140: Commercial space confounds and transforms Big Space in the US and overseas. Bob Zimmerman BehindtheBlack.com
Image The projectile, as pictured in an engraving from the 1872 Illustrated Edition. Henri de Montaut (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Henri_de_Montaut) - http://jv.gilead.org.il/rpaul/De%20la%20terre%20%C3%A0%20la%20lune/ An illustration from the novel "From the Earth to the Moon" by Jules Verne drawn by Henri de Montaut. Public Domain (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%27From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon%27_by_Henri_de_Montaut_39.jpg) File:'From the Earth to the Moon' by Henri de Montaut 39.jpg Created: 31 July 1868 Commercial space confounds and transforms Big Space in the US and overseas. Bob Zimmerman BehindtheBlack.com https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/defense-department-cancels-small-rocket-contract-awards/ Announcement: 10th Anniversary Fund-Raising Drive for Behind the Black (https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/essays-and-commentaries/10th-anniversary-fund-raising-drive-for-behind-the-black/) July 1, 2020 at 12:15 am (https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/essays-and-commentaries/10th-anniversary-fund-raising-drive-for-behind-the-black/) Robert Zimmerman (https://behindtheblack.com/author/rzimmerman/) ReadersEvery July, to celebrate the anniversary of the start of Behind the Black in 2010, I hold a month-long fund-raising campaign to make it possible for me to continue my work here for another year. This year’s fund-raising drive however is more significant in that it is also the 10th anniversary of this website’s founding. It is hard to believe, but I have been doing this for a full decade, during which I have written more than 22,000 posts, of which more than 1,000 were essays and almost 2,600 were evening pauses.This year’s fund drive is also more important because of the growing intolerance of free speech and dissent in American culture. Increasingly people who don’t like what they read are blatantly acting to blackball sites like mine. (https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/essays-and-commentaries/persecution-is-now-cool/) I have tried to insulate myself from this tyrannical effort by not depending on Google advertising or cross-posts on Facebook or Twitter. Though this prevents them from having a hold on me, it also acts to limit my exposure.I therefore am entirely dependent on the generous support of my readers, which has been growing steadily and sometimes exponentially in the past six years (which is about when I gave up on advertising to go directly to my readers). While asking for voluntary donations is a harder way to make money, it sets me free to say and write anything I wish. No one has a hold on me. No one tells me what to write. From me you will always get my honest perspective on space, science, culture, and politics.I therefore ask you to please consider donating to Behind the Black, either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below or in the column to the right. You can also consider buying my books, all of which are available in the boxes scattered throughout the webpage. You will have my eternal gratitude, and you will help me continue my work.This announcement will remain at the top of the webpage for the next month. Scroll down for new posts.