Free Republic

A commercial space company seeking to shine among the satellite launch industry has secretly sent its own "star" into orbit. Rocket Lab on Wednesday (Jan. 24) revealed to the world that "The Humanity Star" is circling Earth and is expected to become the brightest object in the night sky. Covered in 65 highly-reflective panels, the satellite is rapidly spinning, reflecting the sun's light back onto the planet, much in the same way that a disco ball casts light onto a dance floor. From the ground, the geodesic sphere-shaped satellite will appear as a bright, glinting star quickly traversing the night...

The effectiveness of a countermeasure system for the U.S. Army Chinook helicopter to defeat guided missiles was proven in battle, BAE Systems said. BAE said its Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures system has proved its worth in defeating infrared-guided missiles on the battlefield. ATIRCM uses lasers to protect the Chinook from missile attacks. A common missile warning system tells the system to emit a high-energy laser beam to defeat the infrared system on the incoming missile. Jim Crouch, general manager for protection solutions at BAE Systems, said ATIRCM is the best countermeasure system available for combat helicopters . "ATIRCM was put...