International Military Discussion

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 25 Jun 2015 09:22

Cosmos-2506 - new Persona reconnaissance satellite

this thing looks like one big telescope in space

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1gx0Lj_kko4/V ... BKopia.jpg

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 25 Jun 2015 19:01

Russia to grant 21 Soyuz carrier rockets to Arianspace

MOSCOW, June 25 /TASS/. Russia will grant 21 Soyuz carrier rockets to Arianspace, European multinational company, between 2017 and 2019 for launching OneWeb mobile communications satellites, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) said in a report received by TASS on Thursday.

"The Arianespace and One Web have announced plans in London to sign a contract for commercial launches of One Web mobile communications satellites by using Soyuz carrier rockets between 2017 and 2019. Twenty-one Soyuz carrier rockets, including 15 from the Baikonur space launch facility in Kazakhstan, will have to be launched to fulfil these plans," the report said.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 26 Jun 2015 09:23

Austin wrote:Russia to grant 21 Soyuz carrier rockets to Arianspace
MOSCOW, June 25 /TASS/. Russia will grant 21 Soyuz carrier rockets to Arianspace, European multinational company, between 2017 and 2019 for launching OneWeb mobile communications satellites, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) said in a report received by TASS on Thursday.

"The Arianespace and One Web have announced plans in London to sign a contract for commercial launches of One Web mobile communications satellites by using Soyuz carrier rockets between 2017 and 2019. Twenty-one Soyuz carrier rockets, including 15 from the Baikonur space launch facility in Kazakhstan, will have to be launched to fulfil these plans," the report said.

grant or sell?

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 27 Jun 2015 17:33

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 28 Jun 2015 19:23

Braking: SpaceX rocket exploded after launch.

John · Post by **John** » 28 Jun 2015 19:38

^ Not a surprise, SpaceX essentially stole aka absorbed NASA design for free. Because US senate loves the idea of private companies they got US gov throwing billions at them while starving NASA which has fallen out of favor. Elon Musk is media darling expect the news to get buried.

member_23694 · Post by **member_23694** » 28 Jun 2015 19:40

^^^^^^
hey, discussing in Indian Space Prg. forum. ISRO is doing a great job

John · Post by **John** » 28 Jun 2015 19:45

Yea it is still relevant since it was carrying dragon capsule whatever comes out of this postmorterm has implications' for ISRO manned program.

member_28108 · Post by **member_28108** » 29 Jun 2015 08:00

John wrote:Yea it is still relevant since it was carrying dragon capsule whatever comes out of this postmorterm has implications' for ISRO manned program.

There is the intenrational aerospace thread for that.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 29 Jun 2015 10:09

Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka breaks world record in orbit time

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who is on board the International Space Station (ISS), at about 02:00 a.m. Monday Moscow Time [23:00 Sunday UTC] set a world record in the overall orbit time, set by his colleague Sergey Krikalyov 10 years ago - 803 days.

Padalka is currently making his fifth spaceflight, which he embarked on March 27. The cosmonaut is expected to return to Earth September 11. In this way, the overall time spent by him in space will reach some 880 days.

The rocket and space industry told TASS that in order for Padalka’s new record to be recognized officially, the cosmonaut has to spend five percent more time in orbit than the previous record holder. Thus, the new achievement will only be taken into account in the first ten days of August.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 01 Jul 2015 13:03

Russia saving on space research

Cosmo_R · Post by **Cosmo_R** » 01 Jul 2015 16:50

SpaceX where X=explosion. I don't know how many free passes Musk gets but this does not appear ot be the best way for a reusable rocket.

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 01 Jul 2015 18:20

Cosmo_R wrote:SpaceX where X=explosion. I don't know how many free passes Musk gets but this does not appear ot be the best way for a reusable rocket.

The reusable rocket portion of the activity is space x funded and not customer funded so he and his design team can do whatever they want after the rockets seperate . I think when they went down this path they gave themselves upwards of a dozen attempts before they get it right
..I had posted the exact number before...

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 01 Jul 2015 21:42

Currently re-usable rockets are not part of the contract with NASA. The re-usability is a side issue concern with Space-X only. Space-X has made a major commitment to NASA in rebuilding launch pad 39A at KSC, creating a rocket landing recovery pad next door at Cape Canaveral using an old launch site, as well as some supporting facilities at both areas. Right now, there is no danger of losing any business with NASA. NASA has huge resources invested in Space-X going back many years when Space-X first began developing their rocket engine. NASA loves these kind of relationships; it has a similar one with ULA, and now Boeing, who is investing money for facilities at KSC for the CT100 program. Plus, right now I can't see a whole lot of difference between LockMart and NASA either. Heck, I wish my marriage had been as good as that.

Cosmo_R · Post by **Cosmo_R** » 02 Jul 2015 05:16

brar_w wrote:
Cosmo_R wrote:SpaceX where X=explosion. I don't know how many free passes Musk gets but this does not appear ot be the best way for a reusable rocket.
The reusable rocket portion of the activity is space x funded and not customer funded so he and his design team can do whatever they want after the rockets seperate . I think when they went down this path they gave themselves upwards of a dozen attempts before they get it right
..I had posted the exact number before...

Free passes from investors. Check out the brewing issues with Tesla cars and rechargers.

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 02 Jul 2015 19:44

Cosmo_R wrote:
Free passes from investors. Check out the brewing issues with Tesla cars and rechargers.

I don't think he is worried much about the investors at the moment. Space X isn't a publicly traded company, and he seems to have a nice relationship with the current ones. He was quite clear when he went down the path of reusable rockets and using this particular technique was that his team expected about a 50% chance of succeeding over the dozen or so launches planned over the end of 2014 and 2015. One or two of them have been scrapped (the reusable portion) and one mission was lost last week...I don't think he'll be worried unless they stop getting "closer and closer" to the desired target by the end of the year. ULA is far behind it with their re usability plans (years) and Airbus and other European companies only have concepts at the moment without secured funding.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 05 Jul 2015 14:47

3rd time a charm: Russian space freighter resupplies ISS

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 10 Jul 2015 09:37

Incoming Joint Chiefs chairman calls Russia, China top threats

In terms of national security threats, the headline-grabbing Islamic State militants that the U.S. is seeking to subdue in Iraq are less of a concern than Russia and China, the incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday.

Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, in line to assume the nation's highest military post later this summer, cited Russia's nuclear weapon stockpile and aggressive, unpredictable actions as reasons that country presents the most serious near-term threat to worldwide stability.

"They present the greatest existential threat," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee at his confirmation hearing. "If you look at their behavior, it's nothing short of alarming."

He also cited China's military strength and North Korea's erratic international actions as other top concerns, listing the Islamic State threat in Iraq and Syria below the potential actions of those countries.

But he emphasized that "you can't attack those issues in sequence," and said his greatest worry as a military commander is still the threats that have not yet emerged.

"What keeps me up at night is our ability to respond to the unexpected," he said. "On balance, our force can deal with the challenges that we have now. But there is very little residual capability."

Thursday's hearing was mostly a friendly event for Dunford, one that included as many partisan shots between lawmakers as questions for the nominee himself. Even before the hearing, senators had voiced strong support for him, citing his distinguished résumé over 28 years of service and recent work as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

But Dunford did disappoint several lawmakers who hoped to score political points at the hearing, dodging leading questions while promising open and honest answers in his new role overseeing military forces.

When asked if embedding U.S. special operations forces with Iraqi units could boost their efforts against Islamic State militants, Dunford replied that American troops can always help make foreign allies more effective.

When asked how those enemy fighters could be destroyed within 90 days, he replied that fixing the underlying issues that allowed their rapid rise will take years of interagency work to fix.

Lawmakers from both parties sparred over blame for looming budget cuts and the possibility of a presidential veto of the 2016 defense budget. Dunford said the tightened funding presents potentially serious limits on military readiness, and added that he hopes for a compromise in the coming months.

Future hearings likely won't be as welcoming for Dunford. If confirmed, he'll be back on Capitol Hill this fall to answer questions about the ongoing Iraq campaign, integration of women into combat roles, and military support for Syrian rebels and Ukrainian forces.

Just two days earlier, current Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey and Defense Secretary Ash Carter faced blistering questioning from the same Senate committee over concerns with the seemingly stalled efforts to defeat the Islamic State in the Middle East.

A full Senate confirmation vote is expected on Dunford before Congress breaks for its August recess. Dempsey is scheduled to retire in September.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 10 Jul 2015 14:25

How Hypersonic Missiles Push America and China towards War

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 10 Jul 2015 18:58

Rings of X-ray light centered on V404 Cygni, a binary system containing an erupting black hole (dot at center), were imaged by the X-ray Telescope aboard NASA's Swift satellite from June 30 to July 4. A narrow gap splits the middle ring in two. Color indicates the energy of the X-rays, with red representing the lowest (800 to 1,500 electron volts, eV), green for medium (1,500 to 2,500 eV), and the most energetic (2,500 to 5,000 eV) shown in blue. For comparison, visible light has energies ranging from about 2 to 3 eV. The dark lines running diagonally through the image are artifacts of the imaging system.

NASA's Swift Reveals a Black Hole Bull's-eye
http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nas ... -bulls-eye

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 10 Jul 2015 20:37

NASA picks four astronauts to ride on commercial space vehicle:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/9/892219 ... rcial-crew

on a side note Sunita Williams will be the first person to ride into space on three different space vehicles.

that be the soyuz, the shuttle and in 2017 maybe, the CT-100 on the Atlas V..

also note this launch will be the first manned launch from Cape Canaveral since Apollo 7 launched in 1968.

God speed.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 16 Jul 2015 16:30

It has been discovered that Pluto may have geological movement. It's not just some tiny ice ball. It may also have lots of water:

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/ne ... er-n392691

It has really brought the nerds out in droves. click on the short video provided within the above link.

"Society of unapologetic Pluto huggers."

New Horizon has its data and will take the next 16 months to download.

It is now leaving Pluto and heading for more distant objects in the Kuiper belt.

$700 million and worth every penny of it.

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 17 Jul 2015 05:19

Now that is low...really low...

The RAF's No.3(F) Squadron's ‘anniversary jet’ was among the Typhoons that operated from RAF Northolt.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 18 Jul 2015 10:50

Israel wants US 'compensation' for Iran nuclear deal

Its shopping list is likely to include additional Lockheed Martin F-35 combat aircraft, Boeing KC-46A tankers, Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotors, and additional munitions not previously exported by the USA.

Tel Aviv is already a customer for the F-35A, but may now look to firm the 17 options it has for the stealthy type. In addition, a deal for the V-22 – previously rejected by the government on cost grounds – may now be resurrected.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 22 Jul 2015 23:13

Massive mothership ‘the size of Idaho’ caught in NASA images, say ufologists

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 22 Jul 2015 23:46

Austin wrote:Massive mothership ‘the size of Idaho’ caught in NASA images, say ufologists

oh good grief, Austin!

Manish_P · Post by **Manish_P** » 23 Jul 2015 19:27

Hey that kind of looks like the Enterprise... are we missing a couple of whales around here

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 23 Jul 2015 22:34

Soyuz docks at International Space Station

Less than six hours after take-off from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome, Kjell Lindgren from the US, Kimiya Yui of Japan and Russian Oleg Kononenko safely arrived at the orbital outpost.

The flight had been postponed after the April launch of a cargo rocket failed.

Manned flights to the ISS are currently only possible with Russia's ageing Soviet space technology.

The US retired its Space Shuttle operation in 2011.

Thursday's mission capsule connected to the International Space Station about 250 miles (400km) above Earth at 01:45 GMT.

Sushi in space

The three astronauts had been set to take off in May but Moscow was forced to delay the flight after the 28 April crash when an unmanned Soyuz cargo rocket had failed to reach the station and burned up in the atmosphere before crashing back to Earth.

"It's certainly no fun to see several of the cargo vehicles undergo mishaps," Mr Lindgren said. "It underscores the difficulty of this industry and how unforgiving the space environment," he told a news conference ahead of the launch.

For both the US astronaut and for Kimiya Yui, it is their first time in orbit.

The Japanese astronaut said he was taking some sushi along as a treat for the others.

The team has joined the existing ISS crew of Russians Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly from the US.

Aside from Russia's Soyuz rockets that largely date back to Soviet technology, two privately owned US companies flying cargo the ISS have also lost rockets in recent launch failures.

Both SpaceX and Orbital ATK currently remain grounded following accidents last month and in October last year.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 23 Jul 2015 22:47

NASA finds 'Earth's bigger, older cousin'

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 24 Jul 2015 20:16

USMC set to choose two ACV bidders later this year

Two solutions are to be chosen from offerings by ADVS, BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and SAIC
ACV 8x8 armoured personnel carriers are meant to 'swim' some distance to shore, and USMC leaders say prototype trials so far have proven that capability

The US Marine Corps (USMC) will soon downselect two designs for its Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) programme, and the prospective next USMC commandant is sanguine about the prototypes' in-water capabilities.

Lieutenant General Robert Neller, currently head of US Marine Corps Forces Command and the nominee to become USMC commandant, defended the USMC's plan to use a slower waterspeed vehicle in lieu of the erstwhile high-speed Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.

The marines "extensive open-ocean and surf zone testing of various prototype 8x8 armoured personnel carriers" contributed to the ACV requirements and the USMC's overall modernisation strategy, he told Congress during his 23 July confirmation hearing.

Based on testing so far, Lt Gen Neller said he is "confident that at least two contractors will be capable of delivering prototypes with the capacity to achieve water mobility performance on par with or greater than our existing assault amphibian [the AAV7A1 Assault Amphibious Vehicle] along with the capabilities needed for the landward portion of the ACV mission profile". The AAV7A1 has an 8.2 mph (13.2 km/h) maximum water speed, according to IHS Jane's Land Warfare Platforms .

The USMC has said it would take up to two contractors through a development phase.

The five proposed designs for ACV have come from Advanced Defense Vehicle Systems (ADVS), a relatively small company from Michigan; BAE Systems and Iveco with a version of the Superav; General Dynamics with a variant of its Piranha; Lockheed Martin offering a yet-unknown bid (it originally teamed with Patria Land Systems to offer a variant of the AMV called Havoc but separated earlier this year); and STK and SAIC with a version of the Terrex.

USMC spokesman Manny Pacheco on 23 July told IHS Jane's that in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 (FY 2016), likely around November, the corps would downselect to two bidders.

Lawmakers asked if Lt Gen Neller was concerned that the "four foreign designs" for ACV would be capable enough when 'swimming' in the water, and he noted that "only two of the five proposed designs for ACV 1.1 are based on foreign designs" and again referred to successful water mobility tests. Presumably he was referring to the Italian Superav and Singaporean Terrex as the two foreign designs.

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 28 Jul 2015 05:50

Boeing and Blue Origin team has been awarded the DARPA XS-1 contract beating out the Northrop Grumman led team.

http://www.space.com/29287-xs1-experime ... plane.html

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 28 Jul 2015 21:20

strange article about guided nuke bombs.....

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-bu ... enal-13433

....not sure why a pic of stubby, can't fly, can't fight, will never be bought by the Marine Corps in sufficient numbers, jsf was included in article?

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 29 Jul 2015 10:22

Amazing development...if it works.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science ... hours.html
'Impossible' rocket drive works and could get to Moon in four hours

The British designed EM Drive actually works and would dramatically speed up space travel, scientists have confirmed

The EM Drive could allow humans to travel to the Moon in just four hours Photo: NASA
Sarah Knapton
28 Jul 2015

Interplanetary travel could be a step closer after scientists confirmed that an electromagnetic propulsion drive, which is fast enough to get to the Moon in four hours, actually works.

The EM Drive was developed by the British inventor Roger Shawyer nearly 15 years ago but was ridiculed at the time as being scientifically impossible.

It produces thrust by using solar power to generate multiple microwaves that move back and forth in an enclosed chamber. This means that until something fails or wears down, theoretically the engine could keep running forever without the need for rocket fuel.

The drive, which has been likened to Star Trek’s Impulse Drive, has left scientists scratching their heads because it defies one of the fundamental concepts of physics – the conservation of momentum – which states that if something is propelled forward, something must be pushed in the opposite direction. So the forces inside the chamber should cancel each other out.

The EM Drive

However in recent years Nasa has confirmed that they believe it works and this week Martin Tajmar, a professor and chair for Space Systems at Dresden University of Technology in Germany also showed that it produces thrust.

The drive is capable of producing thrust several thousand times greater than a standard photon rocket and could get to Mars within 70 days or Pluto within 18 months. A trip to Alpha Centauri, which would take tens of thousands of years to reach right now, could be reached in just 100 years.

"Our test campaign cannot confirm or refute the claims of the EM Drive but intends to independently assess possible side-effects in the measurements methods used so far," said Prof Tajmar in anew

"Nevertheless, we do observe thrust close to the actual predictions after eliminating many possible error sources that should warrant further investigation into the phenomena."

The EM drive has been likened to the Impulse Drive in Star Trek's vessel of choice, the Starship Enterprise

"Our measurements reveal thrusts as expected from previous claims after carefully studying thermal and electromagnetic interferences.

"If true, this could certainly revolutionise space travel."

Shawyer also claims that he is just a few months away from publishing new results confirming that his drive works in a peer reviewed journal.

However scientists still have no idea how it actually works. Nasa suggested that it could have something to do with the technology manipulating subatomic particles which constantly pop in and out of existence in empty space.

Prof Tajmer presented his findings to the 2015 American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics' Propulsion and Energy Forum and Exposition this week.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 29 Jul 2015 13:43

It produces thrust by using solar power to generate multiple microwaves that move back and forth in an enclosed chamber. This means that until something fails or wears down, theoretically the engine could keep running forever without the need for rocket fuel.

tell me, have you ever had a formal (taught by a qualified instructor) physics class taught in a school you attended?

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 29 Jul 2015 14:37

#OTD 27 July 2006 - A team composed of the 412th Test Wing, DARPA, and AirLaunch LLC broke records for the largest single object to be dropped from a C-17 as a full-scale simulated AirLaunch QuickReach rocket weighing 72,000 pounds was dropped as part of the joint DARPA/Air Force Falcon Small Launch

rkhanna · Post by **rkhanna** » 31 Jul 2015 12:00

Cruel and Unusual: Nepali Army Ranger Battalion selection (Shree Mahabir Battalion)

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 03 Aug 2015 06:06

Fatal helicopter crash grounds Russian helicopters

The Russian defence ministry has grounded its fleet of Mi-28 attack helicopters after a fatal accident at an air show on Sunday.

One pilot died and another jumped clear as the helicopter crashed during an aerobatic display by the elite Berkut squadron in the Ryazan region, about 170km (105 miles) south-east of Moscow.

The Russian military has blamed the crash on a hydraulics failure.

There have been six other Russian air force crashes in recent weeks

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 03 Aug 2015 10:27

asteroid retrieval mission maybe shape shifted into a mission to Phobos.....

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/07/ ... s-landing/

it's gonna be kind of tough with the present budget.

however, we are spending $3 billion a year on the ISS. that should end in 2024.

there are a lot of things we can be doing incrementally in the mean time, building cheap inflatable habitats, furthering commercial space development etc.

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 04 Aug 2015 20:22

small sats to go deep space and save big bucks on future missions....

http://spaceref.com/moon/nasa---lunar-i ... ckage.html

cheaper missions, means more missions in the future?

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 05 Aug 2015 13:24

interesting new concept:

microwavable space plane

http://spacenews.com/startup-makes-prog ... -vehicles/

watch the video.......cool

serve with your eggo waffles or toast em pop ups!