Space Force – Virtual Orbit

Chinese space firms present big ambitions at commercial space forum

27Nov

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Space Force

Chinese space firms present big ambitions at commercial space forum

Chinese space firms present big ambitions at commercial space forumAmbitions include constellations, spaceplanes, new launchers and suborbital and orbital tourism HELSINKI — Players in China’s emerging commercial space sector have outlined big plans for the coming years at a space forum hosted in Wuhan, central China. The seventh China Commercial Aerospace Forum (CCAF), held in Wuhan Nov. 25-26, saw state-owned defense and space giant China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp., (CASIC), and a variety of private and state-owned companies present updates and plans for the future. CASIC and its subsidiaries are pushing ahead with an 80-satellite narrowband constellation named Xingyun, with plans to launch at least 12 Xingyun-2 satellites in 2022 to form the second stage of the three-stat...

Americans Want to Defend Taiwan. The Pentagon’s Budget Should, Too

27Nov

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Space Force

Americans Want to Defend Taiwan. The Pentagon’s Budget Should, Too

Americans Want to Defend Taiwan. The Pentagon’s Budget Should, TooIn recent polling, a greater share of the American public than ever supports using the U.S. military to defend Taiwan from China’s aggression. More Americans than ever believe Taiwan should become a treaty ally of the United States. But more than ever, Americans also believe the U.S. military is incapable of matching up to China’s People’s Liberation Army.This rising tide of public support for Taiwan presents an opportunity for lawmakers to close the gap between the U.S. military budget and arsenal that we have to what is needed to balance and compete with that of China. Despite the formal pleasantries of the recent video summit between President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, China, Taiwan, and the United States are near as...

Today’s D Brief: Democracy summit; Navy’s networks; Where are US hostages?; FARC, no longer terrorists?; And just a bit more.

26Nov

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Space Force

Today’s D Brief: Democracy summit; Navy’s networks; Where are US hostages?; FARC, no longer terrorists?; And just a bit more.

Today's D Brief: Democracy summit; Navy’s networks; Where are US hostages?; FARC, no longer terrorists?; And just a bit more.The White House has invited more than 100 nations to its upcoming democracy summit in early December. (Find the full list, via the State Department, here.) Predictably, Chinese officials are indignant today that the government of Taiwan made the list. What to expect: A two-day virtual summit on Dec. 9 and 10, which the U.S. is framing as “a platform for leaders to announce both individual and collective commitments, reforms, and initiatives to defend democracy and human rights at home and abroad.”Three “key themes” are expected to dominate talks, according to Foggy Bottom: “Defending against authoritarianism”; “Addressing and fighting corruption”; And “Promoting...

Defense Industry Asks White House to Allow COVID Tests to Substitute for Vax Mandate

26Nov

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Space Force

Defense Industry Asks White House to Allow COVID Tests to Substitute for Vax Mandate

Defense Industry Asks White House to Allow COVID Tests to Substitute for Vax MandateFearing a loss of highly skilled workers, groups representing large and small defense firms are pushing the Biden administration to allow employees to take periodic COVID tests instead of getting vaccinated. Currently, employees of companies that do work for the federal government must be fully vaccinated by Jan. 18.At least one company, Navy shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries, said it would not enforce the mandate at shipyards in Mississippi and Virginia unless the requirement was included in a government contract.“Our focus is on being able to keep the workforce you need as a company to deliver on the contracts you have, and the future contracts that you're going to get,” said David Berteau, CEO of...

26Nov

By EditorNo Comments

Space Force

Russian node module docks with ISS

Russian node module docks with ISSWASHINGTON — A node module billed as the final Russian element of the International Space Station docked with the station Nov. 26. The Prichal, or “Pier,” module, propelled by a modified Progress cargo spacecraft, docked with the nadir port of the Nauka module at 10:19 a.m. Eastern, a little more than two days after its launch on a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The four-ton spherical module serves as a node to allow other spacecraft to dock with the station. Prichal has six docking ports, one of which is used for its connection to Nauka. The others are available for use by Progress and Soyuz spacecraft, and potentially other vehicles in the future. Prichal was once envisioned to allow the addition of other modules to the Rus...