Wednesday, January 25, 2017

The U.S. Prepares For War In Space

X-37B. YouTube

Anniston Star: U.S. military space budget estimated at $25 billion

It’s the first day of a war between the world’s largest military powers.

From a launch pad somewhere in Asia, a rocket rises into the sky. Its payload: A robot designed to sneak up to a U.S. military satellite, grab it and steer it off course, knocking it out of the fight. Elsewhere on earth, high-powered lasers flash into space, trying to blind enemy sensors peering down from orbit. Generals fret over whether to use satellite-killing missiles that could fill orbits with deadly debris.

It sounds like something from a Hollywood thriller. But space and defense experts say it’s something the world’s most advanced spacefaring nations are actually planning for. And the Anniston area’s representative in Congress is calling for a major reorganization of defense assets – and possibly even the creation of a new branch of the military – to get ready for conflict in space.

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WNU Editor: $25 billion is not chump change.

1 comment:

D.Plowman said...

"$25 billion is not chump change"

True, it isn't. But when put in the perspective of the space economy, it ain't much. Space tech, expansion and flight costs are not cheap. And when you are working with experimental tech, there's even a higher cost.