From #NYTimes: U.S. warns allies #Russia could put a nuclear weapon into orbit this year. (1/x)
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/world/europe/us-russia-nuclear-weapon-space.html
#NYTimes #Russia "... [I]t would be nested inside a satellite, capable of destroying swarms of commercial and military satellites circulating alongside it in low-earth orbit, including those like Starlink that are remaking global communications capabilities. It was Ukraine’s ability to connect its government, its military and its leadership over Starlink that played a critical role in the country’s survival in the first months after the Russian invasion ..." (2/x)
#NYTimes #Russia "In the analysis that the United States has provided to allies, American officials have said that Mr. Putin may believe that the mere threat of massive disruption — even if it meant blowing up Russia’s own satellites — might infuse his nuclear arsenal with a new kind of deterrent." (3/x)
Okay, my comments ...
When people here have bashed Elon for taking a neutral or even subservient role towards #Russia, I've commented this is why. Russia has already demonstrated an anti-satellite (ASAT) capability in 2021, which even endangered their own crew on #ISS. Putin doesn't care.
Elon and fellow investors have billions invested in #Starlink. That is how he intends to pay for his Mars dreams. Losing Starlink puts SpaceX out of business ... (4/x)
Elon is a douchenozzle, but the reality for now is that no on else on Earth offers what #SpaceX can do. The company has an unmatched talent base.
Hopefully someone else comes along to rival and surpass SpaceX, but today is not that day.
If #Russia launches this weapon, real or dummy, I suspect the USAF will send the #X37B to cozy up to it for surveillance. If Russia launches the weapon, I expect an X-37B launch shortly thereafter.
Fin. (6/6)
@WordsmithFL That's going to be a big mistake in the long run. It's foolish to put our eggs into a basket run by a fickle Bond Villain like Musk.
@ErFlynnArt I agree, but 20 years ago #ULA had a launch monopoly here which meant commercial customers were going overseas while members of Congress lined their pockets with campaign contributions from Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
SpaceX introduced competition into the launch market, to our great benefit.
The problem was the rest of the industry has yet to adjust. ULA just tested its first Vulcan and Blue Origin is years behind.
The solution is competition, if anyone else can compete.
@WordsmithFL I guess we'll see what happens when Musk gets influenced by a foreign country and starts tampering with Starlink (oh wait...he did that.) or his other services.
The U.S. military is relying more and more on #Starlink, including an offshoot called #Starshield (see link below). #SpaceX is already considered a critical U.S. asset because its Falcon provides reliable and affordable rapid launch of military payloads. The military is looking at using #Starship as a means of rapid delivery of payloads (cargo or soldiers) in the future ... (5/x)
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/space-force-contract-spacex-starshield/