Latest news with #UnitedStatesSpaceForce
New Straits Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Boeing secures RM11.82 billion contract as part of US satellite programme
WASHINGTON: US aerospace giant Boeing has been awarded a US$2.8 billion (RM11.82 billion) contract to develop satellites for a United States Space Force programme, the company and the US government announced yesterday (July 3), reported the German Press Agency (dpa). The initial agreement covers two satellites, with options for two additional units in the future, the company said in a statement. The satellites "will support Initial Operational Capability for strategic warfighters and assure continuity of the Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications mission execution," the Space Systems Command said in a statement. The company is expected to deliver the first of the two space vehicles by 2031. When deployed in geostationary orbit approximately 35,700 kilometres above Earth, the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications (ESS) will provide persistent global coverage for strategic warfighters, it added. "It's a critical time to advance US space capabilities to ensure peace through strength," said US Space Force's Cordell DeLaPena. "The strategic communication mission requires protection, power and always-available capability, even through adversary attempts to interrupt our connectivity. These satellites will provide connectivity from space as part of a refreshed NC3 architecture for our nation." — BERNAMA
Hans India
02-07-2025
- Health
- Hans India
NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Set For Debut Space Station Mission
NASA has assigned astronaut Anil Menon, of Indian heritage, to his inaugural International Space Station mission where he will serve as flight engineer for Expedition 75, marking a significant milestone in his space career. The Minneapolis-born astronaut is scheduled to launch aboard Russia's Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft in June 2026, joining Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina for the journey. The crew will depart from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome and spend approximately eight months conducting research aboard the orbital laboratory. During his extended stay in space, Menon will participate in scientific experiments and technology demonstrations designed to advance human space exploration capabilities while generating benefits for life on Earth. Menon joined NASA's astronaut corps in 2021 and completed his training with the 23rd astronaut class in 2024. Following his initial preparation as an astronaut candidate, he began specialized training for his first space station assignment. The accomplished astronaut brings a unique background combining medicine, engineering, and military service. Born to Indian and Ukrainian parents, Menon serves as an emergency medicine physician, mechanical engineer, and holds the rank of colonel in the United States Space Force. His educational credentials include a neurobiology degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, along with a master's degree in mechanical engineering and medical degree from Stanford University in California. He furthered his medical training through emergency medicine and aerospace medicine residencies at Stanford and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Beyond his NASA duties, Menon continues practicing emergency medicine at Memorial Hermann's Texas Medical Center while teaching medical residents at the University of Texas program. His space industry experience includes serving as SpaceX's inaugural flight surgeon, where he supported the groundbreaking crewed Dragon spacecraft launch during NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 mission and helped establish SpaceX's medical operations for future human spaceflight missions. Menon's expertise extended to serving as crew flight surgeon for both SpaceX missions and NASA expeditions to the space station, providing critical medical support for space operations. The International Space Station has maintained continuous human presence for nearly 25 years, serving as humanity's premier orbital research facility. The station's scientific work supports NASA's ambitious goals for deep space exploration, including lunar missions under the Artemis program and eventual human journeys to Mars, while also fostering commercial space activities in low Earth orbit and beyond.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Golden Dome risks nuclear war in space, warns North Korea
Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile defence plan risks starting a nuclear war in space, North Korea has warned. Announced last week, the $175 billion (£147 billion) proposal aims to create a network of satellites by 2029 that will detect, track and shoot down any missiles fired at the US. However, Pyongyang attacked the US president's futuristic project in a long memorandum on Tuesday morning, in which it said the scheme could turn outer space into a 'potential nuclear war field'. Golden Dome is a 'very dangerous initiative aimed at threatening the strategic security of the nuclear weapons states', the North Korean foreign ministry said. It went on to accuse the US of being 'hell-bent on the moves to militarise outer space' and said the project was the latest evidence of the Washington's 'self-righteousness, arrogance, high-handed and arbitrary practice'. The memo also attacked America's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 7, a robotic space plane manufactured by Boeing and operated in part by the United States Space Force. The craft was another example of Washington's moves 'moves to militarise space' and compared the threat of the X-37B to that of nuclear weapons, it said. The Golden Dome project has been criticised as destabilising and as a potential trigger for an arms race, as other powers could desire their own extensive space weapons system or try to build more missiles to overcome the US's space shield. Mr Trump has not responded to Pyongyang's concerns, but experts say the strong reaction likely means it sees the project as a serious threat. Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said that if the US was successfully able to complete this system, North Korea would then 'be forced to develop alternative means to counter or penetrate it'. The robust response came after Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator, last week suffered a rare moment of public embarrassment when a brand new warship sank in front of what was likely a large crowd during a botched launch. Kim said that the accident 'brought the dignity and self-respect of our state to a collapse' and at least four officials have since been arrested in relation to the event. A week earlier, North Korea was stressing its martial readiness, with Kim asserting that the most crucial task for his country's armed forces was to make 'full preparations for war'. South Korea has increased its number of joint military exercises with Washington in recent years and has publicised the presence of US assets, such as a nuclear-powered submarine, in an effort to deter aggression from Pyongyang.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
You will have to deal with crime and piracy in space: Marc Feldman
Crime has always followed technology. When advances in shipbuilding created the era of explorers, it also birthed pirates trying to plunder vessels carrying goods of trade. Developments in radio and broadcasting technology in the 20th century resulted in the amplification of misinformation and propaganda, not to mention intellectual property piracy. The internet, which was imagined as an open space beyond the sovereignty of any one nation and its laws, has created a new wave of transnational digital crime. So why should space be any different? That is the spark that started a journey of research and discovery for Marc Feldman and Hugh Taylor , authors of Space Piracy: Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit . On the eve of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Moscow reportedly rolled out a cyberattack to blunt satellite communications in Ukraine, disrupting its ability to communicate with troops. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Gạch cao su mới không cần lắp đặt cầu kỳ (tìm gạch tại đây) Gạch | Quảng cáo tìm kiếm Tìm Ngay What happens when such scenarios to disrupt space-based activity are adopted by criminals? Worse still, what happens if, in the future, the physical outer space becomes a domain for crime? Feldman spoke to Nirmal John on why it is important to prepare for a wave of future crimes up in space. Edited excerpts: It is a unique book. How did you stumble on this subject? I have been involved in space and satellites since the 1980s. I had a couple of private equity funds. One of them was deeply, deeply involved in space. There's a great deal happening in the commercialisation of space but the military is really the big dog, not just in the US but also in China and Russia . This came out of a paper I was working on for the Defense Innovation Unit , which is a consultant arm of the Pentagon . I wanted to do something about piracy and criminality of space. So I sat down and wrote an article. It turned out to be 65 pages. I showed it to Hugh, whom I have been in business with for decades. He suggested we make it a book. Live Events The United States Space Force looks at China and Russia as its main enemies in space. Our thesis is, no, that's not going to be the whole story. You are going to have to deal with not just warfare in space, you will have to deal with crime and piracy in space. So how is that going to happen? We came up with a series of scenarios of that, be it holding space assets to ransom or taking over space stations with rockets. You have used the example of money laundering by drug cartels as the entry point. Why? I have seen what these cartels are up to, how powerful they are, how creative they are and how ruthless they are. Like all major criminal organisations, a major problem they have is laundering money. They have laundered money through several means, including through oil companies in South America . At some point they are going to discover space and they are going to launder their money in space assets. These guys have more money than anybody can ever imagine. They can get the talent because they will pay them. They are in countries that are narco states. They have experience of creatively moving narcotics around the world—through airplanes, submarines, you name it. They understand airports. They understand airplanes. They know how to kill. They have their own intelligence agencies. They have their own transportation, computer networks and marketing. Once they learn the operational aspect of space, they will become a player in space. First, it will be through money laundering. They will create shell companies and they will invest in startups, then they will take it over and use that tech. That's how cartels play. You have also drawn parallels to global trade and the rise of piracy. See, there is no national sovereignty in space as we understand it. That means it is going to be similar to the Wild West . Take mining. There is technology that exists right now to mine in space. They have to be protected because there will be criminal organisations wanting to be in on the action. There is a whole bunch of intelligence agencies out there that would use piracy and crime for plausible deniability. We believe that as technology becomes more sophisticated, these things will happen. There is no legal structure in space, just like on the open seas. A few years back, cocaine worth a billion dollars was found in a ship owned by the largest shipping company in the world. I can be in Los Angeles, and 250 miles out there is an exclusion zone. The federal government, state, sheriffs, whatever, they can't touch them, just like in space. You wrote in the book, 'Space piracy is a future problem that is starting to show itself in small scale hacks.' What are some of the other scenarios of the future? One of the things we speculated about is a spectacular takeover of a launch site, say Cape Canaveral or Elon Musk's spaceport. They can say that if you don't give us an exorbitant amount of money, we will liquidate it. Or, take commercial broadcasting. You got a Super Bowl event coming up. If they have the ability to control satellites, they can say that unless a ransom is shared, they won't release the satellite. Or, take the basic business of these cartels which is in moving drugs. Can they invest in moving drugs through space? They already used submarines to do it. They are not going to have money issues. You could have rockets built to your specifications, just like pirates, who basically went to shipbuilders to build them faster ships and pushed the envelope of shipping technology in the 1700s. Criminals could do that now as well, and could have spaceports in countries where the cartel has influence. What was Jamaica? It was a pirate colony. It is not going to be impossible if you don't have money issues. We have written the book, keeping in mind such historical context. We believe all this could happen on an analogous basis. History doesn't repeat itself, it rhymes. The reason why this could happen is because nobody thinks criminals can do this. What has been the impact of the book till now? The first thing is to realise there is a potential threat out there, and it is not going to go away, just as piracy in the high seas didn't go away. People are just becoming aware of it. The US Space Force does not recognise non-state actors as a threat. The book is having some impact because, for instance, one of the big London-based space insurance companies told us that they are re-examining their policies and may make it mandatory to have privacy and criminal insurance. That is because of the scenarios we built, where a criminal organisation hijacks a launch
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Business Standard
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Trump to make Golden Dome announcement on Tuesday, says US official
Trump plans to make a 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) announcement in the Oval Office with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the White House said in an update to the president's schedule Reuters President Donald Trump is expected to announce he has selected the path forward for his ambitious Golden Dome missile defense shield, a US official said on Tuesday. Trump plans to make a 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) announcement in the Oval Office with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the White House said in an update to the president's schedule. The Vice Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force General Michael Guetlein is expected to be at the event where the official, who declined to be named, said that it is likely he will be named as the lead on the project. Golden Dome is estimated to cost tens of billions of dollars and take years to implement, as the controversial program faces both political scrutiny and funding uncertainty. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
