* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: SpaceWar

Blobrana · L

China opposes arms race in outer space

Outer space is highlighted as one of China's four "critical security domains", other than the ocean, cyberspace and nuclear force, by the report titled "China's Military Strategy", published by the State Council Information Office.
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MPs warn over nuclear space bombs and solar flares

The government must take more seriously the threat of a nuclear weapon being exploded in space by a rogue state, MPs have warned.
The Defence Select Committee said the resulting radiation pulse could disrupt power and water supplies, UK defence and satellite navigation systems.
Its chairman, Tory MP James Arbuthnot, said an attack was "quite likely".
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U.S. China Satellite Hacking Report Published

The final copy of a lengthy report (PDF) from a Congressional advisory panel advising lawmakers on U.S.-China relations was released online Wednesday, containing, among numerous other revelations, a new assessment of the "malicious cyber activities" that hit two U.S. government satellites between 2007 and 2008.
The report was published by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an independent advisory panel to Congress made up of 12 experts with experience in government, industry and academia.
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Israel to invest millions in real-time satellite capacity

The Defence Ministry is set to invest millions to upgrade Israel's space communication capabilities, to enable reconnaissance and surveillance satellites used by the IDF to provide real-time intelligence. As things stand, Israeli satellites can only download their data when they fly directly over Israel - which can mean a delay of up to 90 minutes, a critical handicap in times of conflict.
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Republicans wary of EU code for space activity

Republican opposition in the Senate could scuttle the Obama administrations plans to sign on to the European Unions Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities, an agreement that critics say could limit U.S. development and deployment of anti-satellite weapons.
Key Senate Republicans are urging Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to consult with the relevant Senate panels before signing the agreement.
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The United States threatened to take military action against China during a secret "star wars" arms race within the past few years, according to leaked documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph.
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RIA Novosti news outlet reports that a group of retired Russian generals warned on Thursday that the country's space defences are obsolete and have a limited capability to counter possible threats from space.
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US satellites shadow China's submarines

The People's Liberation Army's Navy (PLAN) submarines cannot spot United States satellites high overhead as the submarines leave their bases at Sanya on Hainan Island, Qingdao in Shandong province and Ningbo in Zhejiang province, and head for deeper water.
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Call it a reusable space vehicle. Call it a space plane. But whatever you do, just don't call it a space weapon.
That's the message from the Air Force after last week's launch of its X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, which can stay on orbit up to 270 days. The Air Force won't say what, exactly, the robotic space plane will be doing there, how long it will linger this time, or even how much it costs. But the military is already in the process of building a second aircraft, which will fly next year.
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