Tag: quick space links

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay.

• Video of full duration minute static fire test of Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine

The video was actually posted by ULA CEO Tory Bruno. Blue Origin then reposted it. As one commenter there said, “I bet if @torybruno hadn’t posted it, you’d never have posted it.”

The test looked good, but ULA still needs two flight engines, and only has one so far.

• China touts the seventeen nations that are flying experiments to its Tiangong-3 space station

• The Zhuhai Airshow in China from November 8 to 13 will feature a fullscale model of Tiangong-3

Jay jokes, “Free little red books if you dress like Mao.”

• China claims its Long March 8 costs 1/3 that of the Falcon 9

This might even be true, simply because China’s labor costs are so tiny compared to the U.S. Sometimes those labor costs are even free (since China does use slave labor).

• UC-San Diego signs deal with Sierra Space to do stem cell research on Orbital Reef space station

I wonder if UC-San Diego will also require Sierra Space to segregated astronauts by race, as it does on its campus.

• Lynk Global will launch smallsat 5G test satellite in December

The goal is to eventually launch a 50 satellite constellation to provide 5G to its cell phone customers.

• Astronauts successfully return from ISS in Soyuz capsule

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who trolls Twitter so I don’t have to.

• Blue Origin sources say first flight engine should ship soon

I will believe it when it actually happens.

• Camera on Falcon 9 fairing captures plume of 2nd stage and 1st stage engine firings

Just a cool image.

• Dmitry Rogozin in line to take over as head of Russian occupied territories in the Ukraine

More specifically, the “Crimean Federal District which will include Crimea and the occupied territories of Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.” If so, Rogozin’s head is essentially being put on the block. Ukrainian partisan forces have been very successful at killing such leaders.

I guess this is a reward by Putin for Rogozin’s skill at losing Russia billions in commercial satellite sales.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, who trolls Tweeter so I don’t have to.

• Want a NASA rocket engine once intended for SLS? GSA has seven for sale!

The engine is the J-2X, a supposed upgrade of the Saturn-5’s J-2 upper stage engines. GSA is selling the components for seven, the auctions to be found here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

• ArianeGroup releases pr video pushing its space plans for the future

Its proposed rocket family will look very familiar to those familiar with SpaceX.

• Scientists publish observations of a fast radio burst using China’s giant FAST radio telescope

FAST is essentially a larger version of the now-shuttered Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. It is hard to say if it is being used to its full potential at this time, as China right now doesn’t have that many qualified radio astronomers. This is why for a long while it tried to get foreigners to run it, unsuccessfully. With time, however, this will change.

• China’s Tianwen-4 planetary spacecraft will include a Jupiter probe and a Uranus probe

It also appears they plan to fly it past both Venus and some asteroids on its way to the outer solar system.

• Timeline graph showing China’s deep space planetary missions over the next decade-plus

It is is Chinese, so it would be nice if one of my readers who can read Chinese provides some explanation.