Milspace News

[Tuckerfan]

Orbiting weapons platforms anyone?

U.S. efforts to deploy weapons in space face major technical, budgetary and physical barriers, opponents warned this week, but military planners still have high hopes for the “high ground” of future wars.

Everett Dolman, a professor at the Air Force’s School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, said he expected the White House to issue a new space policy next month that would underscore the military’s determination to protect its existing space assets and maintain dominance of outer space.

Space was essential to how the U.S. military fights wars, Dolman said, noting that satellites already helped relay communications among troops, provided intelligence and targeting data, and guided bombs to their destinations.

“We’ve crossed the threshold and we simply cannot step back,” Dolman, a proponent of space weapons, told Reuters at a two-day Nuclear Policy Research Institute conference.

Just don’t try to stop Rutan, guys, that’s all I ask.

[CynicalGabe]

Now watch Rutan build a orbital platform with twice the firepower for 1/5 the cost.

[Tuckerfan]

Looks like they’ve got bigger plans than we thought.

After attending a sneak preview of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith”, U.S. Air Force officials were more than inspired by the Lucasfilms’ pioneering special effects. They were patriotically urged to revive old ties to the oft-trashed Regan-era “Star Wars” defense plans.

As soon as the private screening was over, Air Force command rushed to contact the White House and seek President Bush’s approval on a national security directive that would force the United States into placing offensive and defensive weapons in space.

“We’re not calling for a ‘Death Star’ per se,” cited an anonymous senior Air Force administrator. “But we’re not rallying against the idea either.”

He added that the one thing he learned from his overall interpretation of the “Star Wars” saga was that if the Empire had completed their “Death Star” earlier, the Rebel forces wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Adding, “We have to learn from history’s mistakes.”