Konflikti lähiavaruudessa

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The US has accused Russia of “dangerous and irresponsible behavior” after it conducted an anti-satellite weapons test that threatened the lives of the seven astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS).

Russia fired a missile at one of its own satellites over the weekend, generating more than 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris and hundreds of pieces of smaller debris, which the US said “now threaten the interests of all nations”.

Astronauts aboard the ISS were forced to float into special “lifeboat” pods following the release of the debris. The pods can detach from the ISS and fly crews back to Earth.

“Needless to say, I’m outraged. This is unconscionable,” Nasa administrator Bill Nelson said. “It’s unbelievable that the Russian government would do this test and threaten not only international astronauts, but their own cosmonauts that are on board the station as well as the three people on China’s space station.”

US accuses Russia of ‘dangerous’ behavior after anti-satellite weapons test

Russia fired missile at its own satellite, generating debris that US says ‘threatens interests of all nations’

www.theguardian.com

Konflikti kukkanen nupussaan.

 

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Russia's space agency said on Tuesday its "main priority" was the safety of the International Space Station's crew, after the US accused Moscow of putting the astronauts under threat with a missile strike.

US officials on Monday denounced Russia for conducting a "dangerous and irresponsible" missile test that blew up one of its own satellites, creating a debris cloud that forced the ISS crew to take evasive action.

The move reignited concerns about a growing arms race in space, encompassing everything from laser weapons to satellites capable of shunting others out of orbit.

In its first comments following the US accusations, Russia's Roscosmos space agency did not deny there had been a missile strike.

It said its "automated warning system for dangerous situations" was continuing "to monitor the situation in order to prevent and counter all possible threats to the safety of the International Space Station and its crew".

"For us, the main priority has been and remains to ensure the unconditional safety of the crew," Roscosmos said in a statement.

US officials said they were not informed in advance of the anti-satellite missile test -- only the fourth ever to hit a spacecraft from the ground -- which generated over 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement that the danger was far from over and the debris would continue to threaten satellites and activities on the ISS.

NASA said the crew aboard the orbital outpost -- currently four Americans, a German and two Russians -- were woken up and forced to take shelter in their return ships.

According to space industry analysis company Seradata, the target of the missile was Cosmos 1408, a 1982 Soviet signals intelligence satellite that has been defunct for several decades.

Russia seeks to reassure ISS astronauts after missile claims

Moscow (AFP) Nov 16, 2021 - Russia's space agency said on Tuesday its main priority was the safety of the International Space Station's crew, after the US accused Moscow of putting the astronauts under threat with a missile

www.spacewar.com

 

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On Tuesday, the Russian defence ministry said it had “successfully conducted a test, as a result of which the Russian spacecraft ‘Tselina-D’, which had been in orbit since 1982, was destroyed”.

Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, later said the launch used a “promising” system that “accurately” struck its target.

“The fragments that formed do not pose any threat to space activity,” he added, as quoted by Russian news agencies.

Russia admits to anti-satellite missile test but denies ‘dangerous behavior’

US officials accuse Moscow of ‘irresponsible’ behavior after it conducts test that threatened lives of astronauts onboard the ISS

www.theguardian.com

Russia tested a direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) missile test on Nov. 15, 2021, Moscow Standard Time, that struck a Russian satellite [COSMOS 1408] and created a debris field in low-Earth orbit. The test so far has generated more than 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris and will likely generate hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris.

“Russia has demonstrated a deliberate disregard for the security, safety, stability, and long-term sustainability of the space domain for all nations,” said U.S. Army Gen. James Dickinson, U.S. Space Command commander. “The debris created by Russia’s DA-ASAT will continue to pose a threat to activities in outer space for years to come, putting satellites and space missions at risk, as well as forcing more collision avoidance maneuvers. Space activities underpin our way of life and this kind of behavior is simply irresponsible.”

USSPACECOM’s initial assessment is that the debris will remain in orbit for years and potentially for decades, posing a significant risk to the crew on the International Space Station and other human spaceflight activities, as well as multiple countries’ satellites.

Russian Anti-Satellite Test Produces Dangerous Debris Cloud In Orbit (Updated)

U.S. Space Command has confirmed a "debris-generating event," which now presents a potential risk to the International Space Station.

www.thedrive.com

 

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Russia just destroyed one of its own satellites. On Nov. 15, 2021, a missile launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome struck Kosmos 1408, shattering the old satellite into thousands of pieces. Debris came so close to the ISS that astronauts took shelter in their crew capsules, just in case they had to abandon ship.

Littering Earth orbit with debris is never a good idea. Space weather could make it much worse. To understand why, turn back the clock 18 years to the Halloween Storms of October 2003, when our planet "lost" half its satellites.

Solar Cycle 23 was winding down. Space weather forecasters were talking about how quiet things would soon become when, suddenly, the sun unleashed two of the strongest solar flares of the Space Age: An X17 flare on Oct. 28th followed by an X10 flare on Oct. 29th. Powerful CMEs struck Earth's magnetic field only 19 hours later, sparking 3 days of severe to extreme geomagnetic storms.

An after action report from NOAA lists some of the storm's side effects: Commercial airlines scrambled to redirect flights from the poles, where radiation levels were suddenly high. Each detour cost as much as $100,000. Many Earth-orbiting satellites experienced reboots and even unwanted thruster firings. Some operators simply gave up and turned their instruments off. Goddard's Space Science Mission Operations Team estimates that 59% of NASA's Earth and space science satellites were affected.

There's a dawning awareness that something else important happened, too. Many of Earth's satellites were misplaced.

In a 2020 paper entitled "Flying Through Uncertainty," a team of researchers led by Thomas Berger at the University of Colorado's Space Weather Technology, Research, and Education Center report a little-known anecdote from USAF satellite operators. During the Halloween storms, they recalled, "the majority of [low Earth orbiting] satellites were temporarily lost, requiring several days of around-the-clock work to reestablish [their positions]."

"The Halloween storms pumped an extra 3 Terrawatts of power into Earth's upper atmosphere," explains Martin Mlynczak, principal investigator of NASA's SABER spacecraft, which measured the energy dump. "We didn't feel it down on the planet's surface, but it was a big event for Earth orbiting satellites. The extra power puffed up the atmosphere, sharply increasing aerodynamic drag."

Simulations show that even moderate geomagnetic storms can shift the position of a satellite by 10 km or more. The Halloween Storms created far larger uncertainties. This is a problem because, when you're in a shooting gallery, you can't dodge the bullets unless you know where they are.

"Fortunately, the Halloween storm did not cause any major collisions that we know of," write Berger and his co-authors. "But if a geomagnetic storm on the level of the 2003 event were to occur today, the situation could be very different. Most satellite operators today have never experienced anything like the Halloween 2003 storm."

Right now radars and telescopes in the United States Space Surveillance Network are surely working to pinpoint the debris of Kosmos 1408. Orbital solutions will allow collision warnings to be issued; satellites can dodge. However, a strong geomagnetic storm could wipe out their findings in an instant.

Intensifying geomagnetic activity is almost certain as young Solar Cycle 25 gains steam in the years ahead. It's something to think about the next time you launch an ASAT weapon...

sorsa: spaceweather.com

Totuus, vaikka naapurin ministeri väittää toisin on että tämä on ollut tiedossa niin tieteen kuin Hollywoodin kautta. Sirpalepilvi kiertoradalla ei ole hyväksi kun siellä on muita objekteja. Myös on olemassa se fakta että meidän avaruustietoisuus parenee päivä päivältä, ja me ymmärrämme paremmin kuin koskaan mitä tapahtuu ilmakehän ulkopuolella, vaikka siellä on vielä isoja aukkoja.

Henkilökohtaisesti olen unohtanut milloin avaruusromusta varoitettiin ensimmäistä kertaa, mutta se ei vähättele sitä faktaa että siitä on kaiken aikaa varoitettu. Nyt se on todellisuutta ja on vain ajasta kysymys milloin romu törmää toiseen aiheuttaen lisää romua. Toisin sanoen ajamalla tätä konflikti ketjua eteenpäin voimme unohtaa avaruuden valloituksen tältä vuosisadalta, koska avaruusromua tulee olemaan liikaa.

 

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"This contract solidifies the long-term strategic partnership between AFRL and USU/SDL. The partnership will accelerate critical space science and technology projects, especially when we need to quickly respond to urgent and unexpected needs," said Col. Eric Felt, director of the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate.

"It will allow us to focus on proactively out-innovating our peer competitors to ensure the Space Force continues to have the technology required to deter conflict and assure our nation's critical space capabilities are available whenever and wherever needed

The Space Vehicles Directorate will serve as the single center of excellence for space within AFRL, with respect to the utilization of USU/SDL in their capacity as a non-profit UARC providing essential and continuing capabilities to perform critical tasks in support of space missions for a variety of U.S. government customers.

"The overarching objective is to conduct scientific investigations and technology, research and development in the UARC's core competency areas without the bureaucracy and delay of awarding multiple smaller individual contracts," Felt said.

Research areas include:

+ Space-related Sensor Systems + Space-cyberspace and Information Related Capabilities + Nuclear-Related Science and Technology Deterrence Operations + Advanced Satellite Navigation and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Technology + Precision Quantum and Photonic Sensors + Space Environment Exploitation and Mitigation + Small Satellite Portfolio + Distributed RF Sensing

Col. Jon Luminati, Integrated Experiments and Evaluation Division chief explained what this record-breaking contract will do for those working at AFRL, and at USU/SDL.

"This is a great example of how government and university researchers can partner together to solve the difficult problems that exist in space," he said. "By bringing together the top minds from academia and those working in our labs, we will be able to greatly advance our understanding of space, and the challenges we face operating in that domain."

The new space renaissance around the world with allies and adversaries, requires a commitment by our nation's academic institutions, to educate world-class scientists and engineers to maintain and advance U.S. interests in space.

"This contract represents a vital contribution to assuring that the United States remains on the leading edge of research and development for space-based technologies. The Space Dynamics Laboratory is honored to be a trusted partner of Air Force Research Laboratory and the U.S. Space Force to develop technologies for new missions and maintain core capabilities for national defense," said Dr. Jed Hancock, president of SDL.

The Space Dynamics Lab has been a trusted partner in furthering space technologies across the DOD, for many decades.

"As a University Affiliated Research Center established by the DOD, to operate in the public interest, USU/SDL remains committed to developing and for the Nation. With a strong UARC partnership in place, we look to a bright future in providing innovative solutions to expand our knowledge of space and how we work in it," Hancock said.

AFRL awards $1b contract to Space Dynamics Laboratory

Kirtland AFB NM (SPX) Nov 16, 2021 - The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded its largest-ever contract for space-related technology development and mission support. The contract, worth up to $1B, was awarded to Utah

www.spacewar.com

 

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The debris remains a continuous threat, according to NASA, the "space station is passing through or near the cloud every 90 minutes."

Bill Nelson, a former Senator from Florida and current administrator of NASA, shared his ire over the supposed Russian anti-satellite missile test that endangered Americans and Russians onboard the International Space Station.

Seradata, a private company that analyzes space data, reported the incident early Monday morning through a tweet. About an hour after their first tweet, they suggested that it was an ASAT missile test.

The satellite that was reportedly shot down was the Soviet-era Kosmos-1408 that was launched in 1982. The satellite has reportedly been out of service for decades.

Ned Price concluded his statement over the alleged Russian weapons test, saying, "The United States will work with our allies and partners to respond to Russia's irresponsible act."

The United Kingdom's Defense Secretary, Ben Wallace, has also condemned the action and has suggested that Russia conducted the act.

The United States Space Command Public Affairs office released a statement on the incident. In their statement, they say that Russia launched tested a direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) missile.

U.S. Army Gen. James Dickinson, U.S. Space Command commander, said, "Russia has demonstrated a deliberate disregard for the security, safety, stability, and long-term sustainability of the space domain for all nations." He added, "The debris created by Russia's DA-ASAT will continue to pose a threat to activities in outer space for years to come, putting satellites and space missions at risk, as well as forcing more collision avoidance maneuvers. Space activities underpin our way of life and this kind of behavior is simply irresponsible."

USSPACECOM's initial assessment of the incident is that debris could persist in orbit for decades. The space debris poses significant risks to the International Space Station, other human spaceflight activities, and other countries' satellites.

Dickinson said that "Russia continues to pursue counterspace weapon systems that undermine strategic stability and pose a threat to all nations."

Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, also released a statement that voiced similar concerns and condemned the act. His statement also called for spacefaring nations "to develop norms of responsible behavior and to refrain from conducting dangerous and irresponsible destructive tests."

US accuses Russia of generating orbital debris after 'destructive' satellite test, vows to respond

Moscow (Sputnik) Nov 16, 2021 - The United States has accused the Russian Federation of conducting a destructive satellite test that could put astronauts, cosmonauts, and global satellite operations at risk. Through the U.

www.spacedaily.com

 

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"It doesn't take a very large hole to basically explode the space station," John Crassidis, a SUNY Distinguished Professor at the University at Buffalo in New York who works with NASA to monitor space debris, told Live Science.

Indeed, a hole measuring just 0.5 inches (1.3 centimeters) wide could cause irreparable structural damage that could completely "wipe out the space station," Crassidis said.

This is a huge concern as the amount of orbital debris — or "space junk" — around Earth has grown at an exponential rate over the past 60 years, Crassidis said. NASA currently tracks more than 27,000 pieces of orbital debris that measure larger than a softball, and uses computer models to estimate the positions of millions of smaller pieces of junk that are too tiny to be seen.

If a piece of space debris has anything greater than a 1 in 10,000 chance of hitting a passing satellite or spacecraft, NASA employs avoidance maneuvers to physically move the jeopardized craft out of harm's way, Crassidis said. This is a tricky balancing act, he added, as moving a satellite out of the path of one piece of debris could unintentionally send it into the path of a different piece of debris — such is the scale of the clutter up there.

Russia's anti-satellite missile test could have easily obliterated the International Space Station

A Russian missile test blasted a Kosmos spy satellite into more than 1,500 pieces of space debris.

www.space.com

 

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A solar probe on a mission to take the closest ever images of the sun will pass incredibly close to Earth today, but debris from the recent Russian anti-satellite missile test will make its visit more risky and unpredictable.

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Solar Orbiter spacecraft will zoom just 285 miles (460 kilometers) above Earth's surface on Friday at 11:30 pm EST (Saturday, 4:30 GMT). This close encounter, a maneuver called flyby, will help nudge the satellite closer to the sun so that it can commence its scientific exploration of the star.

But the Nov. 15 anti-satellite missile test by Russia, which shattered the nearly 2-ton defunct Kosmos 1408 satellite into pieces, adds worry for the ground control teams who have been carefully plotting Solar Orbiter's path to make it efficient and safe.

"Solar Orbiter will fly through the most polluted areas around Earth," Andrea Accomazzo, ESA's head of solar system and exploration, who oversees the flyby, told Space.com. "We run calculations in which we compare the path of Solar Orbiter with the trajectories of all known space debris objects. The problem is that the [Russian ASAT] test happened so recently that there is only partial information about the debris it created."

Russian ASAT test adds risk to Solar Orbiter's super close Earth flyby

The flyby will nudge Solar Orbiter closer to the sun.

www.space.com

 

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Last month, the US military botched its own hypersonic missile testing, while China reportedly conducted a test of a missile capable of sending nuclear weapons around the globe this summer. Russia also successfully test-fired its "Zircon" hypersonic missile in the arctic on 18 November.

US Space Force General David Thompson on Saturday warned that American hypersonic missile capabilities are "not as advanced" as those of China or Russia, implying that the US is falling behind in producing the newest and most cutting-edge weaponry.

In an interview conducted at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada, Thompson stated that the United States falling behind the other two countries could be detrimental to national security.

"We have catching up to do very quickly. The Chinese have an incredible hypersonic programme", he said. "It's a very concerning development ... it greatly complicates the strategic warning problem".

Thompson also compared the use of hypersonic missiles to a snowball fight during his interview, saying they are "changing the game" for national defence and security. When a snowball is thrown, you can usually predict where it will land. However, if the projectile is thrown in a different direction, it is more difficult to detect - but it will still hit you.

"That's what a hyperglide vehicle does", he said in reference to another class of hypersonic missiles. "You no longer have that predictability. So every launch of a certain type, regardless of where it's headed, now has the potential to be a threat".

When speaking about China's position in terms of technological capabilities compared to the United States, the general noted that the speed with which China has caught up with the most developed countries and the United States is amazing, and the Chinese have "moved incredibly quickly in space".

"In terms of their technology and capability, I would argue that we, both the US and our close partners and allies, are still the best in the world in that technology", he noted. "But they have come very close very quickly. And they are cycling their technology much quicker, at twice the rate we are".

According to Thompson, if this speed persists for an extended length of time, China is "likely to exceed us in terms of capability".

"They intend to use space the way they have watched us use it for decades", the general stressed.

Space Force General Admits That US Lagging Behind Russia, China in Hypersonic Weapons

Moscow (Sputnik) Nov 23, 2021 - Last month, the US military botched its own hypersonic missile testing, while China reportedly conducted a test of a missile capable of sending nuclear weapons around the globe this summer. Russia a

www.spacewar.com

 

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Space Force's General David Thompson, the service's second in command, said last week that Russia and China are launching "reversible attacks," such as electronic warfare jamming, temporarily blinding optics with lasers, and cyber attacks, on U.S. satellites "every single day." He also disclosed that a small Russian satellite used to conduct an on-orbit anti-satellite weapon test back in 2019 had first gotten so close to an American one that there were concerns an actual attack was imminent.

Thompson, who is Vice Chief of Space Operations, disclosed these details to The Washington Post's Josh Rogin in an interview on the sidelines of the Halifax International Security Forum, which ran from Nov. 19 to 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Canada. The forum opened just four days after a Russian anti-satellite weapon test involving a ground-launched interceptor, which destroyed a defunct Soviet-era electronic intelligence satellite and created a cloud of debris that presents a risk to the International Space Station (ISS). That test drew widespread condemnation, including from the U.S. government, and prompted renewed discussion about potential future conflicts in space.

U.S. Satellites Are Being Attacked Every Day According To Space Force General

Space Force general details how jamming, blinding lasers, cyber attacks, and other satellites have America's space-based capabilities under siege.

www.thedrive.com

NASA Calls Off Spacewalk As Concerns Over Russian Anti-Satellite Test Debris Continue (Updated)

Russia’s recent anti-satellite test has made the already major problem of debris in low-earth orbit markedly worse.

www.thedrive.com

 

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There is growing interest in protecting strategic assets in cislunar space, the realm between Earth and the moon.

The U.S. Space Force is not the only entity engaged in reflecting on the topic of how best to extend military presence far from Earth. Other nations such as China are doing so as well.

Parallel to air, land and sea skirmishes between nations here on Earth, is cislunar space, and perhaps the moon itself, an emerging military "high ground" and new territory for conflict? There’s a variance of views, according to experts Space.com talked to.

Military interest in the moon is ramping up

"Cislunar space has recently become prominent in the space community and warrants attention," a recent Air Force Research Laboratory document states.

www.space.com

The U.S. military has eyed the moon before.

As far back as 1959, when NASA was still picking its first astronauts, the U.S. Army was concocting plans for a moon base, under the title of Project Horizon, explained Robert Godwin, a space historian and owner of Apogee Books, a Canadian publishing house that examines a variety of space history topics.

Some details of the U.S. military's past interest in the moon remain classified to this day, Godwin said. In particular, there were looks at a nuclear bomb detonation in orbit around the moon that would empower "the weapon" — an X-ray laser that would take out enemy satellites and spacecraft, he told Space.com.

That was then. But valuable U.S. assets on the moon, such as planned commercial ventures there, will make "the military presence to ensure their safety," Godwin said, "almost inevitable."

"Back in 1959, the U.S. military was fretting over whether they could get supplies of toilet paper up there," he added. Looking back, he said those working on Project Horizon were coming out of World War II, practiced in moving hundreds of thousands of tons of heavy equipment around the world.

"The fact they were going to have to make that equipment 'go up' instead of 'sideways' seemed to be secondary to their thinking," Godwin said. To that end, things have progressed. For example, scientists now believe that there's a lot of water on the moon.

"But at the end of the day, you still go skin the cat. The way to do that could be more affordable now," Godwin said.

Tässä olisi aineksia uudelle trilogialle. Ehkä jatkoa vanhalle, mutta mä haluan eroon niistä erikoispiirteistä.

 

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Beijing on Tuesday accused the United States of irresponsible and unsafe conduct in space over two "close encounters" between the Chinese space station and satellites operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Tiangong, China's new space station, had to manoeuvre to avoid colliding with one Starlink satellite in July and with another in October, according to a note submitted by Beijing to the United Nations space agency this month.
The note said the incidents "constituted dangers to the life or health of astronauts aboard the China Space Station".
"The US... ignores its obligations under international treaties, posing a serious threat to the lives and safety of astronauts," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a routine briefing on Tuesday.
Starlink, a division of SpaceX, operates a constellation of close to 2,000 satellites that aims to provide internet access to most parts of Earth.
SpaceX is a private American company, independent of the US military and civilian space agency NASA.
But China said in its note to the UN that members of the Outer Space Treaty -- the foundation of international space law -- are also responsible for actions by their non-government entities.
Addressing reporters, US State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to respond specifically to the Chinese accusations.
"We have encouraged all countries with space programs to be responsible actors, to avoid acts that may put in danger astronauts, cosmonauts, others who are orbiting the Earth or who have the potential to," Price said.
SpaceX has not responded to a request for comment.
Evasive manoeuvres to reduce the risk of collisions in space are becoming more frequent as more objects enter Earth's orbit, said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
"We've really noticed the increase in the number of close passes since Starlink started getting deployed," he told AFP.
Any collision would likely "completely demolish" the Chinese space station and kill everyone on board, McDowell added.
The core module of China's station Tiangong -- meaning "heavenly palace" -- entered orbit earlier this year, and it is expected to become fully operational next year.

China slams US after space station 'close encounters' with Musk's satellites

METATEXT

www.sinodaily.com

Konflikti kukkanen nupussaan, kukaan ei kuitenkaan välitä.

 

[tiedotusosasto]

Kiinan minisatelliitti veti USA:lle luun kurkkuun – kuvaa suurkaupungit sekunneissa

Kiinan Peking 3 -satelliitin kuvasta pystyy tunnistamaan yksittäiset armeijan ajoneuvot.

www.tivi.fi

 

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After close encounters between China's international space station and two of the 1,600 Starlink satellites launched by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, Musk responded saying there is enough space around the Earth's orbit to accommodate "tens of billions" of satellites.

However, he said nothing of the high risks of satellite collisions in space. According to a United Kingdom-based research team, 90 percent of close encounters are likely to involve Starlink after it launches its planned 12,000 satellites. Besides, the brightness of the Starlink satellites in the night sky could affect the working of observatories on Earth.

The US administration is not doing any better than the Musk company. In 2014, the United States Air Force launched the first of four satellites of the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program to monitor other countries' satellites in geosynchronous equatorial orbit.

Satellites in geosynchronous equatorial orbit can stay relatively static in relation to Earth. That makes them ideal to send communication and data to relay satellites, which receive uplink signals and retransmit them, often on different frequencies, to destination locations. The US' GSSAP satellites carry large amounts of fuel and can easily approach other countries' satellites in geosynchronous equatorial orbit to monitor them or do something worse.

According to "Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment" released by the World Security Foundation in April 2021, the GSSAP satellites have been involved in at least eight close encounters with Chinese and Russian satellites since being launched-once even coming within 10 kilometers. In mid-2020, a GSSAP satellite (USA 271) was just 20 km away from a Chinese satellite, upsetting the latter's normal functioning.

Outer space is open to all, but it seems the US administration and private companies want to treat it as their own backyard. Therefore, it's absurd that US politicians are blaming China for "militarizing space". Space should be used in a peaceful, orderly way.

Outer space is not the US' backyard

Beijing (XNA) Jan 04, 2022 - After close encounters between China's international space station and two of the 1,600 Starlink satellites launched by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, Musk responded saying there is enough space around

www.spacewar.com

 

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Previously classified adaptive optics technologies enabled the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to capture an image of an asteroid’s moon using a telescope measuring just 1.5 meters across. The ability to detect and capture images of space-based objects without the need for massive telescopes could aid in the Pentagon’s efforts to track small, maneuverable satellites in close proximity to one another — an increasingly critical capability as space becomes a major battleground.

The images of the moon were captured at the Starfire Optical Range at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The small moon, known as Linus, measures around 30 km in diameter and orbits the asteroid 22 Kalliope at a distance of around 1100 km every 3.6 days. The asteroid and its moon are found in the main belt of asteroids which stretches between Mars and Jupiter. The 1.5m telescope is only one of several telescopes at the base, all of which are claimed by AFRL to be capable of tracking satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).

Air Force's Small Telescope Tech Will Help Detect Enemy Satellites Sneaking Up On Friendly Ones

The previously classified Starfire Optical Range can aid astronomers while enabling the Space Force to better detect and track small objects in space.

www.thedrive.com

 

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In his new position, Felt will play an important role in establishing the Space Force’s new acquisitions office. When Congress established the Space Force in 2019, it created a new assistant secretary of the Air Force position to lead space acquisitions, with the idea that an acquisitions executive focused on space systems could address the military’s long-running challenges with delays and cost-overruns in that area. Following complaints from legislators that the position was still unfilled in May 2021, the Biden Administration nominated former principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office Frank Calvelli, who is now awaiting a Senate confirmation hearing. In the interim, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall announced in August the service would reorganize its space procurement office, establishing the space-focused acquisitions and integration organization within the Air Force, with major decisions still going through the acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisitions until the space acquisitions executive was approved by the Senate.

As the deputy director of the Space Force’s architecture and science and technology organization, Felt will play a key role in the service’s architecture design work and in communicating the service’s acquisitions priorities and needs to Congress.

Head of US Air Force’s space research will help design the Space Force’s satellite constellations

Col. Eric Felt, currently the director of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate, is taking on a new role as deputy executive director of the Space Force's Space Architecture, Science and Technology Directorate.

www.defensenews.com

 

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Williams told C4ISRNET in a recent interview one of his top priorities is to support the Space Force as it moves to a more distributed, resilient space architecture that combines traditional Defense Department systems with emerging space technology, integrates more commercial capabilities and operates in more orbits.

“The science and technology that’s going to enable that architecture resiliency is really the key — and making sure that we innovate and deliver on faster timelines to support that,” Williams said.

For AFRL, the immediate focus will be less on hardware and more on building a software foundation that uses autonomy, machine learning and data fusion to help the Space Force make faster, more informed decisions.

Air Force Research Lab pushes new Space Force tack on hybrid architecture

As the Space Force moves to make its systems more resilient, the Air Force Research Lab is prioritizing the science and technology that will enable that transition.

www.defensenews.com

On the hardware side, near-term AFRL experiments like Navigation Technology Satellite-3 and several space domain awareness projects will focus on augmenting current space and ground architectures with new technology. NTS-3, set to launch in 2023, will showcase new positioning, navigation and timing capabilities that could be integrated into future GPS satellites.

 

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A Chinese satellite had a near collision with one of the many chunks of debris left by the fallout of a recent Russian anti-satellite missile test, state media reported.

Moscow blew up one of its old satellites in November in a missile test that sparked international anger because of the space debris it scattered around the Earth's orbit.

US officials accused Moscow of carrying out a "dangerous and irresponsible" strike that had created a cloud of debris and forced the International Space Station's crew to take evasive action.

Russia dismissed those concerns and denied that the space debris posed any danger but a new incident with a Chinese satellite suggests otherwise.

In the latest encounter, China's Tsinghua Science Satellite came as close as 14.5 metres from a piece of debris, the state-run Global Times reported late Wednesday.

The "extremely dangerous" event happened on Tuesday, the report added, citing a social media post by Chinese space authorities that has since been removed.

Space debris expert Liu Jing told the Global Times that it was rare for debris and spacecraft to be just a dozen metres apart, adding that the probability of collision this time was "very high" and should theoretically have called for evasive action.

China satellite in close encounter with Russian debris: state media

Beijing (AFP) Jan 20, 2022 - A Chinese satellite had a near collision with one of the many chunks of debris left by the fallout of a recent Russian anti-satellite missile test, state media reported.

www.spacedaily.com

 

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Chinese satellite was observed grabbing another satellite and pulling it out of its normal geosynchronous orbit and into a “super-graveyard drift orbit.” The maneuver raises questions about the potential applications of these types of satellites designed to maneuver close to other satellites for inspection or manipulation and adds to growing concerns about China's space program overall.

On January 22, China’s Shijian-21 satellite, or SJ-21, disappeared from its regular position in orbit during daylight hours when observations were difficult to make with optical telescopes. SJ-21 was then observed executing a “large maneuver” to bring it closely alongside another satellite, a dead BeiDou Navigation System satellite. SJ-21 then pulled the dead satellite out of its normal geosynchronous orbit and placed it a few hundred miles away in what is known as a graveyard orbit. These distant orbits are designated for defunct satellites at the end of their lives and are intended to reduce the risk of collision with operational assets.

A Chinese Satellite Just Grappled Another And Pulled It Out Of Orbit

The maneuver raises concerns about the potential militarization of satellites designed to inspect, manipulate, or relocate other satellites.

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SJ-21, or Shijian-21, was launched in October 2021 atop a Long March-3B rocket. The satellite is officially designated as an On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing, or OSAM satellite, a broad class of satellites designed with capabilities to get close to and interact with other satellites. Such systems could enable a wide range of applications including extending the life of existing satellites, assembling satellites in orbit, or performing other maintenance and repairs. According to Chinese state news outlets, SJ-21 was designed to “test and verify space debris mitigation technologies.”

The fact that China has these capabilities in orbit now underscores concerns the Pentagon has been voicing in recent years about China’s rapidly advancing space capabilities. James Dickinson, commander of United States Space Command, told Congress last year that Chinese satellites like SJ-21 and others “could be used in a future system for grappling other satellites.” As early as 2013, there have been reports of Chinese satellites using robotic arms to grab other satellites. A robotic arm launched aboard the Tianhe module of China’s Tiangong space station has displayed similar capabilities.

 

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The UK will invest 1.4 billion pounds to bolster our national interests in space, as part of the first Defence Space Strategy published this week.

Following publication of the National Space Strategy in September last year, the Defence Space Strategy (DSS) outlines how Defence will protect the UK's national interests in space in an era of ever-growing threats, stimulating growth across the sector and supporting highly skilled jobs across the UK.

As part of the new 1.4 billion pound investment, over the next ten years 968 million pounds will be committed to deliver a multi-satellite system to support greater global surveillance and intelligence for military operations - known as the ISTARI Programme. A further 61 million pounds will explore cutting-edge laser communications technology to deliver data from space to Earth at a speed equivalent to superfast broadband.

This substantial investment in space defence is on top of the existing 5 billion pounds already upgrading the UK's Skynet satellite communications capability - providing strategic communication services to the UK Armed Forces and allies.

UK cutting-edge space defence backed by 1.4 billion pounds

London, UK (SPX) Feb 03, 2022 - The UK will invest 1.4 billion pounds to bolster our national interests in space, as part of the first Defence Space Strategy published this week. Following publication of the National Space S

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Defence Procurement Minister launches Defence Space Strategy

London, UK (SPX) Feb 03, 2022 - It's a huge pleasure to be here today on the next step in our execution of the Integrated Review, the Defence Command Paper and Defence and Security Industrial Strategy. A lot has happened in

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