Dude, who even knows.

21st October 2021

Link reblogged from Deep Learning State Machine with 68 notes

China’s Tests Are No Sputnik Moment →

collapsedsquid:

Both interpretations of the test are plausible, though not equally credible. I suspect that, as reported, China is following the Soviet Union’s lead in developing a so-called fractional orbital bombardment system. But I can’t rule out the possibility that China is developing a space plane, like the United States’ X-37B. Because tests of space planes and some orbital weapons could be indistinguishable, determining China’s intentions is difficult. In fact, it is even possible that China tested a technology demonstrator with multiple potential applications.

Listened to Jeffrey Lewis and he repatedly made the point that if you load a nuke in a space shuttle it’s a hypersonic FOBS, gotta wonder if there are any plans to to stick a nuke in a X-37b.

This was explicitly part of the appeal of the Shuttle program (also, and perhaps more politically palatable, it could orbit-insert surveillance satellites in ways not as limited and predictable as direct ballistic launch from known sites). This is why on (non-classified) missions it orbited with its bay open and visible to Soviet monitoring on the ground, like displaying your open hands

  1. thatspiderinyourceiling reblogged this from argumate
  2. argumate reblogged this from argumate
  3. argumate said: @byanyothername different kinds of military use though, like one of the reasons the shuttle was so broken was all the compromises made to hypothetically launch military satellites into polar orbits
  4. byanyothername said: Anyone who believes that NASA’s projects can’t be converted into military use, or military into civilian, is being extremely naive.
  5. hirosensei reblogged this from argumate
  6. amalgatedarticles reblogged this from collapsedsquid
  7. identicaltomyself reblogged this from argumate and added:
    The maneuvering burst that takes something from “in orbit” to “re-entry” occurs on the other side of the world from the...
  8. toaarcan reblogged this from coldgoldlazarus and added:
    The military did have some involvement in the Shuttle’s development, however.Early concepts for how the whole thing...
  9. collapsedsquid reblogged this from argumate and added:
    Yeah these are “hypersonic gliders” it’s when descending it’s hypersonic The space shuttle just orbits over (or close...
  10. coldgoldlazarus reblogged this from koito-yuu
  11. koito-yuu reblogged this from argumate
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