Posted on 02/11/2020 6:20:39 AM PST by Twotone
The commander of the newly-established U.S. Space Force said Monday that two Russian satellites appear to be shadowing a U.S. spy satellite, often coming within 100 miles of the multibillion-dollar craft.
We view this behavior as unusual and disturbing, Gen. John Jay Raymond said of the activity in an interview with TIME. It has the potential to create a dangerous situation in space.
Raymond said U.S. analysts first noticed something amiss when the Russian spacecraft appeared to split into two smaller ones shortly after it was launched Nov. 26 mounted on a Soyuz rocket.
The way I picture it, in my mind, is like Russian nesting dolls, Raymond told TIME. The second satellite came out of the first satellite.
It marks the first incident of a standoff between a U.S. satellite and that of an adversarial nation, but is reminiscent of encounters between Russian and U.S. warships and fighter jets, as well as Cold War-era tensions that led to costly arms races.
The initial costs of setting up the Space Force are likely a small down payment on an undertaking that could cost tens of billions of dollars in the years to come, William D. Hartung, director of the arms and security project at the Center for International Policy, told TIME.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
So what?
It’s a free space.
The real question is...what are you gonna do about it?
It could cause global warming!....................
Probably trying to tap into the signals.
Isn’t this nearly straight out of a James Bond movie?
They ought to call the new Space Force members Space Cowboys.
So..shoot it.
the multibillion-dollar craft surely has defensive weapons?
One never knows what those nesting dolls have hidden in their babushka.
Earlier it was two satellites trailing ours. Is it now three?
Good points. But don’t expect the Putin puffers here to agree. They stand with Putin over the USA on every issue. Wait and see.
Freedom of navigation! :)
Time to arm the Photon Torpedoes Mr.Sulu.
Really we need to start arming these platforms with lasers to defend them selves.
Sounds like an old James Bond movie.
Obama:
Nope. We don’t send up armed satellites. The Russians have put up armed orbiters years gone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaz
That’s not how a laser small enough to mount on such a satellite would work.
https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Bird_1
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