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NASA warns about debris from destroyed rocket
WALLOPS ISLAND, Virginia (AP) -- NASA destroyed an unmanned experimental rocket carrying a pair of research satellites Friday when it veered off course shortly after an early morning liftoff.
There were no injuries or confirmed reports of property damage, according to NASA, but the agency warned that debris from the explosion could be hazardous.
NASA believes most of the wreckage fell into the Atlantic Ocean off the Virginia coast.
Officials said the rocket -- a prototype made by Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK -- was destroyed by remote control 27 seconds into the predawn flight.
It was between 11,000 and 12,000 feet high when it exploded. Officials said they do not know why it veered off course. It was destroyed to avoid endangering the public.
"I would be surprised if we don't know what happened fairly quickly," said Kent Rominger, an ex-astronaut who is now vice president of advanced programs for the company's launch systems.
NASA had paid $17 million for the two hypersonic flight research satellites and flight preparations. Rominger declined to put a value on the one-of-a-kind rocket, which he said was developed over the past few years to learn firsthand about launch vehicles and to test new technologies. WALLOPS ISLAND, Virginia (AP) -- NASA destroyed an unmanned experimental rocket carrying a pair of research satellites Friday when it ... more -
Annual Japanese Military Exercises at Mt. Fuji - 2008
Photos from August 21, 2008.
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Iran wants to send manned rocket into space in 10 years
Iran plans to send a manned rocket into space in the next 10 years, state television declared.
The announcement came just days after the Islamic Republic revealed it had put a dummy satellite into orbit. U.S. security officials said the attempted satellite launch was a failure that fell short of claimed successes, but an analyst said the test marked a technical advance for Iran.
The long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into space can also be used for launching weapons. Iran says it has no such intention.
"One of the aims of Iran's 10-year space programme is to send a manned rocket into space," state television quoted Reza Taghipour, the head of Iran's aerospace organisation, as saying.
"Within in the next six months to one year, the exact date of this mission will be determined," he added. Iran plans to send a manned rocket into space in the next 10 years, state television declared. ... more -
Russia considering Nuclear Warheads
Russia is considering arming its Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads for the first time since the cold war, senior military sources warned last night.
The move, in response to American plans for a missile defence shield in Europe, would heighten tensions raised by the advance of Russian forces to within 20 miles of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, yesterday.
Under the Russian plans, nuclear warheads could be supplied to submarines, cruisers and fighter bombers of the Baltic fleet based in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave between the European Union countries of Poland and Lithuania. A senior military source in Moscow said the fleet had suffered from underfunding since the collapse of communism. “That will change now,” said the source.
“In view of America’s determination to set up a missile defence shield in Europe, the military is reviewing all its plans to give Washington an adequate response.”
The proposal to bring back nuclear warheads was condemned by Kurt Volker, the US ambassador to Nato, who said he knew of the threat.
“It is really unfortunate that Russia chooses to react by putting nuclear warheads in different places – if indeed it does that – when the rest of the world is not looking at some kind of old-fashioned superpower conflict,” he said.
The warnings came 24 hours after Russia told Poland that it could face a nuclear strike for agreeing to let the United States station components of the missile defence shield on its soil.
The Russian military also said it would ignore attempts to restrict the movement of its Black Sea fleet in and out of Sebastopol, in Ukraine. The Crimean port was emerging as a potential flashpoint in Russia’s efforts to prevent former Soviet countries on its borders from joining Nato.
This weekend Ukraine further angered Russian officials by offering to create a joint missile defence network with western countries.
The Russians have already indicated that they may point nuclear missiles at western Europe from bases in Kaliningrad and Belarus. They are also said to be thinking of reviving a military presence in Cuba.
In Georgia, Russian forces extended their reach across the west of the country yesterday, occupying several towns, seizing control of a main road and blowing up a railway bridge. Working with Abkhazian fighters they seized several Georgian villages and the Enguri power station. They pulled out of Igoeti, a village near the capital, after President Dmitry Medvedev signed a ceasefire agreement. The deal gave the Russians the right to continue patrolling “a few miles” inside Georgia. President George W Bush called the signing a “hopeful step”.
David Cameron, the Conservative leader, seized the initiative with a lightning trip to Tbilisi, becoming the first British politician to meet President Mikhail Saakashvili since the conflict began. Critics have accused government ministers of dithering.
Writing in today’s Sunday Times, Cameron says: “Russian armies can’t march into other countries while Russian shoppers carry on marching into Selfridges.” Russia is considering arming its Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads for the first time since the cold war, senior military sources war... more -
Iran says its warplanes are capable of reaching Israel
Iran claimed Sunday it has increased the range of its warplanes, allowing them to fly as far as Israel and back without refueling.
State TV quoted air force chief Gen. Ahmad Mighani as saying Iranian warplanes can now fly 3,000 kilometers without refueling. He didn't specify the aircraft type or explain how the range was extended.
Israel is about 1,000 kilometers from Iran.
Such a range could be achieved by using external fuel tanks attached to the wings or fuselage that can be released when empty.
Sunday's report did not refer to Israel by name, but Mighani's remarks come after an IAF air exercise in June that US officials described as a possible rehearsal for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, Iran test launched a rocket it plans to use to carry a research satellite into orbit, state television reported Sunday.
Saturday's test of the two-stage rocket, called the Safir, or Ambassador, was successful, state TV said, as it broadcast images of the nighttime launch.
It said the Omid research satellite will gather atmospheric data from a low orbit but did not give a date for its launch.
Iran has long held the goal of developing a space program.
In 2005, it launched its first commercial satellite on a Russian rocket in a joint project with Moscow, which appears to be the main partner in transferring space technology to Iran.
Iran first tested a rocket it said was capable of delivering a satellite in February, saying that trial was also successful. It said then that it planned two more test launches before attempting to put its first domestically built satellite into orbit.
The country's fledgling space program, like its nuclear program, has provoked unease abroad. The same technology used to put satellites into space can also be used to deliver warheads.
The United States called the February 4 launch "just another troubling development," saying it was a cause for concern about Iran's continuing development of medium- and long-range missiles. Iran claimed Sunday it has increased the range of its warplanes, allowing them to fly as far as Israel and back without refueling. ... more -
Behind the Scenes: Blindfolded for trip to Gaza rocket factory
It starts with a phone call at 8:30 p.m. as we are sitting down to dinner in Gaza City.
Members of the Popular Resistance Committees perform at a graduation in Gaza City on Thursday.
The PRC tells us to be at a certain place in half an hour; they are training. No further details. After a phone call to our Jerusalem bureau chief to weigh up the risks, we all decide it is rare enough an opportunity not to be missed.We grab our equipment and jump into the armored car.
Revered as freedom fighters by many here, reviled as terrorists in the West, the PRC, just one of the many Gaza based militant groups, has been involved in countless rocket attacks on Israel and the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit two years ago.
Now, in a rare public relations display intended to be viewed by Israel and the rest of the world, the PRC will show off its training techniques and a rocket factory to journalists.
The "training ground" is basic: a dead-end road for marching drills, a wall with tires stacked up against it for target practice. Burning tires surround the area, giving off putrid thick black smoke so nightly training is invisible to Israeli eyes in the sky.
The gunmen say they are training for what they see as an imminent Israeli incursion into Gaza.
As a Western female journalist working in Gaza, I rarely have to wear a head scarf, but here I am told to cover my head. The militants cover their faces.
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Despite Gaza truce, Palestinian militants still building rockets
One masked man brings me a chair and a heavily sugared tea so I can watch target and hostage-taking practice in comfort. It is horribly surreal.
One fighter tells me he will never let his son fire a gun. He says he fights only to make a better future for his family. But he's wearing a balaclava, with a rocket-propelled grenade over his shoulder and vowing to destroy any Israeli who enters Gaza. I struggle to marry the two.
The next morning, another phone call.
The same group wants to show us and other news organizations a rocket factory. Precautions this time are more stringent. We drive just outside Gaza City and are transferred into the back of an unmarked van; we are blindfolded, and our phones are taken away.
My arrival at the location caused some surprise, a woman in a rocket factory is hardly the norm. I am closely watched and discussed. I have covered my head and dressed conservatively, but it's not enough. I am given a jilbab, a long loose-fitting coat, to cover my whole body before I am allowed to enter the "factory." Once the novelty wears off, I am completely ignored.
The "factory" is anything but; it's a tiny room with rockets lining the walls and masked men trying to light a fire from a gas canister to heat the explosives.
First, the lighter doesn't work, then there's a gas leak and the room becomes filled with suffocating gas.
You hear of unexplained explosions in Gaza from time to time, euphemistically called "workplace accidents." That thought is enough to make us squeeze out of the room and wonder whether we've gotten just a little too close to the story.
In a more ventilated area, the preparations begin. I'm struck by the relaxed manner with which these men handle deadly ingredients and warheads. One slip, and the story would be very different, and we probably wouldn't be around to tell it.
As I watch the rockets being made by men who have clearly done this many times before, I glance at the row of rockets made earlier lining the walls. I wonder which will be fired first and whether there will be civilian casualties.
There's no doubt the PRC wants Israel to see these pictures. Rocket makers are positioned to give the camera the best angle; the production of deadly weapons is highly choreographed. It's a militant's PR event, an event the Israeli prime minister's spokesman tells us could force an Israeli response if the truce is just a front for militants to rearm and regroup. It starts with a phone call at 8:30 p.m. as we are sitting down to dinner in Gaza City. ... more -
Trip to the moon via a public loo
Very funny surreal comedy sketch from The Gonk. You can see more at http://www.thegonk.co.uk
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Launch of private rocket fails; three satellites were onboard
A multimillionaire's privately-funded rocket was lost on its journey into space last night. The launch was PayPal creator Elon Musk's third attempt to create a market for affordable space travel.
Mr. Musk issued a statement admitting the "big disappointment" of failing to reach orbit. He said although the first stages of the launch were "picture perfect", it was unfortunate that "a problem occurred with stage separation, causing the stages to be held together".
"This is under investigation", he added.
More at the link. A multimillionaire's privately-funded rocket was lost on its journey into space last night. The launch was PayPal creator Elon M... more -
Old man shows his balloon
Older gent at bingo shows the joys and pleasures brought by letting a blown up balloon off does not depreciate with onsetting years.
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Star Wars X-Wing Rocket. Does it Fly or Die?
The San Diego Tripoli Rocket Association built an exact replica of an X-fighter from Star Wars. Not only did they manage to "go that deep" into geeksville, but they actually put a rocket in this thing and intended to launch it in a veil of geek glory.
I think when you go this far it's not geeky any more, its actually pretty cool. As expected the dedicated geek press were on to this in a jiffy and soon it was the talk of all of geeksville. After weeks of discussion and excitement, much like the Mayweather Hatton fight, it was time for launch.
A story this epic needs to be tackled by Will Ferrel in a comedy film. Shotgun the rights to "The San Diego Tripoli Rocket Association."
This, my internet friends, is exciting stuff... The San Diego Tripoli Rocket Association built an exact replica of an X-fighter from Star Wars. Not only did they manage to "go t... more -
Scenes from the Ground
Conflict continues between Hizbollah and Israel on the border of Israel and Lebanon. After almost a month of fighting, there is still no sign of a ceasefire. Conflict continues between Hizbollah and Israel on the border of Israel and Lebanon. After almost a month of fighting, there is still... more
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Live RPG round found in California Van
Stolen at that
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