I don’t think Hell has frozen over (yet)

Under the exasperated sighs of “Riiiiight” and “Surrrre,” Boeing has proudly announced on November 8 a “partnership” (read “monopoly”) with the United States Air Force (USAF). This partnership is supposed to help everyone involved to reduce “supply chain costs.” As I’ve noted before, the government and military’s acquisitions systems are broken. This system affects the […]

Too much XS–in government space

Every now and then, an article, like this one posted in USA Today, shows up. The gist of the article is: the Pentagon is looking for a “cheap” way to get satellites into space. In this particular case they’re looking at a “space plane” called XS-1. We’ve heard this before, with pretty much the same […]

Is there really a “Space Race?” (cue “Chariots of Fire”)

“there can be only one?” There are headlines so full of assumptions, you sometimes have to take a step back, and think long and hard about the “angle” of the article. In this instance, I’m referring to The Age, an Australian newspaper with an article, dated November 9, headlined “China to win space race unless […]

The legal considerations of stopping extinction events from space

Um, yeah. A committee. That’s just great. Another committee, but this one is different, right? It’s a committee to “SAVE THE WORLD” (can I hear me some KUMBAYA brothers and sisters?). It’s a United Nations committee. So now we’re all going to be a lot safer, okay? No–really–wait, where are you going? Why are you […]

Surprise Chinese launch places another “experimental” satellite in orbit

Yup, the Chinese decided to surprise everyone with the launch of a Long March 4b, according to this NASASpaceflight.com article. I can’t even imagine the hullabaloo this created on our SBIRS (Space Based Infrared System) operators if this rocket’s intense heat source was really not expected. Imagine seeing something emerge from a not-so-friendly country–something big that […]