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December 30, 2021 - Iran state television stated on Thursday that it has launched a rocket with a satellite carrier containing three unknown devices into space. Read more
December 27, 2021 - At a joint meeting of the State Council and Council for Science and Education Putin boasted about the latest successful Tsirkon hypersonic missile test Russia carried out on December 24th. Read more
December 18, 2021 - The United States Space Force has awarded Raytheon Technologies $67 million to design a prototype for the Electro-Optical Infrared Weather System (EWS) which will be replacing the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) which has been operational since the 1960s. Read more
November 30, 2021 - Space Force Lieutenant General Chance Saltzman Says China's new hypersonic glide vehicle weapon can stay in space for an extended period of time and launch separate projectiles when carrying out a strike. Read more
November 30, 2021 - NASA has postponed a planned spacewalk to repair a broken antenna due to the orbiting debris leftover due to the recent Russian anti-satellite missile test. Read more
November 23, 2021 - Russian state TV has claimed that Russia's anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles have the capability of destroying 32 NATO satellites and 'blind all their missiles, planes and ships, not to mention the ground forces'. Read more
November 22, 2021 - A new report by the Financial Times has come out that China's hypersonic glide vehicle test on July 27th ejected an unknown payload over the South China Sea, "as it approached its target traveling at least five times the speed of sound". Read more
November 21, 2021 - US Space Force General David Thompson spoke at a security forum and said that the United States is not as advanced as the Chinese or Russians when it comes to Hypersonic missiles. Full story
November 16, 2021 - A Russian anti-satellite missile test, in which Russia targeted and destroyed one of its own non-functioning satellites has generated about 1,500 pieces of space Debris in outer space. Full story
November 10, 2021 - WASHINGTON - The United States Space Force has detected a mysterious and unknown object orbiting near China's Shijian-21 which is suspected to be a 'satellite crusher' and is paralleling Shijian-21's movements. Full story
July 12, 2021 - A U.S. Pentagon official has stated that China is now developing space based weapons, as well as weapons aimed at jamming and destroying satellites. Full story
June 5, 2021 - Space Command is looking into the feasibility of using rockets to transport military cargo around the world quickly. Full story
May 26, 2021 - Russia says that they are planning to launch a nuclear powered spacecraft to the moon, where it will then travel to Venus and Jupiter after that. Read more
May 10, 2021 - The debris from the massive Chinese rocket that had allegedly gone out of control has re-entered earth's atmosphere and safely landed in the Indian Ocean, near the Maldives according to Space Command. Read more
Iran Launches Rocket Into Space - Iran state television stated on Thursday that it has launched a rocket with a satellite carrier containing three unknown devices into space.
Whether any of the three devices the rocket carried into Space are now in orbit around the earth is currently unknown.
Ahmad Hosseini, who is a Defense Ministry spokesman said that the rocket that was launched into space was a Simorgh, or "Phoenix" rocket and the three devices that were launched were sent up about 290 miles.
Hosseini stated that the "performance of the space center and the performance of the satellite carrier was done properly".
Putin Boasts About Latest Tsirkon Hypersonic Missile Test - At a joint meeting of the State Council and Council for Science and Education Putin boasted about the latest successful Tsirkon hypersonic missile test Russia carried out on December 24th.
"Last night or, to be more exact, this morning, the Tsirkon hypersonic system was salvo-launched. This is our advanced missile that can hit both seaborne and ground targets. The tests were successful and smooth. This is a big event in the country’s life and a considerable step towards enhancing Russia’s security and its defense capability" Putin stated.
Putin also addressed Denis Manturov, the Industry and Trade Minister and asked him to "convey the best regards and congratulations to the staffs that worked on this system and thank all for the result and express the sincerest words of gratitude to all the developers, designers, engineers and workers — all those who were involved in this work".
US Space Force Awards Raytheon Technologies 67 Million To Test Prototype Weather System - The United States Space Force has awarded Raytheon Technologies $67 million to design a prototype for the Electro-Optical Infrared Weather System (EWS) which will be replacing the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) which has been operational since the 1960s.
Paul Meyer, VP of space and command and control systems at Raytheon stated "Continuing the DMSP EO/IR capability is critical to military planning for land, sea and air operations. Our satellite will integrate into the early morning orbit, ensuring a seamless transition of weather data without any additional processing".
"We’re dramatically improving the size, weight and power of the EWS payload with the same observations as high-performing systems. Additionally, the team is taking advantage of technology already on-orbit as well as the satellite bus capabilities provided by Blue Canyon Technologies to rapidly deliver the system to the Space Force" Meyer said.
In January of 2021 Raytheon Technologies completed the preliminary design reviews and is now working on the final design review which should be completed by January 2022. They stated that it should be ready to launch around 2025.
China's New Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Can Stay In Orbit For Extended Period Of Time - Space Force Lieutenant General Chance Saltzman Says China's new hypersonic glide vehicle weapon can stay in space for an extended period of time and launch separate projectiles when carrying out a strike.
"I think the words that we use are important, so that we understand exactly what we’re talking about here" Saltzman said. "I hear things like hypersonic missile, and I hear suborbital sometimes".
"This is a categorically different system [Than a traditional ICBM], because a fractional orbit is different than suborbital. A fractional orbit means it can stay on orbit as long as the user determines and then it de-orbits it as a part of the flight path".
The comments by Saltzman are in agreement with comments by Air Force General John Hyten who said earlier this month that, "It went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic glide vehicle that glided all the way back to China, that impacted a target in China".
NASA Postpones Spacewalk Due To Debris Leftover From Russian Anti-Satellite Missile Test - NASA has postponed a planned spacewalk to repair a broken antenna due to the orbiting debris leftover due to the recent Russian anti-satellite missile test.
The official International Space Station twitter account put out a tweet saying, "NASA received a debris notification for the space station. Due to the lack of opportunity to properly assess the risk it could pose to the astronauts, teams have decided to delay the Nov. 30 spacewalk until more information is available".
Russia recently targeted and destroyed one of its own non-functioning satellites leaving over 1,500 pieces of dangerous space debris floating around.
Russian State TV States Russia's Anti-Satellite System Could Effectively Blind NATO - Russian state TV has claimed that Russia's anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles have the capability of destroying 32 NATO satellites and 'blind all their missiles, planes and ships, not to mention the ground forces'.
China's Hypersonic Test Last Summer Ejected An Unknown Payload - A new report by the Financial Times has come out that China's hypersonic glide vehicle test on July 27th ejected an unknown payload over the South China Sea, "as it approached its target traveling at least five times the speed of sound".
General John Hyten was interviewed by CBS News regarding the July 27th test and said, "It went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic glide vehicle that glided all the way back to China, that impacted a target in China".
The Financial Times article states that "some Pentagon experts believe the projectile was an air-to-air missile". Demetri Sevastopulo from the Financial Times reported that the hypersonic glide vehicle fired a "separate missile mid-flight in the atmosphere".
The report also refers to "experts at DARPA" who say that the payload that was dropped was possibly countermeasures being deployed which would likely be used to thwart missile systems such as those being developed by the United States.
US Space Force General Says Chinese And Russians More Advanced Than US On Hypersonic Missiles - US Space Force General David Thompson spoke at a security forum and said that the United States is not as advanced as the Chinese or Russians when it comes to Hypersonic missiles.
Thompson stated, "We are not as advanced as the Chinese or the Russians in terms of hypersonic programs. We have catching up to do very quickly, the Chinese have an incredible hypersonic program. It's a very concerning development ... it greatly complicates the strategic warning problem."
An report by the US congress had stated that Russia and China have "a number of hypersonic weapons programs" and have "likely fielded operational hypersonic glide vehicles - potentially armed with nuclear warheads".
Thursday, Russia test fired a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile from the Gorshkov frigate. The report by the US congress said, "China has also demonstrated a growing interest in Russian advances in hypersonic weapons technology" and that "Chinese papers on hypersonic weapons include references to Russian weapons programs".
Two hypersonic missile tests were carried out by China in August, one missile circled the globe at such a low altitude that US radars were entirely unable to detect it as it sped over 5 times the speed of sound.
Debris Generating Event In Outer Space Due To Russian ASAT Test - A Russian anti-satellite missile test, in which Russia targeted and destroyed one of its own non-functioning satellites has generated about 1,500 pieces of space Debris in outer space. Full story
US Space Force Has Detected Unknown Object In Orbit Near China's Shijian-21 Spacecraft - WASHINGTON - The United States Space Force has detected a mysterious and unknown object orbiting near China's Shijian-21 which is suspected to be a 'satellite crusher' and is paralleling Shijian-21's movements. Full story
China Launches Weapon That Can Take Out Satellites Under Guise Of Cleaning 'Space Debris' - A satellite has been launched by China that is supposed to be used for cleaning space debris, but has the capability to take out American satellites.
The Shijian-21 robotic satellite that was sent into space on Sunday on top of a rocket booster from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center is said to be "tasked with demonstrating technologies to alleviate and neutralize space debris" by the state run China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.
The Shijian-21 satellite has a robotic arm that is not only capable of pulling in debris, but also capable of pulling in and destroying other satellites.
Air Force General James Dickinson from the U.S. Space Command said, "One notable object is the Shijian-17, a Chinese satellite with a robotic arm. Space-based robotic arm technology could be used in a future system for grappling other satellites".
The Shijian-21 is able to maneuver close to orbiting satellites, grapple onto them and then crush them, rendering them inoperable.
China Is Now Developing Space Based Weapons & Jamming Systems - A U.S. Pentagon official has stated that China is now developing space based weapons, as well as weapons aimed at jamming and destroying satellites. This, being one of the focal reasons the Trump Administration had decided to create the United States Space Force military branch in the first place.
Space Command Looking At Using Rockets To Transport Military Cargo Around The World - Space Command is looking into the feasibility of using rockets to transport military cargo around the world quickly. Using rockets would move the cargo where it is needed much quicker than any of the other transport methods currently used by the U.S. military.
Rather than land, the rocket would only need to air drop the cargo to its destination. This method is especially feasible now with the use of re-usable rockets, technology that wasn't available until just recently.
Russia Planning To Launch Nuclear Powered "Space Tug" To Travel From Moon To Jupiter - Russia says that they are planning to launch a nuclear powered spacecraft to the moon, where it will then travel to Venus and Jupiter after that. The "Space Tug" is scheduled to launch in 2030. It's nuclear energy module is named "Zeus" and has been designed similar to a nuclear power plant with a 500-kilowatt reactor capable of powering the spacecraft for long distances deep into space. The mission will last 50 months, or roughly 4 years.
Debris From Massive Chinese Rocket Falls Safely Into Indian Ocean - The debris from the massive Chinese rocket that had allegedly gone out of control has re-entered earth's atmosphere and safely landed in the Indian Ocean, near the Maldives according to Space Command.
