S8 Ep131: SpaceX Explosion, Chinese Stranding Highlight Private Space Successes and Major Space Failures — Bob Zimmerman — Zimmerman reports on a SpaceX Super Heavy prototype explosion during testing, emphasizing that engineering failures are vital mechanisms for p

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

News, Books, Society & Culture, Arts

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 27 November 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

SpaceX Explosion, Chinese Stranding Highlight Private Space Successes and Major Space Failures — Bob Zimmerman — Zimmerman reports on a SpaceX Super Heavy prototype explosion during testing, emphasizing that engineering failures are vital mechanisms for program advancement and refinement. In stark contrast, the Chinese space program's lack of transparency regarding capsule damage resulted in taikonauts being stranded without functional lifeboat capability—a historic first in crewed spaceflight. Boeing's Starliner manned capsule program was downgraded to cargo-only operations due to persistent technical deficiencies, resulting in substantially reduced contract valuation.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is CBS, I on the World Behind the Black.
0:07.9	I'm John Batch from.
0:08.7	My good colleague, Bob Zimmerman, is here.
0:10.6	He keeps the website behind the black, chronicling the rise and success of private space
0:16.4	and the decline and not quite fall, but certainly disappointment of big space.
0:24.4	Big space was the 20th century.
0:26.7	Now we look to private space not only for success in the Earth-moon system and Earth-Mars system,
0:33.8	but to develop monetizing of low-Earth orbit and beyond in an ability to respond immediately
0:40.3	to conditions.
0:42.3	Bob is celebrating November subscription and donation month for Behind the Black so we can continue the
0:49.3	story in 2026 and beyond. Bob and I, we're senior figures. We have ambitions to get into the 2030s and beyond.
0:58.3	And following this story is a great joy because it's a way of marking time. What's left? Whenever
1:03.7	they launch something at NASA, I think, will I be there to see it, hit, reach his mission? I don't know.
1:14.0	But sometimes I do believe Bob is going to keep us focused no matter where we are. Bob, your website is a dream because we begin with an example
1:21.0	of how fast private space can move because monetization is part of the story. What happened at Boca Chica?
1:28.2	Good evening to you.
1:29.0	Good evening, John.
1:29.7	First, I once again want to thank your listeners for their generous support of my website.
1:34.0	I really appreciate it.
1:35.0	I can't express how much I appreciate it.
1:38.0	So, yes, SpaceX was getting ready for the next orbital, suborbital test flight of super heavy starship. And in the process,
1:46.2	they moved their 18th prototype onto the test stand to do testing. They were not actually
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 27 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Batchelor, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of John Batchelor and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.