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$29M To Start US Satellite Protection Program
coondoggie sends in a Network World piece that begins "The Air Force laid out $29 million in contracts this week to build space-based sensors that could detect threats or hazards and protect satellites in orbit. Assurance Technologies and Lockheed Martin Space Systems will split $20 million of the two-year contract that the Air Force says should ultimately demonstrate a viable sensing capability, as well as integration with other space systems to offer threat and hazard detection, assessment and notification ... The Air Force is looking to protect satellites from ground based lasers or anti-satellite missiles mostly."
pew!! pew!!
greed@All_Evils:~#
Be a shame if something was to happen to it. (*Crash*) Whoops. How clumsy of me...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Seriously, George Lucas? More Star Wars?
Give it a rest. Although, at least this one won't be a prequel.
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
$29 million doesn't buy much these days.
--
IP Finding
overbudget by hundreds of billions of dollars? It's nice they are trying to protect a few birds in the sky, but what about us the little people?
No more orbiting in fear, wondering when you'll cross groundtracks with the wrong satellite.
the tagging system here.
What's 'mafiaa' got to do with this?
There are no benefits for the unskilled unemployed voter. The dhimmo-crat controlled US government will cancel it as soon as possible.
...considering all the crap floating around in orbit. And mynocks... chewing on the power couplings... lol
But seriously, given how much these satellites cost to build and to launch into orbit, taking some precautionary measures just makes sense.
I have a hard time seeing how sensors are going to protect a satalite from an attack by lasers. Once the sensor detects the beam (somehow), it's too late to move the satalite, isnt it?
Sounds like the mob to me.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Instead of gov't funding such a socialist venture, I say use the market. Buy an insurance from a private enterprise, say AIG, because we all know that they're too big to fail.
All you patriotic, Pro-America Americans would agree - LET THE MARKET DO ITS WORK. Say NO to commie schemes like this.
Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
If dudes sitting in lawn chairs can chart the paths of satellites in the sky, then any competent hostile power can easily do the same. Lets face it, satellites are giant sitting ducks. If we get into a shooting war with a powerful nation the first thing to go will be all the satellites.
I guess someone had the same (lame, Friday-afternoon) reaction I did to the headline:
"Nice lookin' satellite you got there! Shame if something should happen to it! Ain't that right, Vinny?"
I would like to see what "detection, assessment and notification" of a laser attack entails.
Isn't that all that's needed to defeat a ground based laser?
you had me at #!
As sharks.
you had me at #!
"Nice satellite you got here... be a shame if anything should happen to it!"
Wait, you mean that's not the kind of "Protection Service" we're talking about?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
For some satellites hitting them with ground-based lasers is the whole point of their existence.
While this is interesting, I'd always thought about an orbital space city rather than a space station or satellites as the more interesting venture. The downsides fall toward expense and crazy scientists thinking they understand Earth's ecology better because they can develop a man-made ecosystem.
Consider first several small, modular bays in high orbit. Each is self-contained and can internally rotate for artificial gravity. Assuming horizontal rotation, "up" is the convergence toward the center vertical axis. Each "level" would use a flat platform reaching to the edge of the circular slice to avoid ground curve.
The central level would supply an inverter; to get to the "upper" decks, one would step into an elevator that raised half way, turned over, and returned to the opposite floor. One could simply jump and grab someone else's hand for the same purpose; note that due to dislocation from a moving surface, even once you've passed the center point your gravity goes the same way until you contact another surface long enough to be accelerated properly. Climbing a pole would be interesting, since you would slowly get lighter (your head and legs would experience opposing gravity), and then heavier relative to the target plane; the inverter would use this methodology, turning you about in the center of gravitation to provide the least stress.
Rotation would be driven by motors stationed at the perimeter of the spheres, not attached to a central pole. A central pole would have to be attached to the perimeter of the sphere. More on rotation later.
The highest deck would be called the "upper dome," and be capped by a giant transparent aluminum dome. It would be equipped with metal shutters that could close over the dome, protecting it from debris and shutting out light.
The lowest deck would be called the "Incubation Deck." It would house some sort of energy collection system, either agricultural (dirt, trees, gardens, possibly grazing animals), chemical (Fischer-Tropsch process to convert chemical fuel biproducts into chemical fuel), or photo/thermal (solar-thermal or photovoltaic power generation).
The two decks would connect by a large diameter tunnel along the central axis, called the Solar Transit Conduit. Inexact concave parabolic mirrors in the Upper Dome would collect light into the Solar Transit Conduit, which itself would be mirrored all the way down. The final reflection into the Solar Transit Conduit would be a convex parabolic mirror, to spread the light rather than concentrate it. The Solar Transit Conduit would use an intentionally inexact surface, to avoid continuously reflecting light off an effective concave parabolic reflector and generating a million degree beam of death; this surface would respond to heat enough to expand and contract, further warping and contorting, insuring that when a hot spot begins to form the beam is warped to spread the light rather than concentrate it further.
The exit point from the Solar Transit Conduit into the Incubation Deck would reflect the light cleanly away from the Solar Transit Conduit using a mirrored, pointed cone. The ceiling or "skyline" of the Incubation Deck would consist of a large domed mirror, again inexact and thermally reactive. This would spread light throughout agricultural and photovoltaic Incubation Decks. For "hot decks" such as solar-thermal or otherwise molten hot places, we don't care; blast the ground with a beam of pure energy.
Agricultural decks would simulate an ecosystem, complete with terraformed landscape, trees, ponds/lakes, rivers, plants, bees, fish, and herbivores. Used air from the station would pump into the Agricultural deck through lower side vents; air would be drawn off from higher, as CO2 weighs more than O2 so this air is more oxygenated by nature. Air being drawn out would be drawn through cooling coils and a filter screen to generate condensation and return water to the system via simulated rain.
Humidity and temperature in Agriculture dec
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Reimplement the machine gun design for one of the early manned recon satellites. It had radar and eyeball sensors.
...the treaties against the "militarization of space." Seems like it might not be long until we've got people blowing up each others' satellites left and right.
This is exactly the kind of crap the US needs to stop wasting money on.
..why isn't their research being used?
http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/taos.htm
Technology for Autonomous Operational Survivability...."TAOS is a technology demonstration satellite whose purpose is to implement creative techniques for autonomous operational survivability....the laser and radar warning sensors are providing data to users..."
And the tax payers want to know why we have to pony up more money to learn the same thing?
I happen to know that a similar program aimed specifically tracking missiles from space has been underway for at least two years with a seperate favorite defense contractor in the desert. The working project title sent chills down my spine, but it's only an orbital tracker that relays to ground missiles. (supposedly) Project "Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle" or commonly referred to by its acronym.