Solomonov: Russia and Kazakhstan Considering Joint Air-Launched Space-Vehicle
May 19, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Russia and Kazakhstan are considering the development of a joint air-launched space vehicle, according to Yuri Solomonov, director and designer general of the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering. At present, Orbital Sciences Corporation in the U.S. operates the world’s only aerospace system consisting of the L-1011 aircraft and the light-weight Pegasus-XL launch vehicle. However, Solomonov today stated that the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering, along with Russia’s Aircraft Corporation MiG, could begin work on the Ishim air-launched space system by July 1, 2007.
As envisioned, the Ishim complex would include two MiG-31I aircraft, a three-stage launch vehicle, as well as an Ilyushin Il-76MD Midas surveillance plane. The MiG-31I would climb to an altitude of 15 to 18 km, fly 600 km toward a predetermined point, engage the launch vehicle, and attain a speed of 2,120-2,230 km/hour. The Ishim system would be able to place 160 kg payloads into 300 km circular orbits, and 60 kg payloads into 120 km orbits. Both MiG-31Is are currently deployed in Kazakhstan, which is financing the project.
The Ishim project is based on research and development conducted by the Soviet Union during the late 1980s and early 1990s as part of its “anti-SDI” program. Similar to the U.S. anti-satellite (ASAT) system for destroying enemy satellites, which used a number of air-launched missiles, the Soviet Mikoyan Design Bureau in 1987 converted two MiG-31 fighters into improvised missile carriers and designated them as MiG-31Ds. The second prototype MiG-31D was tested outside Moscow for several years, although the “anti-SDI” missile never progressed past the experimental stage. (Article, Link)
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Pentagon Acquisition Head Defends Plans for Space Test Bed
May 11, 2006 :: MSNBC :: News
Kenneth Krieg, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, has endorsed a plan that could lead to the deployment of U.S. missile defense assets in space. The space-based “test bed,” as it is currently known, would initially include as few as one or two interceptors designed to shoot down ballistic missiles carrying nuclear, chemical, or biological warheads.
According to Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, director of MDA, in a September interview with Arms Control Today magazine, the test bed would have no offensive capability and would simply be used to evaluate the value of deploying interceptor missiles in space. MDA plans to seek $45 million to start building the experimentation center in the fiscal year that starts October 1, 2007. (Article, Link)
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NYT on Starfire ASAT Laser
May 3, 2006 :: New York Times :: News
The Pentagon is developing a ground-based laser weapon that uses beams of concentrated light to destroy enemy satellites in orbit, writes William J. Broad in the New York Times. The project, known as Starfire, uses small lasers to create artificial stars close to the intended target, and then measures the images of these artificial stars to correct for atmospheric turbulence, the distortions in visible light that cause stars to twinkle. Starfire then shoots focused beams of laser light skyward, using a large mirror 11.5 feet in diameter. The project is said to be operated from an unclassified government observatory in the New Mexico desert. Several tests have apparently already taken place in which Starfire used weak lasers to illuminate satellites. The Pentagon hopes to eventually develop a laser powerful enough for use against enemy satellites.
In January 2001, a commission led by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld warned that the U.S. military could face a potential “Pearl Harbor” in space, and called for the development of a defensive arsenal of space weapons. The Starfire project is part of that effort. No treaty or law forbids such work, although last week Republicans and Democrats on the House Armed Services subcommittee moved unanimously to cut research money for the project in the administration’s budget for the 2007 fiscal year. Broad quotes congressional aides as stating that the move reflected a “bipartisan consensus for moving cautiously on space weaponry, a potentially controversial issue that has yet to be much debated.” (Article, Link)
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Spring on Need for Congress to Advance “Limited” Funding
April 27, 2006 :: The Heritage Foundation :: Analysis
Baker Spring of the Heritage Foundation argues that U.S. missile defense is “very thin and needs to be strengthened.” The current, limited, defensive shield of eleven Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptors in Alaska and California and less than ten Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptors on Aegis warships are not enough to adequately defend against an attack from Iran or North Korea. Congress must make the following changes to its missile defense budget for FY 2007: (1) increase funding for the GMD system by $200 million to accelerate testing and deployment; (2) increase funding for the SM-3 by $100 million to support the deployment of 100 interceptors by 2011; (3) cut funding for the Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) program by 50 percent; (4) reduce funding for miscellaneous BMD projects by $100 million and redirect the funds to near-term deployment; and (5) reallocate resources to new technologies previously banned by the ABM Treaty, such as space-based interceptors.
Congress, as it undertakes the task of drafting the fiscal year (FY) 2007 Defense Authorization bill, must recognize that this defense is very thin and needs to be strengthened. It can do so by making several significant changes in the missile defense budget, such as adding funds to accelerate the concurrent testing and operation program for the long-range missile defense interceptors in Alaska and California and to improve and expand the sea-based interceptors on the Navy’s AEGIS ships. Looking to the future, Congress should direct the Agency to start serious work on placing missile defense interceptors in space.
…The Bush Administration must finally break the missile defense program free from the enduring effects of the ABM Treaty. This means giving the missile defense interceptors already in the field and those soon to be fielded as much operational capability as possible. It also means moving missile defenses where they will be most effective, space. By adjusting missile defense funding for FY 2007 and making clear its intentions for future years, Congress can prod the Administration in this direction.
(Article, Link)
» More stories on: Analysis, Space-Based Systems
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD, Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD)
RIA-Novosti on Foreign Commercial Spacecraft Launched by Russia
April 11, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Andrei Kislyakov in RIA-Novosti discusses Russia’s role in launching commercial spacecraft for foreign countries. He quotes Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, who recently stated that Russia is orbiting spacecraft from between 30 and 40 countries. Kislyakov argues that “the Russian space industry may become an indirect hostage to an orbital conflict,” as it does not always know what it launches. A case in point, although not mentioned by Kislyakov, is Russia’s launch of a new Iranian satellite last October. Many U.S. defense analysts believe that the launch was an attempt by Iran to master a new range of sophisticated technologies that could be used to further its nuclear program. Kislyakov argues that Russia’s actions could lead to a space war between Russia and the U.S. (Article, Link)
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NYT on Iranian Satellite Launch
April 5, 2006 :: News
Iran’s recent satellite launch demonstrates that the Islamic Republic is attempting to master a new range of sophisticated technologies—satellites and rockets—which could be used to further its nuclear program. William J. Broad and David E. Sanger examine this issue in the New York Times, providing quotes from a broad range of military and space experts. The spacecraft, a microsatellite weighing a few hundred kilograms, was launched last October from Russia. Iran claims that its space program is aimed at improving telecommunications and monitoring natural disasters. However, Iran is currently developing its own delivery devices, the biggest of which “could hurl not only satellites into space but warheads between continents,” according to Broad and Sanger. Thus, while it might be tempting to dismiss Iran’s efforts as crude and benign, Iran’s space-based technologies could very well be used for strategic purposes. If Iran had the ability to monitor and guide its nuclear missiles to their targets, it would become a much more capable and deadly enemy. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Analysis, Iran, Space-Based Systems
SSTS Sensor Payload Delivered
March 15, 2006 :: The Missile Defense Agency :: News
The Missile Defense Agency has recently announced the delivery of the first Block 2006 sensor payload for the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) Program. Once deployed, STSS satellites will provide global coverage of ballistic missile launches, and will be capable of tracking missile and warheads through all phases of flight. The STSS payload sensor suite, consisting of an acquisition sensor and a track sensor, is capable of detecting visible and infrared light. Two STSS research and development satellites will launch into low earth orbit in 2007 on a single Delta II launch vehicle, and will demonstrate the key functions of a space-based sensor. The STSS payload was built by Raytheon and delivered to the STSS prime contractor Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS)
Oberg on XS-111 Microsatellite Rendezvous Program
February 7, 2006 :: MSNBC :: News
James Oberg of NBC News analyzes the U.S. Air Force’s Experimental Small Satellite 11 (XS-11) microsatellite, which completed a successful series of orbital rendezvous maneuvers with another satellite in September. The Lockheed Martin-built XSS-11 is a small spacecraft, roughly the size of a dishwasher and weighing only 300 pounds. It is managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s “Space Vehicles Directorate Integrated Space Experiments Division” at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and operated by the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s Detachment 12. The XSS-11 was launched aboard a modified Minuteman missile on April 11. It spent the next several months activating and exercising its sensors and guidance computers. The rendezvous exercises took place around the derelict upper stage of the modified missile. Program manager Vernon Baker stated that the XSS-11 made its first approach in late July at a distance of 1.6 km, and has since completed several other approaches, in one case coming as close as half a kilometer. More approaches are planned.
If future tests are equally successful, the Pentagon hopes to modify the design of the microsatellite for a wide array of space missions. Oberg comments on the potential military applications of the XSS-11:
Two potential military missions in particular are worth considering for follow-on testing. … First, the U.S. needs a means of inspecting its own military satellites for external damage, either from accidental breakdown or from hostile activity, and a small “scout satellite” capable of detaching, flying around and reattaching itself could provide critical insights in diagnosing—or even warding off—such damage.
Secondly, a U.S. spacecraft near a foreign spacecraft could perform a number of highly valuable but entirely passive functions. Aside from a detailed physical inspection with a resolution far better than possible from a distance, an object in such a location would be able to intercept narrow-beam communications—radio, laser beam, whatever—that otherwise might elude ground-based sensors.
Such applications (and a few others that experts would not describe in detail) are of a fundamentally military nature, but are not “weapons” in any practical sense. They are neither illegal nor in any way destabilizing …
Although not intended for missile defense applications, XSS-11 draws comparison to the deep-space probe “Clementine” that NASA launched in 1994. One year after the Clinton administration ended the Strategic Defense Initiative in 1993, Clementine used hardware that had been intended for the “Brilliant Pebbles” system, the top missile defense priority for the Reagan and Bush administrations. Brilliant Pebbles had been an attempt to deploy a 4,000-satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit that would fire high-velocity projectiles at long-range ballistic missiles launched from anywhere in the world. By “space qualifying” this hardware, Clementine proved that the Brilliant Pebbles technology worked, and that space-based missile defense was not a pie-in-the-sky fantasy as Reagan’s critics had claimed. The XSS-11 microsatellite project proves yet again that the technology for space-based missile defense exists. The XSS-11 rendezvous mission—an orbital maneuver that included locating a specific target and meeting it in space—is similar to the maneuvering required of a space-based interceptor. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Brilliant Pebbles
Report: Chinese Base at Antarctica Can Disable U.S. Satellites
February 2, 2006 :: East Asia Intel :: News
China last week announced its intention to build a high-frequency radar on the South Pole, reports East-Asia-Intel. The radar will be built at China’s Zhongshan Station, where Beijing has set up of a space environment lab. The high-frequency radar, which will consist of 20 antenna units, will have a range of approximately 3,000 km. Chinese officials told the news agency Xinhua that the station will be used to measure the polar space environment. However, U.S. defense analysts believe that the site could be used to disable U.S. satellites which pass over the South Pole.
The 2005 Pentagon (annual) report on the military capabilities of China had noted that the country is “conducting research to develop ground-based laser ASAT [anti-satellite] weapons,” and that “Beijing has and will continue to enhance its satellite tracking and identification network—the first step in establishing a credible ASAT capability.” In coming years, it is possible that China could deploy ASAT weapons in Antarctica capable of blinding or disrupting U.S. satellites. (Article, Link)
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Russia Considering Permanent Base on Moon
January 26, 2006 :: AFP :: News
Russia is reportedly considering the building of a permanent base on the moon, which it could use to mine the rare fuel Helium-3. The AFP quotes Nikolai Sevastyanov, head of the Energia space corporation, as recently stating that such a base could be complete by 2015—meaning that Russia would be able to begin “industrial-scale delivery” of the fuel by 2020. Rare on earth but plentiful on the moon, Helium-3 is a non-radioactive isotope of helium that can be used in nuclear fusion. Sevastyanov added that the International Space Station would have to play a key role in the project, and a transport relay to the moon would have to be established with the help of the planned Clipper spaceship, and the Parom, a space capsule intended to tug heavy cargo containers. (Article, Link)
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