Is China's New Rocket Really Coal Powered? Deep Space Updates - April 2nd 

At 12:33 about Sergei Krikalev: "he was the guy that ended up stuck in space for a very long time". For context, he was onboard the Mir orbital station when the Soviet Union was dissolved on December 26, 1991, which meant that the country that sent him to space no longer existed and Baikonur was now in Kazakhstan. He ended up spending 311 days in space for this mission, more than twice the original five months it was supposed to last.

"comfortable relatively to being left on Mir for 6 extra months on a proposed 6 month mission, while also having no contact with anybody on the ground until hobbyists with radios guessed the soviet communication frequencies, since their mission control was deserted while the soviet union was collapsing" is how sergei krikalev might describe it

Hey congrats on approaching your pilot license! I got mine in 92 and I can tell you, AFTER you get the license is when the learning really hits! Fly safe!

The most exciting time in space exploration since the apollo days when I was a kid.

The 4 Chinese sats doing land survey are probably "laser linked" such that small changes in their respective distances to each other can be used to map the local gravity. Coupled to the optical data could provide very accurate g-maps. Good luck on your check ride. Did my solo (16th B-day), private (B4 my 17th B-day) and commercial (before my 18th) and flight instructor not long after that. Was teaching for several years before getting ... my driver's license! Long time ago...

Great to be able to watch launches from home, isn't it? It's the thing I love most about living on Florida's space coast.

Scott, good luck on your check ride. It is coming up on 40 years since my ride. It was one of the most stressful and satisfying days in my life. I remember it like it was yesterday. I only threw up twice before I got in the plane. I was fine once I was behind the yoke. I am sure you will do fine.

As a 50something, I just need to note that this launch cadence is just soul boggling. Definite proto-GATTACA feels.

Just imagine the poor fireman, shovelling in the coal. When the LMS Coronations did over 100mph, they needed 2 firemen and a mechanical pusher.

To think that sometime in the near future we may be hearing Scott say "..another Starship launch with V2 starlink satellites..not sure what else to say about these anymore.."

18:22 - that 1.8 meter long human figure is a work of art right there, I couldn't have done a better job myself! 🙂

I like how that rocket powered plane is held back by sandbags and a street curb, while aiming into a shipping container just in case.

Good luck with your check ride! I still vividly remember mine back in 1981. The experience is thrilling. Thanks for your updates

“If you don’t get excited about rocket launches, why are you building rockets?” - another epic Scott Manley quote,, 2023

Glad to hear you are close to your pilot's license and thanks for the update on all the space and rocket news.

Can't wait to see starship finally launch for the first time.

In re - Sergei Krikalev “Worst case scenario” - They were thinking there was a chance the equipment could overheat, & the Soyuz would burn up on reentry. There was a greater chance the interior temperature could reach as high as 80°C…

Very diverse set of launch providers!

Scott, I truly appreciate these glimpses into another engineering world! My specialty is industrial instrumentation and automation, so rockets are a distant thing to me. I can tell you how to monitor and control an entire power generating plant but have no clue about the field you are so passionate about. Thank you for allowing the rest of us to tag along!

Best wishes on your PPL checkride!!! I’ll never forget mine back when I was 19... Half a lifetime ago but still in my mind nearly every day!!! Keep up the awesomeness and fly safe!!!

Good luck on your checkride! Remember, the checker is on your side Fly safe

Who ever figured we'd have a traffic jam at the space station.....

Scott Manley, Fly Safe! Good luck on your check ride!

"Only the second flight for this booster" Living in the future.

No crew on the New Shephard that had the anomaly.

Congratulations on the almost-checkride. Mine was the third-most nervous I've been in a plane. (The most nervous was my first solo. The second-most was my first real instrument approach to minimums).

Good luck on your check ride! (nice light reading there with the FARs and AIM book)

"Only the second flight" not a phrase I ever thought I'd hear...

Good luck getting your pilot license! I got mine a long time ago when it cost $12/hour for a Cessna 152 with instructor and a Piper Warrior with air conditioning was $22/hour.

Those Dawn Aerospace craft are some amazing looking pieces of kit

Artemis 2 will sort of be an updated Apollo 8. Interesting note: Jim Lovell, Frank Borman and William Anders are still currently alive and may very well get to witness a repeat of their mission. Also Borman and Lovell are the 2 oldest living astronauts. Looking at the current active female astronaut roster; it's hard to bet who the first female will be. My personal picks would be Nicole Mann or Sunita Williams, but we'll see.

Good luck on that checkride! Remember your memory items and it’s okay to make mistakes as long as you identify them yourself and correct them. Examiners want you to pass, just prove to them you’re a safe pilot. Fly safe!

Best of luck on your pilot check ride, Scott 😊

Good luck with your check-ride, Scott!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Space Pioneer's Tianlong represents the first successful launch of a Chinese private company's liquid-fueled rocket, but more importantly their actual name in Chinese is Tianbing or "Heaven's Soldier" and can even be translated as "Space Troopers" - we were this close to getting Starship Troopers in real life! PS: You can pronounce it as Jiuchuan, don't worry Scott you're doing great

Best of luck on your flight test, Scott!

Hey scott! Best of luck on your checkride. Just remember to have fun! Flying is awesome, airplanes are cool :)

It's so good to hear "Fly safe!" from pilot with a PPL ;) :) Thanks for summarizing this busy week!

13:56 well Gagarin never did a complete orbit either, but as long as Starship reaches orbital velocity...

18:25 damn that looks legit, 2001 Space Odyssey let's go

Virgin Orbit’s two top executives will also receive “golden parachute” severances which were approved by the company’s board, conveniently, back in mid-March right when the furloughs first took effect.

Dude I absolutely love your videos thank you so much

SO much happening in space right now! So exciting. Thanks for the coverage. DAWN looks epic. Spaceplanes seem to be all the rage RN.

Good round up video 👍

definition of optimism = "things were better than the worst case scenario"

Fun fact, astrolab is an offshoot of venturi, which is an old french sports car brand.

Good luck on your checkride Scott!

Scott please make a video about that rough soyuz landing

Good luck on your check ride Scott!! Fly Safe!

It both blows my mind and terrifies me with just how many rockets humans are shooting into space now.

Wow! you worked through that license quick! Good luck!

Hearing Scott speak definitely makes life a bit easier. Hullooo!

Rocket planes! I've been waiting since the '90s for someone to succeed with this sort of thing. Pioneer Rocketplane and XCOR gave it a go but never got very far.

I love how the ISRO launch tower looks like Shiva.

Oh, Starship will get out of its launchpad easily, question is in how many pieces :)

Keep up the content, love from NZ!

Have a great time on your flught test. I'm sure you will ace it.

@Scott - Break a leg on your checkride! Then come out for a glider flight and we'll show you how to REALLY have fun. On good days we do 100 knots, all at 0 gph. 😀

Love it when you unlock coal liquefaction on the tech tree!

Private pilot check ride! Congrats Scott! As a student pilot myself, I wish you the best of luck!

Thanks for all the news, Scott! 😊 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

SpaceX could perhaps drop a load of Starlinks in Moon orbit when it goes there for Gateway resupply and landing tests. Pure laser Sat's and ground stations.

Was there actually a crew on board the Blue Origin flight that had an engine failure? Other reports said it was empty.

You failed to mention the test failure of the ULA Centaur V at Marshall. The May Vulcan launch is probably delayed. So far not much info coming out of ULA.

Launching to retrograde orbit seems crazy. Like going the wrong way on a one way road but the speed limit is thousands of miles per hour.

If KSP has taught me anything... That rover looks like the COG might be a little high for manned use.

The sheer number of rockets being launched now is insane. I know that space is huge, but I can't help envisioning that scene from WALL-E where there is a literal blanket of satellites surrounding the earth.

Scott, as someone who's been flying for a long time. I know you're gonna do great on your checkride. You've got the pilot state of mind. (and a very aerodynamic hairstyle) May I humbly suggest that you find a buddy, or really just anyone at your local airport/nearby, with something like a Citabria/Decathlon to take you up for some spin training. I still can't understand how here in the US it's not mandatory for a PPL. I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say we want to see you continue making videos for many years to come. Citabria is my "daily driver" and I never turn anyone down when they ask to go up and do so. It's just too important, and hell, it's a lot of fun too. 😁 Also a lot of times the same dude will also help you knock out your tailwheel endorsement as well. Which not only increases your coolness factor X10.. But helps develop solid stick and rudder skills. Either way. Good luck and congrats.

Wow... I completely forgot Starliner even existed.

Safe flight and soft landing on your checkout flight.

“At some point, it’s just another launch…”. That’s what people were saying by the launch of Apollo 13. So sad. This should never get old.

Good luck on your Check Ride! I had mine in September! You’ll do great!

"This is a relativly new booster, only the 2nd flight for this booster" is something you'd never have imagined hearind a decade ago

Good luck for the PPL Scott. 👍 As for "The Beat Goes On" I really hope someone at Electron is a Buddy Rich fan. The version with his daughter singing in '67 is excellent.

Good luck SpaceX on first flight Starship.

As a Chinese speaking Chinese citizen, I get most of China's space news from Scott Manley.

Good luck with the check ride. I enjoyed mine (the examiner fell asleep at one point).

Space Pioneer had great photos. They know what's really important.

Small correction: 15:30 NS-23 was an uncrewed flight hosting zero-g payloads for commercial customers. No humans in danger.

Wow, so much happening. Thanks for the update Scott!

Blue Origin released a video showing a prolonged firing of the BE-7 lunar lander rocket engine. It was interesting the famed Tom Mueller commented about the firing "Too much film cooling." That is worth a Scott comment.

Thank you Scott. Great coverage

My great grandparents farm house used coal-oil lamps for light and it was years before I knew that coal oil is kerosene made from coal. It's an old technology. So I find the concept of a coal-oil rocket to be quite interesting.

Scott, thanks for another, highly detailed briefing on the status of space launches. We need a 1st qtr summary of launched by country, please.

"Better than the worst case scenario" Very re-assuring 🤪

9:40 so we are officially in a time when we can say "it's ONLY 2 time that this booster flew" xD thanks for the recap and congrats on your license!

Congrats on your solos Scott!

What is the highest altitude new shepherd can reach if it yeets itself up with the abort motor as the main engine cuts off? Also my a levels in high school for chemistry I had to do an investigation into coal as an alternative fuel and it’s surprisingly useful as you can also create hydrogen coal gas with it when burning it with oxygen and water, it’s high energy density might make it a more viable rocket propellant than people might think.

I had my second lesson today, I have pilot headset and a logbook, I have a medical certification appointment tomorrow

Starship... I just don't know what to think about it. I was so excited during its development phase; watching SpaceX rapidly iterate, test, fly, re-iterate, test, fly, etc.. Then they moved to the booster... and then, nothing. To be fair, there has been a lot going on there, it's just not as obvious or exciting as a launching huge grain elevators but the work has been vigorous. We will hopefully see the fruits of so much effort soon.

Hey Scott. given the resent tests of the Rotational Detonation Engine, what is your take on when we'll start seeing it used on actual launches? any thoughts? (good luck on your flights!)

Nice FAR/Aim Scott. Some light reading there! GL on your Check ride!

Good luck on your check-ride Scott Manley. Taking mine hopefully in May.

I was certain a coal powered rocket was a day late April Fool's joke. Clever captioning!

That check flight is very important. Now is the time to break out your skills at flying under bridges and landing on roof tops. You know, just to show them how talented you are at flying. :p

I think that Dawn aircraft at the end is the first rocket test I've seen where the restraining system is sandbags in front of the wheels. Delightfully basic, obviously effective though!

I'm really pretty excited about Scott getting his real flying license. One step to space, yay! I really don't have any hope for Dreamliner. By the time it comes online ISS will be done anyway.

Couldn't find any NOTAMs for Starship except for the perpetual 10,000 ft one.

good luck on your checkride... my DPE is unable to do mine this month (he's an airline pilot), so it looks like i'll have to put it off till next month... no big deal, more practice :D

Thanks for that update that was very informative. Good luck on your check ride, remember your the pilot in command. I Remember mine almost didn't pass when I landed at Chino when the person giving me my checkride told me to cross the active runway behind a beautifully rebuilt B29 was stopped on the active runway, I crossed behind it and the tower got really annoyed. Just make sure you know who you're communicating with and don't blindly follow someones instructions. I got the chance to land at Miegs field in Chicago it was closest thing to landing on an aircraft carrier. I was going to try to fly through 4 states in about an hour, but when taking off the plane could barely climb out over the very large ferris wheel on the pier so I quickly change my mind because I end up in an icy cold lake Michigan at night. Good luck, are you going to video it?