ROSKOSMOS Head on Recent Failures – “…Sabotage”
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ROSKOSMOS Head on Recent Failures – “…Sabotage”

When all else fails – and your butt is on the line with a major PR catastrophe looming, it is best to man-up, square your shoulders and do your duty as organizational lead by assuming responsibility before The Big Guy…unless you are the head of Russia’s ROSKOSMOS space agency.  Then you can hint darkly about…

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The Missiles of Winter (I): International Conventions

If news reports coming from South Korea and echoed through the West are to be believed, North Korea is moving towards another attempt at launching a Taepo Dong – 2 IR/ICBM, ostensibly as a space launch vehicle (SLV).  This would be the third such attempt, with previous attempts in July 2006 and Sept 1998 ending…

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Vanguard 1: Fifty Years Later

    Requirement: 1) place a satellite in orbit during the IGY; 2) accomplish a scientific experiment in orbit; 3) track the satellite and ensure its attainment of orbit.  Because of an ongoing classified program to put reconnaissance satellites in orbit (Project WS-117 using Air Force Thor MRBM’s – which later became the Korona-series of reconnaissance…

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The Shenlong Spaceplane: Hyperventilating Hypersonics or Real Threat?

"At a minimum, Washington should delay the planned 2010 retirement of the Space Shuttle until a new space plane can replace it, as a way to retain a deterring potential military capability. China’s unwillingness to comment on its military space plans, coupled with the Shenlong space plane, confirms its larger aversion to military transparency. The…

The Problem With Debris: The ASAT Test One Year Later

About this time last year (11 Jan), China conducted the now infamous direct-ascent ASAT (Anti-Satellite) hit-to-kill test.  We have written to some degree about it already – notably here and here.  Both articles describe the notorious aspect of the test – the addition of significant amounts of debris to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).  How much? …