A senior U.S. diplomat has accused Russia of deploying another small, specialized satellite into orbit that it could use as an anti-satellite weapon. This is at least the fourth such system the Kremlin has launched since 2013 and highlights a continued lack of internationally accepted ground rules for hostile activities in space, even as the United States seeks to increase its military capabilities above the Earth’s atmosphere.
Yleem Poblete, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, raised the concerns about the Russian “space apparatus inspector” at a meeting of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland on Aug. 14, 2018. Russia publicly announced the launch of this satellite in June 2017, but insists that its only function is to inspect the country’s own space-based systems for damage or other possible issues and potentially service and repair them.
The Russian satellite’s “behavior on-orbit was inconsistent with anything seen before from on-orbit inspection or space situational awareness capabilities, including other Russian inspection satellite activities,” Poblete said at the gathering. “We are concerned with what appears to be very abnormal behavior by a declared ‘space apparatus inspector.’ We don’t know for certain what it is and there is no way to verify it.”
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Dave T: United we stand, divided we fall. And this nation is divided. We spend more time arguing about what bathroom is appropriate for people to use and whether or not they should have "safe spaces" than we do handling real world issues that matter.
ReplyDeleteWell folks, our adversaries won't be so kind. They won't care about your safe space or mine, nor will they care about any other politically correct issues. There will be a winner and a loser when conflict arises, and it certainly looks like we are well on the way to experiencing that end. Just ask anyone who lived through WWII. They are not called the "greatest generation" for nothing. They earned it. We would be wise to take that knowledge and start working together instead of all this bickering over the pointless, hollow issues like the Mueller investigation. Let's get on to what matters before it's too late! Wake up America !!!
Well said 333...well said indeed!
ReplyDelete