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Satellite Wars (ft.com)
schwit1 writes: Sixty years after the space race began, an orbital arms race is again in development. Military officials from the U.S., Europe and Asia confirm in private what the Kettering Group and other amateur stargazers have been watching publicly. Almost every country with strategically important satellite constellations and its own launch facilities is considering how to defend — and weaponize — their extraterrestrial assets. "I don't think there is a single G7 nation that isn't now looking at space security as one of its highest military priorities and areas of strategic concern," says one senior European intelligence official.
The U.S. is spending billions improving its defenses — primarily by building more capacity into its constellations and improving its tracking abilities. A $900m contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin in 2014 to develop a radar system capable of tracking objects as small as baseballs in space in real time. But there are also hints that the U.S. may be looking to equip its satellites with active defenses and countermeasures of their own, such as jamming devices and the ability to evade interceptions. A purely offensive anti-satellite program is in fast development as well. High-energy weapons and maneuverable orbiters such as space planes all open the possibility of the U.S. being able to rapidly weaponize the domain beyond the atmosphere, should it feel the need to do so.
The U.S. is spending billions improving its defenses — primarily by building more capacity into its constellations and improving its tracking abilities. A $900m contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin in 2014 to develop a radar system capable of tracking objects as small as baseballs in space in real time. But there are also hints that the U.S. may be looking to equip its satellites with active defenses and countermeasures of their own, such as jamming devices and the ability to evade interceptions. A purely offensive anti-satellite program is in fast development as well. High-energy weapons and maneuverable orbiters such as space planes all open the possibility of the U.S. being able to rapidly weaponize the domain beyond the atmosphere, should it feel the need to do so.
This reminds me. I had a '72 Plymouth Satellite 2-door with posi-traction when I was in my junior year of college. It was a totally bad ass car. I wish I had it now, if only to show those friggin' millennials with the new Challengers what the original looked like.
I had glass pack mufflers on it so it made a racket when I was taking off from the stop light. Got about 3 miles to the gallon, if I remember correctly, so I mostly kept it parked.
So satellites. Yeah, whatever.
Do you have difficulty obtaining an erection without Viagra? Do you vote in every election? Do you drive much slower than the speed limit during good conditions, never ever pulling over to let others pass since you're obviously not in a hurry - because fuck everybody stuck behind you? Do you enjoy Bingo or Shuffleboard? Do you miss Matlock? Do you drink prune juice? Do you congregate with other old people at the entrances of grocery stores and department stores, blocking foot traffic even when there are benches and a lobby - because fuck everybody else? Can the exact center of a busy shopping isle be found down to the picometer by where you leave your cart - because fuck everybody else? Do you refer to yourself as having a "fixed income" as though working folks can just get a raise anytime they want? Are cars the only thing they just don't make 'em like they used to? Is your nut sac even more wrinkled than the Cryptkeeper on Tales From the Crypt? Do you go into stores and hassle the staff and worry them to death with tons of insignificant requests and ask them where things are when those things are in plain sight? Do you live in Florida or hope to live there? Are you a member of AARP? Do you buy printed newspapers and maybe write letters to the editor? Do you enjoy bankrupting the younger generations, accomplishing what Islamic terrorists and Soviet Russia etc. never could? Do you have a comb-over or a toupee? If you have a wife does she have big floppy tits she practically trips over?
You sound old.