Tag: podcast

NASA expected to finally certify Rocket Lab’s Virginia launchpad by end of year

9:15 am

It appears that after more than a year of delays, the NASA bureaucracy might finally approve launches at Rocket Lab’s new spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia by the end of the year.

The article at the link is mostly about Rocket Lab’s planned acquisition of another company that builds satellite deployment systems. However, its real story was in the last paragraph:

[T]he company is still waiting for NASA to complete certification of an autonomous flight termination system the company needs to launch from Wallops Island, Virginia. Delays in NASA’s certification of that system has, in turn, delayed the use of Launch Complex 2 there for Electron missions. “The current expectation is that it could be done as early as the end of the year,” [Adam Spice, Rocket Lab’s chief financial officer] said of that certification, “which would allow us to commence flight operations out of LC-2 and Wallops in the first half of 2022.”

The company got FAA approval for launches more than a year ago, and had hoped to launch shortly thereafter. NASA however has blocked that launch, refusing for more than a year to approve the flight termination system Rocket Lab uses to destroy rockets should something go wrong just after launch.

The delay is baffling. Rocket Lab has successfully proven that its system works in that it has used it several times to safely abort launches in New Zealand. This success apparently has not been good enough for NASA’s bureaucrats, and the result is that Rocket Lab’s ability to launch rockets has been seriously hampered in ’21.

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China building floating sea platform for rocket launches

9:57 am

The new colonial movement: According to its social media channel, a Chinese pseudo-company is building a new floating sea platform to be used for both rocket launches of all kinds as well as first stage landings.

The 533 feet (162.5 meters) long, 131 feet (40 meters) wide “New-type rocket launching vessel” is being constructed for use with the new China Oriental Spaceport at Haiyang, Shandong province on the Eastern coast.

The new ship is expected to enter service in 2022. It will feature integrated launch support equipment and be capable of facilitating launches of the Long March 11, larger commercial “Smart Dragon” rockets and, in the future, liquid propellant rockets, according to the social media channel for the spaceport.

The vessel could also in the future be used for the recovery of first stages, possibly in the same way as SpaceX’s autonomous spaceport drone ships provide a landing platform for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rocket first stages.

Long March 11 uses solid rocket motors and is designed for quick launch from a simple launchpad, so this platform would work easily with it. Changing that platform to handle liquid fueled rockets however is not trivial, and once done the platform would not necessarily be a good place to land first stages, considering the presence very nearby of fuel tanks and fuel lines.

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History Unplugged – The Age of Discovery 2.0: Episode 4

3:06 pm

Episode four of the six part series, The Age of Discovery 2.0, from the podcast, History Unplugged, is now available here.

This is the episode where Scott Rank interviewed me about my new book, Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. From his show summary:

Today’s guest is Robert Zimmerman, author of “Conscious Choice,” which describes the history of the first century of British settlement in North America. That was when those settlers were building their own new colonies and had to decide whether to include slaves from Africa.

In New England, slavery was vigorously rejected. The Puritans wanted nothing to do with this institution, desiring instead to form a society of free religious families, a society that became the foundation of the United States of American, dedicated to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

In Virginia however, slavery was gladly embraced, resulting in a corrupt social order built on power, rule, and oppression.

Why the New England citizens were able to reject slavery, and Virginians were not, is the story with direct implications for all human societies, whether they are here on Earth or on the far-flung planets across the universe.

I think what I say nicely complements what Glenn Reynolds and Robert Zubrin said in the previous episodes.

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History Unplugged – The Age of Discovery 2.0: Episode 3

10:57 pm

Episode three of the six part series, The Age of Discovery 2.0, from the podcast, History Unplugged, is now available here.

This episode features Robert Zubrin. From the description:

A new space race has begun. But the rivals, in this case, are not superpowers but competing entrepreneurs. These daring pioneers are creating a revolution in spaceflight that promises to transform the near future. Astronautical engineer Robert Zubrin spells out the potential of these new developments in an engrossing narrative that is visionary yet grounded by a deep understanding of the practical challenges.

Fueled by the combined expertise of the old aerospace industry and the talents of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, spaceflight is becoming cheaper. The new generation of space explorers has already achieved a major breakthrough by creating reusable rockets. Zubrin foresees more rapid innovation, including global travel from any point on Earth to another in an hour or less; orbital hotels; moon bases with incredible space observatories; human settlements on Mars, the asteroids, and the moons of the outer planets; and then, breaking all limits, pushing onward to the stars.

Zubrin shows how projects that sound like science fiction can actually become reality. But beyond the how, he makes an even more compelling case for why we need to do this—to increase our knowledge of the universe, to make unforeseen discoveries on new frontiers, to harness the natural resources of other planets, to safeguard Earth from stray asteroids, to ensure the future of humanity by expanding beyond its home base, and to protect us from being catastrophically set against each other by the false belief that there isn’t enough for all.

Listen to it. It is definitely worth your time.

The next episode is mine.

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History Unplugged – The Age of Discovery 2.0: Episode 2

10:23 pm

Part two of the six part series, The Age of Discovery 2.0, from the podcast, History Unplugged, is now available here.

This episode is centered on an interview with law professor Glenn Reynolds, the creator of the aggregate news website Instapundit. As the series host and creator, Scott Rank, describes:

With private space companies launching rockets, satellites, and people at a record pace, and with the US and other governments committing to a future in space, Glenn Harlan Reynolds looks at how we got here, where we’re going, and why it matters for all of humanity.

Episode 3 (November 9) will feature Robert Zubrin, describing how building a space-faring society will invigorate the civilization on Earth. Episode 4 (November 11) will feature yours truly, discussing my new book, Conscious Choice, and how the history of the British colonies in North American can guide us in building just and prosperous colonies in space. Episode 5 (November 16) will feature Rand Simberg, describing how we must accept risk and failure if we wish to do great things in space.

The final episode (November 18) will look at the future of warfare in space, something that ideologues think they can outlaw even though that dream is utterly impossible.

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November 4, 2021 Zimmerman/Pratt podcast on blacklists

4:16 pm

The forty-plus minute interview I did with Robert Pratt on his Pratt on Texas podcast is now available here. Pratt’s show summary is as follows:

The cases are more frequent, insidious, and perversely absurd.

In this update we discuss a surgeon and another doctor seemingly fired for simply speaking up about mask mandates and WuFlu treatments. We look at two teachers harmed and a formerly prestigious science body that denied giving awards because all nominees were white males and that’s not all.

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