caused the narrow ridge in the picture above? Is it ice or bedrock? If ice why is it so different than the glacial material that seems to surround it? If bedrock, it suggests it is instead an ancient inverted channel created when that ridge was a canyon through which ice or water flowed, compacting the canyon floor. When the terrain around it eroded away it was more resistent and became a ridge instead.
I have no answer. The colors suggest the ridge is rock, not ice, but that is not conclusive.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on June 21, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissence Orbiter (MRO). Its focus is the meandering ridge in the center of the picture, which the scientists intentially describe vaguely as a “ridged flow-like feature”.
The elevation difference between the high and low points within the picture is about 500 feet, though most of that slope occurs in the lighter terrain on the right. The darker area where the ridge is located has no clear elevation trend, though there are hints of depressions and rises within it.
The yellow dot on the overview map above marks this location, deep within the chaos terrain dubbed Deuteronilus Mensae, on the western end of the 2,000 long northern mid-latitude strip I dub glacier country, because practially every image from there shows glacial features.
To underline this fact, the red and white dots mark previous cool images from 2020 and 2021, with the first showing an eroded glacier and the second glacial ice sheets.
The mesa to the east of this picture rises more than 6,000 feet to its peak, as indicated by the black dot. This is also the highest point for this entire grouping of mesas. All are surrounded by a single large apron of material, likely a mixture of alluvial fill and ice.
What however caused the narrow ridge in the picture above? Is it ice or bedrock? If ice why is it so different than the glacial material that seems to surround it? If bedrock, it suggests it is instead an ancient inverted channel created when that ridge was a canyon through which ice or water flowed, compacting the canyon floor. When the terrain around it eroded away it was more resistent and became a ridge instead.
I have no answer. The colors suggest the ridge is rock, not ice, but that is not conclusive.