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☆ Biden Cancels Space Command Move to Alabama Amid Tuberville Feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Pentagon announced on Monday that President Biden had canceled an order by former President Donald J. Trump to move the United States Space Command headquarters to Alabama, prompting an outcry from Republicans who accused him of acting out of political spite amid a fierce partisan standoff over the Pentagon’s abortion access policies. The decision came as a blockade of military promotions by Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, dragged into its sixth month. Mr. Tuberville has refused to consent to the promotions of senior generals and admirals in protest of a Pentagon policy that reimburses military personnel who have to travel to obtain an abortion or fertility treatments. House Republicans have also taken aim at the rule, instituted after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion, adding language to the annual defense policy bill to cancel it. Mr. Biden made his decision after the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, argued that moving the headquarters to Alabama from its current location in Colorado Springs would hurt military readiness, particularly as the United States is racing to compete with China in space, according to a Defense Department official who spoke about it on the condition of anonymity.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, Tommy Tuberville, Tuberville, James Dickinson Organizations: Pentagon, United States Space Command, Republican, Republicans, Space Command, Defense Department Locations: Alabama, Colorado Springs, United States, China

☆ The world's top alien hunters explain why a Harvard physicist's discovery of 'alien' tech is likely a false alarm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Adam Barnes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb announced the discovery of tiny "spherules" at the bottom of the Pacific. But three of the world's top experts on the search for aliens are skeptical the tech is from aliens. The fragments "could be a spacecraft from another civilization, or some technological gadget," Loeb told CBS News. This will constitute independent evidence for the interstellar origin of IM1 in addition to its measured speed," Loeb wrote. Loeb told Insider that, when ready, the team will publish their findings in a scientific paper that will be "shared openly and submitted for a peer-reviewed journal."

Persons: Avi Loeb, Loeb, Dan Werthimer, IM1, aren't, Douglas Vakoch, Vakoch, Monica Grady, Werthimier Organizations: Service, CBS, SETI Research, University of California, Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence, SETI, Center, Object, Sun, Space Command, NASA, DOD, The Open University, HMS Locations: Wall, Silicon, Berkeley, Papua New Guinea

☆ Air forces are ditching runways to prepare their jets to keep operating when enemies aim for their bases
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It is meant to be a test of the British air force's ability to operate away from its main bases. Some air forces moved away from that capability after the Cold War and now have to train for it again. US Air Force/Senior Airman Jonathan Valdes MontijoThe US military has also been planning distributed air operations from unconventional airfields and runways. When done correctly, ACE "complicates the enemy's targeting process, creates political and operational dilemmas for the enemy, and creates flexibility for friendly forces," according to the Air Force's ACE doctrine. Gen. James Hecker, the head of US Air Forces in Europe, said last year that his command was sending airmen to study the Swedish approach.

Persons: Jon Hobley, Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, Smyth, Janis Laizans, Sweden's JAS, Jonathan Valdes Montijo, Phil Speck, James Hecker, " Hecker, Janes, Stavros Atlamazoglou Organizations: Service, Royal Air Force Eurofighter, FGR4, Coningsby, Getty, NATO, Britain's Royal Air Force, Air, Aviation, RAF, REUTERS, US Air Force, Marine Corps, Agile, US Air National Guard, Air Force, Aircraft, US Air Forces, Hellenic Army, 575th Marine Battalion, Army, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins, School, International Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, London, Finland, Finnish, Russia, Sweden, Guam, Estonia, Wyoming, Europe, Swedish, Johns

☆ Harvard astrophysicist says he may have found alien tech from a meteor that crashed in the Pacific in 2014
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb believes that he may have found alien technology. His team found 10 tiny spheres from a meteor that landed off the coast of Papua New Guinea in 2014. The US Space Command said it was "99.999%" certain that the fragments came from another solar system, per CBS. "They will exit the solar system in 10,000 years — just imagine them colliding with another planet far away a billion years from now," he said. "It will take us tens of thousands of years to exit our solar system with our current spacecraft to another star," the astrophysicist added.

Persons: Avi Loeb, Loeb, Harvard, He's Organizations: CBS, Service, CBS News Boston, Star, US Space Command, NASA Voyager, Advisors, Science, Technology, Galileo Locations: Papua New Guinea, Wall, Silicon, President's

☆ The US will battle its rivals in outer space if it has to, senior military official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The US is gearing up for a potential battle in outer space, according to a top official. The military "is ready to fight tonight in space if we have to," Brigadier general Jesse Morehouse said Thursday. "The United States of America is ready to fight tonight in space if we have to," brigadier general Jesse Morehouse of the US Space Command told reporters. Leaked US intel documents seen by The Washington Post last month showed that the military believes Russia's space program is declining – but China's could "hold key US and Allied space assets at risk." Military strategists believe that any possible space war would involve countries attacking each other's satellites in a bid to cripple key infrastructure, because of the bodies' role in defense communications and navigation.

☆ NRO director says commercial space industry helps fuel the spy satellite agency’s ambitious goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Morgan Brennan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office plans to quadruple the number of satellites on orbit over the next decade. It will need commercial space companies to help do it. "It's helped us improve our reliability so that we can achieve more with more capability at a lower cost," he said. The ambitious game plan speaks to the growing role of commercial space companies in national security work. NRO partners closely with both the U.S. Space Command and the Space Force.

☆ A Lego Crime, a YouTube Rivalry, and the End of a Star Wars Friendship
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

Those who are into Lego Star Wars are among the most popular. It was at an informal contest where Louis met Victor, a fellow Lego Star Wars fanatic. Soon they ranked among the most popular Lego Star Wars YouTubers in France, known for the size and scope of their MOCs. The two friends no longer fit with that satisfying click that comes from snapping together two Lego bricks. Though it must have taken a truck to haul away all of Louis' Lego, no neighbor reported seeing anything suspicious.

☆ Biden may be punishing Alabama for its harsh abortion law by preventing the Space Command headquarters from relocating to the state
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The White House may be walking back a decision to relocate the US Space Command headquarters to Alabama. "This is all about abortion politics," one official told NBC. Space Command is a department of the Air Force that protects the United States and its allies "in, from, and to space." "The belief is they are delaying any move because of the abortion issue," another US official told NBC, referring to the Biden administration. A White House official told Insider that laws regarding reproductive health were not considered in the decision-making process, questioning the accuracy of NBC's reporting.

☆ A Russian 'inspector' satellite appears to be chasing a secret US military satellite in a game of cat and mouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A Russian satellite appears to be stalking a classified US military satellite in a cat-and-mouse chase. Dickinson added that the US would continue to track the Russian spacecraft. Then, in 2020, a US Space Force general reported that two mysterious Russian satellites were tailing a US spy satellite. The Russian satellite was set to pass its US military target at a distance of about 31 kilometers on April 7, Janssen calculated. This could have been a maneuver the US conducted to evade the close approach of the Russian satellite, Zak reported.

☆ North Korea wants to turn around its dismal space launch record, saying its first military spy satellite is ready for liftoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

North Korea said on Wednesday that it's ready to launch its first military spy satellite this month. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and his daughter visit the National Aerospace Development Administration in North Korea Tuesday. If successful, this launch would be the first officially conducted by North Korea for military purposes. North Korea first tried launching a satellite in 1998, but the rocket failed to reach orbit and burned up in the atmosphere. But just eight months later, North Korea finally pulled off a successful launch, sending the "Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3" into space.

☆ As space junk threat grows, government and investors seek solutions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

And with no set norms for military space behavior, some fear a potential space weapon attack that could generate far more debris. U.S. Space Command on Friday released a formal list of what it views as responsible space behaviors, in a bid to steer military norms in orbit. The wide-ranging report includes a section on space debris that urges space players to dispose safely of their defunct satellites and notify other operators if any problems with their spacecraft might pose a debris hazard. Another part of the space debris mitigation equation is in-space satellite servicing, concepts in development by dozens of firms including Astroscale, Northrop Grumman (NOC.N), Maxar (MAXR.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA). Australia-based Neumann Space, for instance, is developing a technology that could help recycle old, defunct satellites into fuel - using the scrap metal to generate plasma thrust for new satellites.

☆ US scrambles F-22s following reports of unidentified flying object over Montana believed to be a Chinese spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US is tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon first spotted over Montana, per NBC News. The balloon has been hovering over the US "for the past few days," NBC reported Thursday. Video published by an NBC affiliate in Billings, Montana, shows a bright, unidentified object in the sky, which prompted flights to be diverted from the local airport on Wednesday. "It is not the first time that you've had a balloon of this nature cross over the continental United States," the official said. After the balloon was spotted, the US military responded by scrambling F-22 Raptors and other aircraft near Billings, prompting the civilian airport to be shuttered for some time.

☆ China putting U.S. space assets at risk, senior U.S. officer says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, Dec 9 (Reuters) - China is building capabilities that put most U.S. space assets at risk, and China sees the domain as crucial to their military strategy, the head of the U.S. Space Command said on Friday. U.S. Army General James H. Dickinson, commander of U.S. Space Command, told reporters on a teleconference from Hawaii that such ASAT, or anti-satellite, tests congest space with debris. "They continue to build and build capabilities that really, quite frankly, hold most of our assets at risk in the space domain. China says its space programme is for peaceful purposes. The station represents a significant milestone in China's three-decade crewed space programme, first approved in 1992.

☆ Iran says it has built hypersonic ballistic missile -Tasnim
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Iran has built a hypersonic ballistic missile, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace commander as saying, in remarks likely to heighten concerns about Iranian missile capabilities. "This missile has a high speed and can manoeuvre in and out of the atmosphere. Hypersonic missiles can fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound and on a complex trajectory, which makes them difficult to intercept. The United States has called such actions "destabilising" as it believes space launch vehicles could be used to transport a nuclear warhead. Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; editing by John Stonestreet and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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