US Changes Int Law to Downgrade Satellites as weapons

Satellites are no longer weapons, according to a change in US anti-arms trafficking law. The move gives hope to commercial spaceflight companies wanting to sell their technology on the global market rather than just within the US.

However, the focus on Earth-orbiting craft means deep-space missions could still be hampered by onerous security laws.

On 3 January, President Barack Obama authorised a revision of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations law.

Since 1999, ITAR listed US satellites and related technology as munitions with strict limits on exports to foreign powers – much to the annoyance of satellite makers.

They say they cannot earn what they need to stay innovative without selling advanced technology abroad.

The updated law takes Earth-orbiting satellites and technologies off the list, although the president retains veto power, and the ruling doesn't apply to some countries, including China, Iran and North Korea.

Alex Saltman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation in Washington DC hopes the relaxation of rules will in future be extended to other space-tourism equipment such as crew capsules, which remain restricted by ITAR.

"Space technologies that in the past had primarily military uses, or which had mixed military and civilian uses, are becoming primarily commercial and therefore should be regulated as such," says Saltman.

"While there is no immediate effect – there is nothing that is allowed now that was not allowed a month ago – we are a big step down the road toward loosening restrictions."

UK F35-C Lightning II Jet unable to land on UK Carriers

The Joint Combat Aircraft (previously Future Joint Combat Aircraft) was originally intended to replace Sea Harrier in the Fleet Air Arm, and Harriers in the RAF. It selected the Joint Strike Fighter F35 as preferred solution in 2001, but for a long time never never really decided between STOVL and CV variants. The JCA programme has been heavily influenced by events connected to the Joint Harrier Force and, even more, it has been shaped partially by the Future Offensive Air System (Tornado replacement programme targeted at delivering a Deep Penetration Strike aicraft) programme of the RAF.

CERN Declare Antimatter Bombs Impossible

A graphic showing a collision at full power is pictured at the Compact Muon Solenoid experience control room of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Meyrin, outside Geneva, on March 30 of last year.

Scientists at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research have been experimenting with particles that may seem esoteric to the layman.

One of these mysterious particles being studied by the physicists at CERN is antimatter, the twin to matter particles that make up everything in the universe.

Antimatter particles are sub-atomic particles that have the opposite properties of those found in normal matter particles. An electron's antimatter equivalent is the positron.

Scientists have theorised that the universe had the same amount of matter and antimatter in the first moments after the Big Bang but over 14 billion years most of the antimatter was destroyed.

Scientists have never been able to explain why the antimatter disappeared but one theory points out that there could have been more matter than antimatter in the beginning.

Matter and antimatter annihilate each other when they meet so if there were more matter than antimatter, there would have been enough normal matter to form the stars.

Ever since the scientists at CERN reported that they were successful in creating antimatter using the Large Hadron Collider there have been some concerns among the general public about the implications of the discovery.

Could antimatter be used to make bombs as popularised in Dan Brown's book "Angels and Demons" where a secret society used an antimatter bomb?

To allay those fears CERN actually released a disclaimer on its site about antimatter and the possibility of an antimatter bomb.

"It would take billions of years to produce enough antimatter for a bomb having the same destructiveness as 'typical' hydrogen bombs, of which there exist more than ten thousand already," the group responsible for creating the antimatter explained at their website.

There is also not enough antimatter created by CERN to annihilate the Earth or even use for anything other than for pure research. Creating enough antimatter to build a bomb is also very inefficient since CERN can only create miniscule amounts of antimatter by colliding particles at very high energies.

"Thanks to the inefficiency of the transformation process of energy into antimatter we are safe," CERN physicist Rolf Landua explained on the institute's website. "We do not have to worry about military applications."

"Take Dan Brown's hypothetical 1 gram of antimatter," he continued. "With present CERN technology, we would be able to produce about 10 nanograms of antimatter per year, at a cost of about $10-20 million.

Then we would have to deal with the problem of how to store so many particles (about 10,000,000,000,000,000 antiprotons).

Obviously, it would take 100 million years - and $1,000 trillion - to make 1 gram. This appears ambitious even for the US military."

National security expert warns of Asian space race

James Clay Moltz, an associate professor in the department of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, has published a commentary paper in the journal Nature where he warns of a possible space race involving many Asian nations, possibly leading to an arms race. 

 
Moltz writes that despite denials by the major Asian players, there exists the beginnings of a space race among the most technologically advanced countries in the area.

In the lead of course is China, which besides the United States and Russia, is the only country to have put a person in space on its own.


Other Asian countries actively involved in space technology include India, South Korea and Japan, though others such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan are working on building a presence as well.

Japan of course, has been actively involved with the International Space station, and India has been putting nerves on edge by mixing its space technology with military goals by building rockets capable of carrying a payload all the way to Beijing.

The country has also launched its own rockets into space to deliver satellites, though it’s not yet achieved the broad range of successes of the Chinese program.

The problem with an Asian space race, Moltz contends, is that it builds an arena of unhealthy competition bred out of historic geopolitical rivalries.

It also wastes resources, but that’s not something that should concern other countries. What should he writes, is the possibility of an Asian space race morphing into an Asian arms race, something that could impact virtually every nation on Earth.

The current situation, he explains, is a collection of Asian countries who are unwilling to work together to meet mutual goals such as can be seen with the European Space Agency (ESA).

Instead, individual countries work independently, quite often duplicating work done by other countries both in Asia and in the west, resulting in secretive programs that have as a goal beating one another to the next level, rather than building programs that serve the national, or international good.

What is perhaps most chilling about an Asian space race is the way China, which is the clear leader, has gone about its space program, highlighted not by its triumphs in manned exploration, but in it’s destruction of one of its dead weather satellites by an anti-satellite weapon back in 2007.


Not only did that action contribute to the vast collection of space junk, but it sent shock waves through the entire international community as it demonstrated very clearly the types of technology China has been secretly working on. And because of its leadership role in the Asian community, the action has likely set other countries to develop their own such weapons.

One other worrisome offshoot of the space race is the impact it might have on those Asian countries unable to join in.

Pakistan, for example, a country with nuclear weapons, has voiced concerns over the missile technology that India has developed and has repeatedly made it clear that any actions by India it deems a threat to its own survival would be met with all out war, including the use of nuclear bombs.

More information: Technology: Asia's space race, Nature 480, 171–173 (08 December 2011) doi:10.1038/480171a

China and the importance of safeguarding peaceful use of outer space

To the great surprise of other nations, China on Monday spoke of the importance of safeguarding the peaceful use of outer space and preventing the weaponisation of and an arms race in outer space, saying that "the outer space is the common wealth of mankind as the global public space."

The statement came as Wang Qun, the Chinese ambassador for disarmament affairs, was taking the floor at the thematic debate on outer space at the First Committee of the UN General Assembly.

The First Committee is in charge of disarmament and international security.

"The outer space is the common wealth of mankind as the global public space," Wang said. "The permanent peace of outer space is correlated to all nations' security, development and prosperity."

"Meanwhile, with the growing reliance of mankind on outer space, the risk of the weaponization of and an arms race in outer space are on rise, and the uncertainties concerning outer space security are accumulating as well," he said.

"Safeguarding the peaceful use of outer space and preventing the weaponization of and an arms race in outer space are common interest and obligations of all countries."

In responding to the growing challenge for security in outer space, the international community also witnessed common grounds on opposing to the weaponization of outer space and advertising the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space, he said.

The General Assembly, for consecutive years, adopted " Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space" resolution by overwhelming majority of votes, calling for negotiations on an international legally-binding instrument on the prevention of an arms race in outer space at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

"The mankind has marched into the 6th decade of outer space exploitation, and the manned space flight has made a history of 50 years," Wang said.

"Recently, China has successfully launched the Tiangong-1 ( Heavenly Palace 1) as a target spacecraft for rendezvous and docking experiment, which opens a new era of China's manned space flight, and also reflects that China is committed itself to the honorable objective of promoting the peaceful exploration and utilization of the outer space, maintaining peace and bringing benefit to mankind."

The world will watch and wait to see if this message is taken on board by all of China's leaders and politicians. Time will tell.

Ultimate Battlefield 3 Simulator - The Gadget Show - YouTube

“Screw the practicalities, let’s build a huge virtual reality dome and use it to play Battlefield 3!” That’s the admirable attitude shown by the folks at the Gadget Show in this video of the Ultimate Battlefield 3 Simulator, spotted on Reddit.

An “omni-directional treadmill” monitors the players movements. A wireless gun is used to aim and paintball markers attached to the player’s body let him “feel the enemy gunfire.”

It's a 'must have' for Xmas!

Boeing and BAE develop laser weapon

Both Boeing and BAE Systems have been working on laser weapon systems for use at sea for a number of years and now the two companies have teamed up to develop the Mk 38 Mod 2 Tactical Laser System for the U.S. Navy.

The system combines both kinetic and directed energy weapons capability by coupling a solid-state high-energy laser weapon module with the Mk 38 Machine Gun System that is already in use on many U.S. Navy vessels.

The Mk 38 Mod 2 is a remotely operated machine gun whose main weapon is the widely used M242 Bushmaster 25-mm Chain Gun - a proven NATO standard auto cannon with 2.5 km (1.5 mile) range and selectable rates of fire.

Boeing says the addition of the laser weapon module will provide high-precision accuracy against surface and air targets such as small boats and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It will also provide the ability to deliver different levels of laser energy, depending on the target and mission objectives.

"The Mk 38 Mod 2 system is revolutionary because it combines kinetic and directed energy weapons capability," said Michael Rinn, Boeing Directed Energy Systems (DES) division vice president..

"Our approach is an affordable solution for the customer, because this system can be integrated seamlessly into existing shipboard command interfaces."

Boeing and BAE Systems say they have been working together to develop a Tactical Laser System that can be integrated with existing Navy gun mounts for two years.

But the companies have only just signed a teaming agreement to develop the Mk 38 Mod 2 Tactical Laser System for the U.S. Navy following BAE being awarded an initial US$2.8 million contract in March 2011 to demonstrate such a system.

Laser rifle: a weapon against pirates

BAE Systems, a British defense company demonstrated how a non-lethal laser weapon can be used to ward off pirates.

Now, American researchers have created a more powerful laser gun that should be more effective against sea bandits.

While the crystalline Neodymium Yttrium Aluminium Garnet laser canon, developed by BAE Systems, can temporarily disorient an assailant with a pulse of blinding light, another prototype called the TR3 Threat Deterrent Laser Rifle is compact and the laser settings can be adjusted to inflict some serious pain.

To learn more about BAE Systems’ laser canon, check out John Herrman’s Smart Planet post here

The TR3, developed by Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems and SPA Defense, can deliver an intense 3-watt green laser at targets up to one and a half miles away. The greater range is most effective when operated at night. The rifle’s re-chargeable lithium-ion battery allows for up to 30 plus minutes of continuous firing.

David Crane of DefenseReview.com got to test out a prototype during the recent Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show and Conference or SHOT show and described the experience on his website:

"We got to try the TR3 ourselves, and came away very impressed with it. You can adjust the intense green laser beam’s focus using a dial that surrounds the weapon’s emitter (“barrel”/”muzzle”). You can disperse the beam so that it’s eye-safe for hitting bad guys in the face, or dial the beam into a retina-frying focus."
"Unfortunately, we didn’t shoot video of the TR3 operating, during the demo."

A video produced by the company, shows the TR3 in action does exist but is not currently available in the public domain.

The TR3 is intended for military and defense markets only but it's only a matter of time until this weapon becomes more readily available.

Russian Ex-navy chief denies dumping nuclear waste in Baltic Sea

Ex-navy chief denies Russia dumped nuclear waste in Baltic Sea

Picture shows the Russian Navy's carrier Admiral Kuznetsov

The former commander of the Russian navy's Baltic fleet on Friday denied Swedish media reports that Russia dumped radioactive and chemical waste into Swedish waters in the Baltic Sea in the early 1990s.

"This is complete nonsense and a clear provocation, propagated at an international level," Admiral Vladimir Yegorov, who commanded the Baltic fleet from 1991 to 2000, told the Interfax news agency.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt on Thursday called for the previous governments to explain a television report that Russia dumped chemical weapons and radioactive waste off the shores of a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea.

According to the television report on the SVT network on Wednesday, the waste dumped in Swedish waters between 1991 and 1994 came from the giant Karosta naval base in the Latvian port city of Liepaja.

"The naval forces that were pulling out of the Liepaja naval base in Latvia in the early 1990s did not have chemical weapons, radioactive materials and waste," Yegorov insisted.

He added that the Russian naval forces were monitored by Latvia as they pulled out of the port and that the naval command acted "strictly within the framework of Russian and Latvian agreements."

A summit of heads of state of countries bordering the Baltic Sea was to take place in Helsinki Wednesday to try to solve the problems of one of the world's most polluted seas.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was due to attend.

China and India developing anti-satellite weapons

The U.S. media suspects China and India of developing anti-satellite weapons. An article to this effect has been published the New Scientist magazine.

Until recently, only the Soviet Union, its legal successor Russia and the United States were capable of developing anti-satellite weapons. U.S. analysts now think that China and India are acquiring similar capabilities. To what extent are such fears justified?

It is hard to overestimate the role played by military satellite systems. Since the 1970s, an increasingly greater number of troop-control, telecommunications, target-acquisition, navigation and other processes depend on spacecraft which are therefore becoming more important.

At this point, it is impossible to imagine the armed forces of most industrial states, including Russia, without combat-ready satellite clusters comprising spacecraft of various types. The space echelon's role is directly proportional to the development level of any given nation and its armed forces.

However, satellite clusters are hardly invulnerable. Ever since the U.S.S.R. and the United States launched their first military satellites, efforts have been made to develop anti-satellite systems. Such efforts were intensified after the creation of initial missile defense systems comprising the highly important space echelon.

Orbital satellite interceptors, surface-to-space and air-to-space missiles were eventually developed.

Research aiming to develop orbital and ground-based anti-satellite laser guns making it possible to either destroy spacecraft or knock out their electronics and optical devices deserves special mention. However, few results have been achieved in this area.

China, which claims the right to be a global power, prioritizes the development of anti-satellite weapons.

A 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test was conducted at 10.26 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on January 11, 2007 or at 6.26 a.m. Beijing time on January 12.

A Chinese weather satellite - the FY-1C polar orbit satellite of the Fengyun series, flying at an altitude of 865 kilometers (537 mi) - was destroyed by a kinetic kill vehicle traveling at a speed of 8 km/second in the opposite direction.

Although the exact name of the missile is not known, sources mentioned a KT-1/SC-19 system described as being based on a modified DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile or its commercial derivative, the KT-2, with a kinetic kill vehicle mounted. The 11-meter DF-21 missile weighs 15 metric tons.

The above referenced kinetic kill vehicle destroyed the satellite with a direct hit.

China thus became the second nation in history to conduct practical anti-satellite system tests.

Full article here ......