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Explanation: Stars are forming in the gigantic dust pillar called the Cone Nebula. Cones, pillars, and majestic flowing shapes abound in stellar nurseries where natal clouds of gas and dust are buffeted by energetic winds from newborn stars. The Cone Nebula, a well-known example, lies within the bright galactic star-forming region NGC 2264. The Cone was captured in unprecedented detail in this close-up composite of several observations from the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. While the Cone Nebula, about 2,500 light-years away in Monoceros, is around 7 light-years long, the region pictured here surrounding the cone's blunted head is a mere...

In August 1968, Soviet forces invaded their captive ally Czechoslovakia. The invasion began with an intense electronic warfare campaign against the Czech air defense network. A declassified secret US Defense Intelligence Agency report, titled “Soviet Electronic Countermeasures During Invasion of Czechoslovakia” and produced in October 1968, provided substantial detail on Soviet electronic warfare actions. It stated, “Electronic countermeasure activity was concentrated southeast and east of Prague to screen and protect Soviet air movements.” It added, “Jamming apparently was not targeted in the radio frequency range of NATO radars; the locations of chaff seeding suggests that it was not intended to...

SPACE (8/3) reports that a new modeling study indicates that life on Earth may be “premature,” and that the probability of life emerging throughout the universe in the distant future is 1,000 times greater than it is now. Study Lead Author Avi Loeb, with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, stated, “If you ask, ‘When is life most likely to emerge?’ you might naively say, ‘Now.’” He added that despite such inclinations, “we find that the chance of life grows much higher in the distant future.” The scientists conducting the research “determined that the main factor influencing the possible evolution of...

A propulsion system problem has left a U.S. military communications satellite short of its intended orbit, leaving a key communications network over the Middle East, Africa and Asia without a spare, officials said on Tuesday.

With the F-22 Raptor, the Air Force acquired un equaled power to project air dominance. Lockheed Martin’s single-seat, twin-engined, all-weather fighter blended stealth, supercruise, great agility, and all-sensing avionics. Those features, plus high reliability and low maintenance, marked a huge leap in capability over USAF’s own F-15 Eagle, long the class of air combat. Indeed, the F-22 could not be matched by any known or projected fighter.

By early 1968, the United States military was involved in an escalating ground and air war in Vietnam. American aircraft were being shot down at the rate of nearly one a day, and Operation Rolling Thunder, the bombing of North Vietnam, was in full swing as B-52s unloaded racks of bombs over the jungle. The US Air Force was engaged in a constant battle against Vietnamese SA-2 surface to air missiles (SAMs), jamming them and spoofing them, electrons dueling invisibly in the air. American airmen with the job of physically destroying the missiles, going by the name Wild Weasels, went...

An F-35 fighter pilot says he would be confident flying the Joint Strike Fighter against any enemy in the world, including Russian and Chinese 5th Generation stealth fighters. An F-35 Joint Strike Fighter would be able to use its sensors, weapons and computer technology to destroy Russian and Chinese 5th-Generation Stealth fighters in a high-end combat fight, service officials said. “There is nothing that I have seen from maneuvering an F-35 in a tactical environment that leads me to assume that there is any other airplane I would rather be in. I feel completely comfortable and confident in taking that...

In case anyone is interested: 1 Airpower Classics - January -- Jaguar 2 Airpower Classics - February -- Predator 3 Airpower Classics - March -- B2 Spirit 4 Airpower Classics - April -- V22 Osprey 5 Airpower Classics - May -- C17 Globemaster III 6 Airpower Classics - June -- E8 Joint STARS 7 Airpower Classics - July -- F-35

By fall 1959, a number of CORONA photo-reconnaissance spacecraft had already been launched under cover of the Discoverer program, but none had operated successfully. Program officials became concerned that the Agena spacecraft that carried CORONA might be vulnerable to tracking by Soviet radars, or possibly even deliberate electronic interference. They did not think this explained CORONA’s early string of failures, but it was a possibility they worried about. At the time, Harold Willis was working in the Office of ELINT located at CIA Headquarters when CORONA officials briefed him about their program and told him about their concerns. Willis also...

Tales of espionage are filled with lanky men in trenchcoats walking through cold Berlin streets at the height of the Cold War. But the most important intelligence—in terms of volume and reliability—was gathered by reconnaissance satellites far overhead. These satellites were precise, they collected vast amounts of information, and unlike spies, they did not forget, embellish, lie, or go rogue. Photographic reconnaissance satellites like CORONA, GAMBIT, HEXAGON, and KENNEN were in many ways the most prolific spooks. But they were also accompanied by other satellites, signals intelligence, or SIGINT, satellites that listened for the electronic whispers of radars and radios,...

Last week, the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office launched NROL-37, carrying its latest spy satellite into geosynchronous orbit via Delta IV-Heavy rocket. But it only took amateur space enthusiasts a few days to locate the mysterious new craft in the skies near Malaysia, over the Strait of Malacca. While the contents and capabilities of the NROL-37 mission's payload are classified (the satellite is innocuously labeled US-268), its need to hitch a ride on the world's biggest rocket strongly suggests it is the seventh member of the Mentor/Orion family, an extra-large class of signals intelligence (SIGINT) satellites which help provide eavesdropping capability...

Retired Col. Steve Pisanos, a World War II ace who was decorated by four nations, has died, his family confirmed through the San Diego Air and Space Museum on June 9. Pisanos was 96. Born in Athens, Greece, Pisanos [sometimes spelled Pissanos] came to the United States in 1938. He joined the British Royal Air Force in 1941 and served with an Eagle Squadron until American members were absorbed by the US Army Air Forces 4th Fighter Group. Pisanos was then commissioned a USAAF lieutenant. On May 3, 1942, Pisanos became an American citizen during a ceremony in London, England,...

Surveillance satellite launching Thursday atop Delta 4-Heavy rocket CAPE CANAVERAL — One of the largest satellites in the world will launch aboard America’s biggest operational booster Thursday, riding that power to a listening post 22,300 miles above the planet for its clandestine eavesdropping mission, all indications suggest. A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will fly from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 37 at 1:59 p.m. EDT (1759 GMT). Although the duration of the day’s usable launch window has not been revealed, officials previously said liftoff would occur by 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT). Weather forecasters say there is a risk of...

The U.S. Army has released its 2016 Weapons Systems Handbook, which is available at www.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/431298.pdf. For more on military equipment, including weapons, visit Military.com's Equipment Guide.

Colorado Springs, Colo.—The Federal Aviation Authority (sic) would like to develop an implementation plan "as soon as possible" to begin transitioning responsibility for collecting and disseminating safety-related space situational awareness data from the Air Force to the FAA, the associate administrator for commercial space transportation at the FAA said Wednesday. "We would want to accomplish that transition in a crawl, walk, run manner, so that all of the key stakeholders were comfortable with the approach that was being used, and with the resulting products and services," George Nield said at the 32nd Space Symposium, adding that the transition could be...

This is mainly for the military retirees who access this site. I don't know whether to be happy or sad with this, but two weeks ago I ordered a pair of eyeglasses from NOSTA via email. I thought something was strange when I got two replies that they had received my order. Ten days later I received a new pair of bi-focal eyeglasses. Not the same BCGs that we had in the military but close. A day later I received a second pair of glasses. Now I have two pair of shooting glasses. While I don't mind having two pair...

The funny thing about working in engineering is that your education is never really over. Innovation is constantly reshaping the concepts and processes you find in various areas of engineering, so the professionals focused on these fields have to be on their toes to learn the latest and greatest advancements. A decent chunk of this learning is done through experience, but sometimes you need to jump start it with a course or two. And who better to do that with than MIT, Boeing and NASA? That’s right: The biggest names in engineering are teaming up to develop the ultimate systems...

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia will no longer recognize concealed handgun permits from more than two dozen states that have less stringent laws. Attorney General Mark Herring said Tuesday that the state will revoke its reciprocity agreement with 25 states after a review found that their permit requirements are weaker than Virginia’s. The change takes effect Feb. 1.

Fort Bragg authorities are investigating how a civilian apparently used phony ID to get access to the North Carolina base and live there for months at the barracks of the 3rd Special Forces Group.

AOL (12/2) reports that as the Paris climate talks take place, a satellite image released by NASA, illustrates the view of Chinese smog from space. In reference to the image, NASA said, “The brightest areas are clouds or fog, which have tinges of gray or yellow because of the air pollution,” adding, “Other cloud-free areas have a pall of gray haze that mostly blots out the cities below.”