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The U.S. Space Force’s rapid development organization is on track to deliver its first system this year, a timeline that leaders say demonstrate the value of its unique role in the space acquisition ecosystem.

The Space Rapid Capabilities Office was created by Congress in fiscal 2018 to develop high-need operational prototypes as part of a push speed up space acquisition. The office received its first projects in early 2019 and today manages 14 classified programs with the goal of transitioning them to operations within five years.

With its first projects approaching delivery at the end of this year and into 2023, Space RCO Director Kelly Hammett told reporters during a July 23 visit to its headquarters at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico that the office is meeting schedule targets and working closely with the Space Force to ensure a smooth transition.

Because the programs are classified, Hammett said he could not discuss them in detail.

US Space Force rapid capabilities office to deliver first project this year

Projects managed by the Space Rapid Capabilities Office are classified, but the director of the organization told reporters initial deliveries are coming in late 2022 and 2023.

www.defensenews.com

 

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As Brett Tingley reports, the existence of this new complex was brought to light in an in-depth open-source investigation published by The Space Review that analyzed public satellite imagery, and solicitation documents from Russian industrial contractors and Russian financial documents.

All of these sources lay out the construction of a project named Kalina, described in the financial documentation obtained by The Space Review as a laser system designed for "electro-optical warfare" that can permanently blind adversarial satellites by shining laser pulses so bright they can damage optical sensors. (This is distinctly different from other lasers known as "dazzlers," which are aimed at only temporarily blinding optics systems, Brett Tingley underlines. The new investigation suggests that, despite having been planned many years earlier, Kalina just recently got under construction at an existing space surveillance complex operated by the Russian Ministry of Defense that houses lidar ("light detection and ranging") and radar systems designed to help identify targets for space telescopes, Brett Tingley writes.

Russian patent and procurement documents reveal that the Kalina laser facility features a separate tracking system with adaptive optics to help it better mitigate the atmospheric disturbance. Along with this system, the laser itself features a transmit-receive system to measure laser light reflected back at it from its target in order to better aim directly at the optical systems on its target object. The construction of this laser follows a growing trend in terms of anti-satellite activity. General David D. Thompson, vice chief of space operations for the United States Space Force, told The Washington Post in 2021 that U.S. satellites are under attack "every single day" and that the United States is "really at a point now where there's a whole host of ways that our space systems can be threatened."

This "shadow war in space," as The Washington Post deemed it, is already playing out. Elon Musk wrote in May 2022 that Russia has been "ramping up their efforts" to jam and disrupt signals from SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites. SpaceX recently sent many Starlink terminals to Ukraine to re-establish communication networks and provide emergency internet services in the nation, which Russia invaded in February.

Brett Tingley writes that Russia may not be the only player looking to disrupt or destroy the services of Starlink satellites, which have been tested for a variety of military applications(opens in new tab). For example, a 2022 paper published in the Chinese journal Modern Defense Technology by researchers at the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications Technology called for the development of "a combination of soft and hard kill methods" that could "make some Starlink satellites lose their functions and destroy the constellation's operating system." The paper states that, while Starlink "can provide more stable and reliable communication capabilities for the combat units deployed by the US military around the world," the satellites could also be used "to provide high-definition pictures and even live video" for US forces.

It's quite possible that ground-based lasers like Russia's new Kalina system could provide exactly the type of "soft kill" methods described by Chinese researchers — techniques that, unlike "hard kill" methods, don't create risks for everyone else operating in space, Brett Tingley concludes.

Russia building Kalina anti-satellite laser facility for electro-optical warfare | weapons defence industry military technology UK | analysis focus army defence military industry army

Russia building Kalina anti-satellite laser facility

www.armyrecognition.com

 

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The Chinese government has denounced the United States' militarization of space, calling on Washington to allow space to be a peaceful domain instead of seeking to control it exclusively.

"Space is a global public sphere and a key factor in humanity's security and wellbeing. Preventing space arms race is an important prerequisite for ensuring peace, tranquility and sustainable use of outer space," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters on Tuesday.

"The US is the main driver in turning outer space into a weapon and a battlefield. It has long pursued a strategy for dominance in space and openly defined outer space as a war-fighting domain," he said.

"To achieve its strategy, the US has been aggressively developing and deploying a variety of offensive outer space weapons such as directed energy and Counter Communications System, frequently holding military drills and advancing all-round military buildup and preparedness in outer space.

"The US has engaged in intelligence theft and close-in reconnaissance in the space domain, just as it has done in other domains. This would bring a serious negative impact on global strategic stability and constitute grave threats to peace and security in outer space.

"The US should behave responsibly in outer space, stop fueling the militarization and weaponization of outer space, and earnestly undertake its due responsibility of safeguarding peace and stability in outer space," the spokesperson added.

China denounces US for calling space a 'Warfighting Domain'

Beijing (Sputnik) Jul 21, 2022 - Last month, the US Space Force (USSF) launched a new intelligence center and US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines called space a warfighting domain. The military branch was launched i

www.spacewar.com

 

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The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has established the 3 Canadian Space Division as its newest addition to the country's military, the Department of National Defense said in a statement on Friday.

"Today, Lieutenant-General Al Meinzinger, Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and Brigadier-General Mike Adamson, Commander of 3 Canadian Space Division, participated in a ceremony that marked the establishment of the RCAF's newest Division - 3 Canadian Space Division, at National Defense Headquarters Carling in Ottawa, Ontario," the statement said.

The new division is an answer to Canada's increasing need to protect its interests in space and will bolster the military's command by increasing its situational awareness, among other benefits, the statement said.

Space is gaining greater importance for Canada given the latest developments in the area of international security.

"As the international security environment becomes increasingly complex, space is a critical domain for our national security," Defense Minister Anita Anand said.

Anand added that the 3 Canadian Space Division will help the country anticipate eventual threats.

This announcement is the latest development in Canada's commitment to the Combined Space Operations Initiative, which includes the United States, United Kingdom and other allies.

Canada's military creates new space division

Ottawa (Sputnik) Jul 25, 2022 - The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has established the 3 Canadian Space Division as its newest addition to the country's military, the Department of National Defense

www.spacewar.com

 

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Senate lawmakers want to boost the Space Force’s budget by more than $2 billion to support missile warning satellite development, responsive launch capabilities and improved testing and training infrastructure.

The proposed increase comes as part of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s $792 billion spending package for fiscal 2023, released July 28. The bill calls for a 9% increase to the Department of Defense’s budget over fiscal 2022 spending levels and is $31 billion higher than what House lawmakers approved in June.

In a report released with its bill last week, the committee labeled space as one of its top priorities, noting that part of the $2.2 billion increase is focused on hypersonic missile tracking capabilities and would support the Space Force’s shift to a more resilient, distributed architecture.

The bill’s major space-focused funding increases includes $700 million to speed up procurement of Space Development Agency missile warning and tracking satellites and support a new constellation of space vehicles in medium Earth orbit, or between 1,243 and 22,236 miles (2,000-35,785 kilometers) above Earth’s surface. It also proposes another $216 million to accelerate SDA missile warning and tracking satellite launches.

The committee’s show of support for space-based missile warning and tracking systems comes as the Space Force reports growing threats from adversaries including China and Russia that are developing and demonstrating hypersonic weapons that can travel at speeds above Mach 5.

The service projects it will need $24.5 billion to develop and procure missile warning and tracking systems over the next five years to develop the follow-on to the Space-Based Infrared System through a program called Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared and to build out additional constellations that will augment that mission in new orbits.

The committee said it agrees with the Space Force’s plan to rethink its missile warning and tracking architecture but wants details on the progress of the programs and a comparison of the cost, schedule and risk associated with each.

Lawmakers also want to see the Space Force invest more in satellite resiliency, adding $250 million in their bill for an initiative to improve on-board protection for important space assets. The bill doesn’t dictate how the service should spend the money, but recommends that it develop an acquisition strategy to provide “a suite of on-board capabilities” that could be made available for program managers to integrate on their satellites or ground systems. The committee also suggests the service make on-board resiliency a requirement when developing new satellites.

The bill also calls for a $250 million increase “to fill a critical gap” in the Space Force’s testing and training infrastructure. The increase comes as the service is in the early stages of developing a National Space Test and Training Complex that would help space operators and testers connect virtually to practice tactics and assess new space systems.

In the area of space launch, lawmakers proposed $100 million for the Tactically Responsive Launch program. The effort was initiated by Congress, and while the service is pursuing responsive space capabilities that would allow it to quickly replace or augment satellites on rapid timelines, it hasn’t committed to funding the program.

Congress has appropriated $115 million for the program since fiscal 2020 and has repeatedly asked the Space Force to develop an acquisition plan. Senate appropriators continue that push, directing the service to deliver a plan “in a timely manner.”

Lawmakers also proposed a $96 million increase across a range of Space Force technology development initiatives, including a project to boost cyber resiliency and an effort to improve space domain awareness near the moon.

Senators seek $2 billion Space Force budget boost for missile defense, responsive launch

In a report released with its bill, the committee labeled space as one of its top priorities, noting that the proposed increase is focused on hypersonic missile tracking capabilities and would support the Space Force’s shift to a more resilient, distributed architecture.

www.defensenews.com

 

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russia has launched satellite 14F150 Nivelir into orbit under a mission dubbed Kosmos-2558, and its current orbital path could soon place it in close proximity to what is reported to be the spy satellite designated USA-326. Unconfirmed rumors that the asset will serve as an 'inspector' satellite to covertly spy on nearby spacecraft have begun to circulate online following the launch and would line up with Russia’s known on-orbit anti-satellite weapons capabilities and developments.

The Kosmos-2558 satellite was launched on August 1 at 20:25 UTC from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia as a payload on the Soyuz-2.1v rocket. Kosmos-2558, which the Russian Ministry of Defense itself said is a military satellite in an official statement, was then deployed into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO), which pertains to satellites that travel over the polar regions of the globe so their orbital paths are synchronous with the Sun. Its exact purpose is unknown at present, but it has been described as an "inspector" satellite, a term that is often associated with so-called “killer satellites.”

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/game-of-chicken-with-u-s-and-russian-satellites-may-be-underway

Why Russia would want to use Kosmos-2558 to spy on USA-326 could be explained by the American satellite’s mission. USA-326 was launched in February of this year by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket out of Vandenberg Space Force Base, its mission designated NROL-87, which is a classified national security operation led by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in partnership with SpaceX. A press release shared by the NRO following the initial launch claimed that NROL-87 was designed, built, and now operated by the NRO to support its “overhead reconnaissance mission,” which is largely centered around protecting national security through the exploitation of space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

In his blog post, Dr. Langbroek goes on to add that there are indications from USA-326’s orbital characteristics that the satellite is part of a follow-on program to the NRO’s KH-11 spy satellite that Russia deployed an inspector satellite named Kosmos-2542 to observe in 2020. If Dr. Langbroek is correct and USA-326 is a next-generation IMINT satellite or is distinct in some other capacity like being a follow-on to KH-11, it could help explain why Russia would want to, at the very least, get a closer look at it. However, the Kremlin may also have more detailed intel on the specific kinds of operations USA-326 will be carrying out that could have further inspired the suspicious launch and orbital path.

 

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United Launch Alliance launched a missile warning satellite for the U.S. Space Force on Thursday morning.

ULA launched the Space-Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit Flight 6, or SBIRS GEO-6, into orbit on its Atlas V rocket on time at 6:29am.

SBIRS GEO-6 was previously scheduled to launch on June 18 and July 31 but those attempts were delayed for unspecified reasons.

Weather forecasters with the Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron forecasted a 70% chance of favorable weather during the launch window.

The SBIRS GEO-6 is an enhanced space vehicle built by Lockheed Martin that uses its modernized LM 2100 Combat Bus to provide "even greater resiliency and cyber-hardening against growing threats," ULA said.

"Equipped with powerful scanning and staring infrared surveillance sensors to protect our nation 24/7, the SBIRS spacecraft continue to serve as the tip of the spear for global missile warning as ballistic missile threats proliferate around the world," ULA said.

Maj. Matt Blystone, program manager at the Space Force's Space Systems Command said that the launch "represents the conclusion of the production and launch phase, and the commencement of the satellites' critical missile detection and early warning mission."

"These infrared sensors and others in a constellation of persistent overhead satellites, collect data that allow the U.S. military to detect missile launches, support ballistic missile defense, expand technical intelligence gathering and bolster situational awareness on the battlefield," ULA said.

Thursday's launch marks ULA's fifth launch of 2022 with three more national security launches set to take place on the Atlas V before ULA switches to its new Vulcan Centaur.

ULA launches missile warning satellite for US Space Force

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 04, 2022 - United Launch Alliance launched a missile warning satellite for the U.S. Space Force on Thursday morning.

www.spacewar.com

 

[Rantojen mies]

Kiina mitä ilmeisimmin tänään laukaissut avaruuslentokoneensa toisen kerran avaruuteen.

Space Force on vahvistanut laukaisun seurauksena kaksi uutta kohdetta avaruudessa.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1555112060874268674

 

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WaPo: Venäjä laukaisee vakoilusatelliitin Iranille – käyttää sitä ensin itse Ukrainassa

Amnesty puolustaa raporttiaan, jossa se arvostelee kovin sanoin ukrainalaissotilaita

yle.fi

 

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Last week one of China's most reliable rockets, the Long March 2F vehicle, took off from a spaceport in the Gobi Desert carrying a secretive space plane.

In a short report on the launch by China's state-owned Xinhua news service, the government provided little detail about the "reusable test spacecraft" beyond saying it would remain in orbit for "a period of time" and providing technical verification of reusable and in-orbit services.

This is the second time China launched what is believed to be a small space plane, likely similar in size and scope to the US Space Force's experimental X-37B vehicle. This uncrewed X-37B resembles NASA's space shuttle, but at less than 10 meters in length, it is considerably smaller. The vehicle's cargo bay can hold something about the size of a standard refrigerator.

China’s secretive space plane flies higher and longer than before

So what is it doing up there? Secret, space-y stuff, of course.

arstechnica.com

So what is it doing up there? Secret, space-y stuff, of course. The reality is that we're not even sure what the US Space Force is doing with the X-37B, which has made six flights since 2010. The US vehicle likely serves several purposes, including functioning as an in-orbit test bed for developing advanced surveillance sensors, but military officials have never provided a detailed public account of its activities.

The Space Force has two X-37B vehicles, and even their first flights measured more than 200 days. The latest flight, launched in May 2020, has seen the X-37B set new records for duration, with the current mission now in orbit for 813 days and counting. The shorter duration of the Chinese space plane's first flight may indicate that it has a special role in testing hypersonic technologies or other activities related to a high-velocity atmospheric reentry.

Space Force customarily releases images of its X-37B vehicle after landing, but so far, China has released zero images or videos of its space plane. The only way we knew when it had landed in 2020 was thanks to satellite trackers and Planet Labs satellite imagery of the Lop Nur landing site in China.

 

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Debris from a Russian anti-satellite missile is causing chaos in orbit, with shards of ex-spacecraft circling the Earth at perilous speeds.

Dan Oltrogge, chief scientist at space operations biz COMSPOC, explained how space junk generated from anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) are a "pressing threat to security and sustainability" at a talk during this week's annual Small Satellite Conference in Utah.

Debris from the 2021 destruction of Cosmos 1408, a 2,200kg offline signals intelligence satellite, has caused an uptick of close approaches – also known as "conjunction squalls" – with active spacecraft and satellites being launched into space.

"Conjunction squalls represent a step change in the number of conjunctions that a satellite or family of satellites experience with a fragmentation debris source," Oltrogge told The Register.

"A common manner of formation is that a fragmentation event occurs that pollutes an orbital plane, and this plane later becomes coplanar with an active satellite constellation's orbital plane."

Russian anti-satellite test was a 'pressing threat'

Too much junk in the orbital trunk

www.theregister.com

 

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SpaceLink, a space communications company, said it agreed to work with the U.S. Army to help articulate the service’s plan for a tactical network that can help distribute data and imagery more quickly.

The cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command Technical Center, which SpaceLink announced Monday, allows the organizations to share facilities, intellectual property and expertise to “elevate solutions for both the warfighter and industry,” the McLean, Virginia-based company said in a statement. There is no funding connected to the agreement.

While the work isn’t tied to a specific Army program, it comes as the service is making plans for a Tactical Space Layer that would enable it to use overhead imagery to target beyond-line-of-sight threats. The Army has been partnering with commercial companies and other military services to conduct experiments and prototyping efforts aimed at reducing the amount of time it takes to collect and deliver satellite data to a weapon system.

SpaceLink is investing internal funds to develop a satellite relay system that will reside in medium Earth orbit — between 1,243 and 22,236 miles above planet’s surface — and use laser communications for faster and more secure data transfer. Anthony Colucci, the company’s chief strategy and commercial officer, told C4ISRNET in an interview that SpaceLink is in the “ready-for-production phase” and plans to launch its first constellation of four satellites by the end of 2024.

US Army to collaborate with SpaceLink on tactical communications network

The cooperative research and development agreement allows the organizations to share facilities, intellectual property and expertise to “elevate solutions for both the warfighter and industry,” the company said in a statement.

www.defensenews.com

 

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Maxar Technologies will build 14 spacecraft platforms for L3Harris Technologies as part of a Pentagon program for tracking missile threats, including from hypersonic systems, Maxar announced Tuesday.

The Space Development Agency announced last month that L3Harris and Northrop Grumman had each won a contract to produce 14 satellites for the Tranche 1 Tracking Layer in low Earth orbit. These satellites are designed to warn of and track missiles launches.

The United States, Russia and China are among countries developing hypersonic missiles, which can exceed the speed of sound and are harder to track than conventional missiles.

The Maxar-provided platforms will carry “various mission payloads, including optical terminals for space mesh networking, Ka-band communications, and infrared sensors,” according to Tuesday’s statement.

Maxar will manufacture the platforms in Palo Alto and San Jose, California, and will delivery them in 2024, with launches to begin in April 2025, according to the release.

Maxar to aid L3Harris in tracking missiles from space

The United States, Russia and China are among countries developing hypersonic missiles, which can exceed the speed of sound and are harder to track than conventional missiles.

www.defensenews.com

 

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The US Air Force is giving $1.9 million to SpaceX to test if Starlink can support military bases in Europe and Africa.

An official, not-the-kind-from-Mar-a-Lago document [PDF] outlining the contract states that SpaceX's satellite broadband biz was chosen because it was the only company that had a wide enough coverage. Other businesses, including OneWeb, Amazon Kuiper, and Telesat, with low-Earth-orbit (LEO) internet satellites do not have the infrastructure to support Uncle Sam's facilities in Europe and Africa yet. OneWeb's service, for example, will only support regions "north of 50 degrees north latitude" later this year in November, excluding Africa.

"After extensive research it was found that SpaceX Starlink is the only vendor able to provide this specialized communication service in the current areas of operation in the required time," according to the government's contract justification document, as reported by SpaceNews.

"Starlink is the only LEO constellation communications company that currently provides this commercial satellite solution with services to Europe and Africa. Starlink is also the only LEO satellite network provider that is currently being used in a contested environment: Ukraine."

After suffering $1b subsidy snub, Starlink lands $2m US deal

Always look on the bright (oh God, they are so bright) side of life

www.theregister.com

 

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Pentagon leadership will meet next week to discuss the growing threat from new types of space weapons being developed by Russia and China.

The meeting, scheduled for Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, is concerned with "how China and Russia's potential development of fractional orbital bombardment systems and space-to-ground weapons could impact U.S. deterrence and strategic stability, as well as to consider U.S. response options to the potential development of such capabilities by any adversary," according to an agenda for the meeting reviewed by DefenseNews (opens in new tab).

Top U.S. Department of Defense leaders will attend the briefing, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. The Defense Policy Board will also be in attendance, consisting of former national security officials.

The Pentagon is worried about space weapons from Russia and China. Here's why.

The Pentagon will hold classified briefings to discuss the new threats it faces from space.

www.space.com

 

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Germany and Japan have pledged not to conduct destructive anti-satellite tests that could create dangerous clouds of space debris in orbit.

The announcements of these pledges were both made at the second session of the United Nations' open-ended working group on reducing space threats, which is being held in Geneva from Sept. 12 to Sept. 16. The working group (opens in new tab) is meeting to discuss ways to reduce threats in space through creating and adhering to norms and principles of responsible behavior.

Germany's and Japan's announcements follow similar pledges made by the United States, Canada (opens in new tab) and New Zealand in the wake of Russia's irresponsible destruction of a satellite in November 2021 that created a massive cloud of space debris.

Germany and Japan pledge not to conduct destructive anti-satellite tests

Germany and Japan join a growing list of nations that say they won't conduct destructive anti-satellite tests.

www.space.com

 

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The Biden-nominated chief of space operations for the USA's Space Force (USSF) rates China his greatest challenge, as the Middle Kingdom has developed technologies to destroy space assets.

"The most immediate threat, in my opinion, is the pace with which our strategic challengers – first and foremost the Chinese – are aggressively pursuing capabilities that can disrupt, degrade and ultimately even destroy our satellite capabilities and disrupt our ground infrastructure," Space Force Lieutenant General B. Chance Saltzman said during a nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this week.

Saltzman said America's armed forces assume the presence of space-based assets for most operations; China has observed the US's reliance on those assets, and sees its ability to take them out as an asymmetric advantage.

China can destroy US spacecraft, Space Force nominee warns

Wants swarms of small satellites that are harder to destroy – and outsourcing to improve cybersecurity

www.theregister.com

 

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The United States Space Force is conducting a training exercise designed to train guardians how to conduct "live fire" satellite jamming.

The training, known as "Black Skies," is part of a new series of exercises designed to focus on specific skills in which Space Force expects its guardians to be proficient, according to a report published by Breaking Defense (opens in new tab). Following Black Skies, which is focused on satellite jamming, the service will conduct "Red Skies" to train in orbital warfare, followed by "Blue Skies," which will focus on cyber warfare.

The training comes as both ground-based and orbital threats to private and U.S. military-owned satellites continue to proliferate, threatening to turn space into a battlefield in the event of a major conflict between space-faring nations.

US Space Force conducts training on 'live fire' satellite jamming

The 'Black Skies' exercise kicked off this week and will focus on electronic warfare.

www.space.com

 

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The U.S. military's newest branch now has its marching music.

The Space Force, which is not yet three years old, just unveiled its official song, a 40-second ditty called "Semper Supra" (Latin for "always above.") And it goes a little something like this:

"We're the mighty watchful eye / Guardians beyond the blue,

The invisible front line / Warfighters brave and true.

Boldly reaching into space / There's no limit to our sky.

Standing guard both night and day / We're the Space Force from on high."

'Semper Supra:' Space Force unveils official song for 'boldly reaching into space'

'We're the mighty watchful eye / Guardians beyond the blue…'

www.space.com

As those lyrics indicate, members of the Space Force are called "guardians," which cues the service up for "Guardians of the Galaxy" jokes. Every branch of the U.S. military has a specific name for its personnel; for example, those in the Army and Navy are called soldiers and sailors, respectively.

Each branch also has its own song. You may have heard "The Army Goes Rolling Along (opens in new tab)," which uses a melody written by march master John Philip Sousa.

The Space Force was officially established in December 2019, becoming the first new branch of the U.S. military since the Air Force began operations in 1947. The Space Force is part of the Air Force, much as the U.S. Marine Corps is part of the Navy.

 

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Most mission scientists would wince at the thought of their spacecraft being smashed to smithereens. But for those behind Nasa’s Dart probe, anything short of total destruction will be chalked up as a failure.

The $330m (£300m) spacecraft is due to slam head-on into an asteroid about 11m kilometres above the Indian Ocean soon after midnight on Monday. The impact, at nearly seven kilometres a second, will obliterate the half-tonne probe, all in the name of planetary defence.

Not that Dimorphos, the asteroid in question, poses any threat to humanity. The Dart, or double asteroid redirection test, is an experiment, the first mission ever to assess whether asteroids can be deflected should one ever be found on a collision course with Earth. A well-placed nudge could avert Armageddon, or so the thinking goes, and spare humans the same fate as the dinosaurs.

Nasa’s Dart probe to smash into asteroid in first Earth defence test

Aim is to see whether space rocks can be deflected should one threaten humans with same fate as dinosaurs

www.theguardian.com