I'm reading "Trump wants to build a trillion-dollar Golden Dome shield in space. Can it work?" (WaPo)(free-access link, because there are some good explanations and graphics)(That's the teaser headline from the front page because the headline on the main page is all caps).
Is Moulton saying we need to keep ourselves vulnerable so other countries will feel better about the balance of power? To install a highly effective defense "will only destabilize the fragile international order." Only?! Come on, Moulton, you can't mean what you are saying!
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109 comments:
So the Democrats are recycling their anti-Reagan Star Wars comments.
Nothing coming out of the mouth of a democrat should be taken at face value. NOTHING.
Seth moulton snorfle
Don't try to protect yourself. It will only serve to antagonize those who wish you harm.
If you didn't know, we are behind in space-based warfare tech and China is moving very quickly. Russia already has satellite "maintenance" capability that can repair or remove satellites as needed. Both adversaries are ahead in maneuverable orbiting space assets.
Come on, Moulton, you can't mean what you are saying!
He can and he does.
That’s some “stinkin’ thinkin’” from Moulton (D-Of Course).
Apparently Seth is more interested in a stable, less fragile, international order (whatever that means) than what is good for the USA.
Why is that unsurprising?
Is Moulton saying we need to keep ourselves vulnerable so other countries will feel better about the balance of power?
Si vis pacem para bellum.
I think it's likely that space debris will make low earth orbit unusable in the not too distant future. Look up the Kessler Syndrome.
I have been observing the heavens through telescopes for many years, and the escalation in the number of satellites in the last couple of years has to be seen to be believed. And plans are for an exponential increase from current numbers.
It was the same arguments used against building nuclear ballistic submarines, same arguments used against building stealth aircraft, same arguments used against building ballistic missile defense, and indeed golden dome is just a variation of ballistic missile defense.
They don’t hate America. They just don’t want America to be able to defend itself if attacked. Just like they don’t want people to defend themselves in their own home from criminals. Maybe the US should create a national “duty to retreat” doctrine in which we all flee the country when attacked, so nobody aggressive to us gets hurt.
Bob B said...
So the Democrats are recycling their anti-Reagan Star Wars comments.
Yup. I noticed that too.
Yes they do by their words and deeds
A trillion dollar defense system that will be defeated with a $25 Chinese made drone. Doesn't seem worth my tax money. Not saying its a bad idea, just not worth the price tag.
Remember ted kennedy collaborated with the Soviets
We are fucked unless we can find a way to get along. Apparently that's out of the question.
Moulton is challenging Ed Markey to replace him in the US Senate seat. That's what fuels his strident opposition to the "most ambitious part of the program," which leaves him room to tack to the center after the primary.
With Dems impossible
So more stupid is his magic trick
Biz markey is plenty stoopid
Inside Trump's Golden Dome
Did they ask KJP? She must know what's really going on in there.
Golden Dome. Trump. heh...
What he "means" is that he is on the other side, and that bad argument is the best he can think of.
The solution is to keep Moulton irrelevant...
Rep. Moulton, was a Marine Captain, private school, Harvard and now politician. Not a bad guy according to some of his fellow Republican representatives and has an undergrad in physics. No immediate money trail to Big Defense, so he might be onto something instead of the usual TDS.
The real danger is not missiles. The real danger is suitcase nukes. You give a nuke to your terrorist proxies and they drive it over the border and park it in D.C.
Missiles, you can identify immediately who has declared war on you. And you can, and will, retaliate.
With a suitcase nuke, it's a guessing game. And you can bet that the killers will deny everything. And flood the airwaves with crying women and children. "Please don't kill us, we did not do it, we are innocent." And they might be innocent, that's the horrible part.
Also, if your satellites can't spot and stop a drone attack, they are useless. The nuclear attack on the USA will be like 9/11. Very cheap, low budget, and under the radar. We need to plan to stop that shit.
I hope our armed forces are paying a lot of attention to how Ukraine is fighting the Russians. We need to completely reassess our defense strategies for this new era.
Members of Congress should be required to wear NASCAR-like jackets showing who their sponsors are.
"..Is Moulton saying we need to keep ourselves vulnerable so other countries will feel better about the balance of power? To install a highly effective defense "will only destabilize the fragile international order.."
this was the Dem's argument against SDI
this was the Dem's argument against ABM
this was the Dem's argument
Democrats, sadly, cannot be trusted with facts, truth, reality.
The corrupt left have bankrupted their credibility.
The Democratic Party is full- Authoritarian Soviet.
“Folks, I have to tell you — we’re doing something tremendous in space. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. People are calling it the most beautiful, the most incredible idea ever conceived — and it’s mine. They’re saying, ‘Sir, how did you even think of that?’ and I tell them, ‘I just did.’ It’s called the Golden Dome Shield — a trillion-dollar, absolutely magnificent, 24-karat protective dome around America. It’s going to protect us from missiles, from China, from bad weather — maybe even from CNN, who knows?
They said it couldn’t be done. The experts, the generals — you know, the ones who always lose wars — they said, ‘Sir, this can’t be done.’ And I said, ‘Then you’re fired.’ Because I only hire winners, folks. Only winners.
And let me tell you, the people getting these contracts — the best people. Tremendous people. Very loyal. They’ve been so nice to me. Some of them told me they voted for me twice — maybe three times — who knows? And they’re making a fortune, which is fine, because when I make people rich, America wins.
Now, we’re calling it the Golden Dome because, frankly, silver wouldn’t be good enough for me — or for you. Gold is classy. Gold is Trump. The fake news says it’s too expensive — a trillion dollars! Can you believe that? But we wasted more than that on windmills that kill birds. My dome? It saves birds. Beautiful eagles — flying around saying, ‘Thank you, Mr. President.”
Elon called me — you know Elon, he loves me, always has — he said, ‘Sir, nobody but you could build a golden shield in space.’ And he’s right. Because I’m the only one who knows space. I’ve done Space Force, I’ve done rockets — I even did Star Wars before George Lucas, okay?
So get ready, folks, because when we finish this thing, you’ll be able to look up at night and see America’s greatness shining in the sky. A big, beautiful, golden dome — the envy of the world. And the best part? It’s going to be paid for by the same people who always pay — not us. Maybe China. Maybe Mexico. Maybe the Space Force — we’ll figure it out. Believe me.”
“I think it's likely that space debris will make low earth orbit unusable in the not too distant future. Look up the Kessler Syndrome.
I have been observing the heavens through telescopes for many years, and the escalation in the number of satellites in the last couple of years has to be seen to be believed. And plans are for an exponential increase from current numbers.”
What makes you think that your compatriots here will even look up the “Kessler Syndrome”, , much less take it seriously if Trump wants his Golden Dome?
It's obvious why you people are quick to discount Rep Moulton. The success of MAD during the Cold War was in part due to the ABM treaty.
Good Luck Swift Boating this man (Grokipedia):
Following enlistment, Moulton attended Officer Candidates School (OCS) at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, a rigorous 10-week program designed to assess and develop leadership qualities under physical and mental stress. Upon successful completion, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California, where he underwent further initial training preparatory to infantry roles, emphasizing combat readiness and unit cohesion essential for operational effectiveness.[23] This phase underscored his deliberate selection of frontline service, rejecting paths that might have limited exposure to the causal realities of warfare.[3]
Combat deployments
Moulton deployed to Iraq four times between 2003 and 2008 as a U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer, experiencing the shift from conventional invasion to protracted counterinsurgency amid rising sectarian violence and improvised explosive device (IED) threats. His initial tour, from March to September 2003, placed him at the forefront of the invasion, leading a platoon in one of the first Marine companies to enter Baghdad, where units faced disorganized resistance but encountered early signs of post-invasion chaos, including looting and the absence of weapons of mass destruction that had justified the war.[2][25]
In his second deployment, spanning July 2004 to October 2005, Moulton commanded a platoon during the Battle of Najaf, a weeks-long engagement against Shiite militias in a cemetery complex, involving close-quarters combat, ambushes, and IED detonations that inflicted heavy casualties on both sides and exposed the limitations of firepower against embedded insurgents. Patrols routinely navigated urban terrain laced with booby traps and sniper fire, resulting in multiple near-misses for his unit, including direct exposure to enemy small-arms fire, which illustrated the grinding attrition of occupation rather than decisive maneuvers.[26][27]
Subsequent tours under General David Petraeus shifted focus to advisory roles, with Moulton on a small team forging ties with Sunni sheikhs south of Baghdad in 2007–2008, witnessing the Sunni Awakening's emergence as local leaders pragmatically allied with U.S. forces against al-Qaeda in Iraq to reclaim territory and revenue streams from extortion rackets. This countered ideological expectations of universal hostility by demonstrating how self-interested tribal dynamics could temporarily suppress extremism, though fragile gains eroded without sustained local governance, revealing warfare's high costs—over 4,000 U.S. fatalities by 2008—and the fallacy of nation-building detached from ground-level incentives.[28][29]
Awards and honors
Moulton was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device for valorous leadership as an infantry platoon leader during his first deployment to Iraq from February to September 2003, where he directed operations amid intense urban combat including the Battle of Nasiriyah.[30] He received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device for heroic actions under fire during joint operations with Iraqi forces on his third deployment from August 2006 to March 2007.[30] These decorations, among the Marine Corps' recognitions for direct combat gallantry, highlight his role in small-unit tactics that mitigated casualties in high-threat environments.[31]
Following eight years of commissioned service, including four combat tours, Moulton attained the rank of Captain and received an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps.[27]
Democrats want to be in a Mexican standoff where the bad guy can kill you at any time but you can shoot him back as you are falling and you both die. But they won’t allow you to dive down behind the watering trough and pick him off to save yourself using superior tactics. That would not be fair to the communists
I do think that it will work - just the way that Reagan’s Star Wars worked. The opposition (China) cannot know that it won’t work, and thus will have to divert resources to combatting it.
One big advantage that the US has here, is Trump’s Buddy, Elon Musk, and his SpaceX. Last year, they launched half the world’s satellites and half the tonnage into orbit, and are on track to do the same this year. Then, in a year or two, StarShip and its Heavy booster come online, cutting their cost to launch to orbit in half, or better, again. The richest country in the world has access to the cheapest, most plentiful, satellite launch system in the world.
China is desperately trying to catch up. Maybe, eventually, but they have, yet, to recover and relaunch a single rocket. SpaceX averages a couple a week. And it’s speeding up, as their chopstick technology continues to improve, eliminating the necessity to move rockets and boosters between launches. Like with China’s attempts to copy our aircraft and aircraft carriers, just copying the look of US technology isn’t enough.
"Missiles, you can identify immediately who has declared war on you. And you can, and will, retaliate."
this isn't to Stop a nuclear attack; it's to Prevent one.
that is:
If the Red Chinese attack Taiwan..
If they can rain missiles down on US, we can't do much..
If the dome degrades their missile threat, the have to rethink invading Taiwan..
Of course, NONE of this is relavant, because Westerners quit having children, so in a generation they (US) will cease to exist
"The real danger is suitcase nukes."
And drones. How is the Golden Dome going to defend against swarms of hundreds and thousands of small drones?
Missiles might go the way of the bayonet when all is said and done. Who needs an expensive missile programs?
But Howard, all the Democrats and half the flag officers will tell you that people who were lower level combat officers like Pete Hegreth and Moulton are completely unable to think at the strategic level needed to be allowed to participate in high level military theory and management!
Some things are so stupid that only a Massachusetts Democrat would say them. And Howard--Major Hegseth outranks Captain Moulton.
“With a suitcase nuke, it's a guessing game. And you can bet that the killers will deny everything. And flood the airwaves with crying women and children. "Please don't kill us, we did not do it, we are innocent." And they might be innocent, that's the horrible part.”
Not really. We have been able to identify the source of nuclear weapons for decades now. Remember Clancy’s Sum of All Fears (I believe)? Real technology. Very mature.
We do have Suitcase Nukes. Have had for decades. SEALs, etc, are routinely taught how to use them. Know this as a fact. They are tactical, not strategic weapons. They don’t have significant yield. More worrisome are strategic nukes brought into this country in, say, shipping containers. But, as I noted above, pretty much the only enemy countries producing or having them are China and Russia, and we would know fairly quickly which country they came from, and retaliate in short order.
True mass deterrence is based on submarine launched missiles. There is nothing wrong with heavy deterrence. But there could be a new tech tomorrow that can detect subs under water. It is a good thing to develop alternative diverse paths of resistance to attack, space based interceptors are a good way to strand Chinese investment in icbms. The real threat is a Chinese attack on cyber systems that destroy our banking and comms. I hope we have a plan to smear them and Russia if this happens.
“It's obvious why you people are quick to discount Rep Moulton. The success of MAD during the Cold War was in part due to the ABM treaty. . ..”
Looks like a perception that you want to happen rather actually happen.
So he has a company grade officer perception of military issues. Articles today tell us that someone is not qualified to make major military decisions with only a field grade officer perception of the military.
Company grade officer: lieutenants and captains. Run day to day operations in units with under 150 people.
Field grade officers: majors, Lt colonels and colonels. Run units of above 500 to 3500. Make all operational plans for company grade officers to execute.
Howard is apparently unfamiliar with the logical fallacy “appeal to authority,” assuming Moulton is an authority. Credentials are unimportant when the argument is illogical or political bullshit in response to Trump trolling.
Actually the soviets admitted sdi brought them to the brink
Not only all that, but Notre Dame will sue for infringement.
If we wanted wikipedia link we would do it ourselves
Igna: ‘What makes you think that your compatriots here will even look up the “Kessler Syndrome”…?’ We’ve been calling your attention to the “Trump Derangement Syndrome” for years now. Has it made a difference?
“And drones. How is the Golden Dome going to defend against swarms of hundreds and thousands of small drones?”
It won’t, and can’t. Optical precision is just not that good, except by our most sophisticated spy satellites. And kinetic delivery just takes too long. Only feasible space based system that might work fast enough are lasers, and they take a lot of power. Ultimately that will likely be from solar, but short run, by nuclear. Plus probably the need for batteries to store the juice. Of course, who has some of the best battery tech in the world right now? Tesla. Majority owned by you know who. Yes, Trump’s Buddy, the SpaceX guy.
Ultimately, the best defense against appears to be lasers. Again, the power issue. Notice that the US military is planning on installing small modular nuclear reactors at many of its military bases around the world, starting in the next year, or so. Yes, that fast.
“We’ve been calling your attention to the “Trump Derangement Syndrome” for years now. Has it made a difference?”
No, because it’s coming from Trump cultists.
Critics deride the most ambitions parts of the program - getting tens of millions of vaccine doses to the public the same year the plan is announced, convincing over a million illegal migrants to self-deport, improving the balance of trade through tariffs which raise hundreds of billions of dollars while simultaneously keeping inflation flat - as fantasy
They should sit this one out but their mouths would lock up
""Missiles, you can identify immediately who has declared war on you. And you can, and will, retaliate."
You mean like if your country is attacked by Tomahawks, which can only be operated with direct US involvement, and despite our assurances that they won't carry nuclear weapons, well, that's only valid until they do?
The reason that these things are destabilizing is that they put all sides on a hair trigger. "Use 'em or lose 'em." Once the nukes start to fly, the next phase of the war is supposedly seventy minutes away, that's when the survivors start to put the world back together under the new realities, which, BTW, will not include the surviving armies out of North America deciding how the surviving people in Europe and Asia live. The US army will have its hands full right here at home.
The fall of Rome led to the Dark Ages, but it also sent the Roman legions home and ended Roman rule over Europe and the British Isles. And Inga is right, a Kessler event is almost sure to follow, blinding all sides. Which would be to the modern world what the loss of papyrus from the Nile was to the Romans and Europeans. A new Dark Ages.
Under wendy sherman clinton gave billions to kim il sung and he had aq khan build the bombs and fit them with ukrainian boosters
“Critics deride the most ambitions parts of the program - getting tens of millions of vaccine doses to the public the same year the plan is announced…”
What makes you think this impresses Trump supporters, most of who are anti vaxxers, especially the Covid shot.
A country with a working "Golden Dome" will be sorely tempted to "decapitate" the leadership of "the gentlemen of the other firm." Like Israel tried to do with Iran, as an example.
"What makes you think this impresses Trump supporters, most of who are anti vaxxers, especially the Covid shot.
How do you feel about the fact that the National Institute of Health, under Fauci's leadership, paused testing of the vaccine by freezing the samples, and only unfroze them the day after the election in 2020, and then they were approved within five days?
’What makes you think that your compatriots here will even look up the “Kessler Syndrome”, , much less take it seriously if Trump wants his Golden Dome?’
Do you have a lot of expertise, re: low earth orbit satellites, Inga? If you do then I’d love to have this conversation!
Well she is a space cadet
“So he has a company grade officer perception of military issues. Articles today tell us that someone is not qualified to make major military decisions with only a field grade officer perception of the military.”
We have plenty of field grade and flag grade officers available. More than we need. The number of general officers has exploded since WW II. We can probably safely get rid of the recalcitrant ones.
Know a retired Reserve Navy Captain (O6). He commanded an Intelligence unit that was doing its yearly two week duty at CENTCOM when Desert Storm kicked off. Great fun, doing live bomb assessment on shift, and watching CNN in the BOQ when off. In any case, with a successful career, officers of that rank, and higher weren’t thrown out when their last assignment ended. Instead, he got 4 years or so of continuing education, where he was available for reassignment, but had no command responsibilities, padding his retirement pay.
What I hear are the moans and complaints of generals and admirals who don’t want to change, or submit to Presidential and DOW control. Only they understand the issues. Etc. No different from the high priests at Foggy Bottom with their fiefdoms, pushed out because they weren’t willing to submit to Presidential and SOS control. In short, the top of the Deep State.
The thing about generals and admirals is that, for the most part, they always are fighting the last war. We can’t afford that. We can’t, for example, afford a new Carrier Strike Group, or the next generation fighter, when the war in Ukraine is showing what drones can do.
“Do you have a lot of expertise, re: low earth orbit satellites, Inga?”
No, but I did look it up after Original Mike’s suggestion. I trust Original Mike to know what he’s talking about regarding the Kessler Syndrome. Did you bother looking it up or are you the expert?
Hes the actual rocket scientist in this group
I prefer Steely Eyed Missile Man.
“Hes the actual rocket scientist in this group”
Who is, the Beast or Original Mike? If the Beast is a rocket scientist perhaps he’d like to enlighten Original Mike and the rest of us about how OM is wrong about the Kessler Syndrome.
’Did you bother looking it up or are you the expert?’
I have forty years of experience with LEO satellites, so I have expertise in the topic. Would you like to have the conversation now?
It really is like the black knight
’It really is like the black knight’
lol
“Would you like to have the conversation now?”
No, I’d like YOU to have a conversation with Original Mike telling him and the rest of us why Original Mike is wrong about the Kessler Syndrome.
There's a watery theme flowing through the blog today, pooling in the comments, seeping into Althouse's excerpts. Now we have pesky satellites "flooding" LEO and trying to sink the prospect of a protective dome.
’No, I’d like YOU to have a conversation with Original Mike telling him and the rest of us why Original Mike is wrong about the Kessler Syndrome.’
Thanks for admitting that you don’t know shit about the topic but somehow you’re interjecting yourself into the conversation. lol
One big advantage that the US has here, is Trump’s Buddy, Elon Musk, and his SpaceX.
Yes and our chip-making technology. Insty has a blurb on China trying to reverse engineer a highly technical device they acquired but were unable to reassemble it in working fashion. We have at least several other advantages over the Middle Kingdom yet to be revealed.
"I have forty years of experience with LEO satellites, "
I am not worthy.
“Thanks for admitting that you don’t know shit about the topic but somehow you’re interjecting yourself into the conversation.”
Thanks for TRYING to say I asserted some sort of expertise in the Kessler Syndrome. I did not. All commenters here have a right to express opinions here. I pointed to Original Mike’s comment about the Kessler Syndrome worthy of a second look.
Now you look like a coward who won’t back up his braggadocio regarding his expertise. Be more like Original Mike.
Ultimately, the best defense against appears to be lasers. Again, the power issue.
Or low tech. Kinetic at-altitude exploding ordnance like those that produced flak to take out aircraft in WW2 works well against drone swarms and we can improve the already good results seen.
@bruce
Do you think space lasers are technologically feasible?
Is it just me or is the only real long term answer prosperity and diplomacy.
The soviets must had a riot with strange love the stavka is all like general ripper
’I think it's likely that space debris will make low earth orbit unusable in the not too distant future. Look up the Kessler Syndrome.’
Kessler has been warning about this since the seventies. There have only been three major incidents ever recorded, and that’s over the entirety of our entry into space. Is it a concern? No, due to extraordinary vastness of that orbit, and as substantiated by the low occurrences.
’Now you look like a coward who won’t back up his braggadocio regarding his expertise.’
lol
The soviet general staff certainly thought that way
’Do you think space lasers are technologically feasible?’
I’m not Bruce, but yes.
“Is it a concern? No, due to extraordinary vastness of that orbit, and as substantiated by the low occurrences.”
Oh whew! I’m so relieved. OM, I hope you didn’t just try to scare us regarding the Kessler Syndrome. But I don’t think you would do that, you must’ve had a real concern, but you can rest easy now that the real expert said it was just phooey.
How does moulton get to be an expert in these mattera (in his own mind perhaps)
The simple mitigation for space debris is redundancy, with several current constellations on orbit having spares in parking orbit.
Of course this is the same crew that think we can blithely go to war with russia which pronoun obsessed temu troopers
’But I don’t think you would do that, you must’ve had a real concern, but you can rest easy now that the real expert said it was just phooey.’
lol
"Kessler has been warning about this since the seventies. There have only been three major incidents ever recorded, "
That's not a strong argument. The number of satellites in orbit has exploded in just the last couple of years, and what's up there now pales in comparison to what's on the drawing board.
Not to mention an effective defense for an adversary would be to purposefully flood LEO with debris.
’I am not worthy.’
It’s been a cool gig and I’ve worked on some incredible missions, including JWST, which probably interests you…
’Not to mention an effective defense for an adversary would be to purposefully flood LEO with debris.’
At the risk to their satellites, as well? Satellites which are integral to all modern economies?
Is Moulton saying we need to keep ourselves vulnerable so other countries will feel better about the balance of power? To install a highly effective defense "will only destabilize the fragile international order." Only?! Come on, Moulton, you can't mean what you are saying!
Where have you been, Prof? That has always been the Left's main attack against SDI: that protecting US civilians from being murdered is wrong, because it "destabilizes the international order"
"Critics deride the most ambitious part of the program — flooding low Earth orbit with thousands of satellites to detect and take out adversaries’ missiles — as a fantasy..."
From Grok: As of late October 2025, there are approximately 8,700 Starlink satellites in orbit
So the "critics" are all ignoramuses and morons, since Musk has already "flood[ed] low Earth orbit with thousands of satellites", and for far less than "trillions of dollars"
There are more than 10,000 objects in LEO.
"It’s been a cool gig and I’ve worked on some incredible missions, including JWST, which probably interests you…"
My biggest passion is cosmology. To say JWST interests me doesn't begin to describe it.
Though the biggest thing right now are the ground-based BAO surveys which are beginning to show dark energy is decreasing over time.
Heady days.
"There are more than 10,000 objects in LEO."
Their appearance at the eyepiece has become tedious. I think I am witnessing the end of my hobby. I may be aging out of observing at just the right time…
Its impossible to track all of them
Bruce Hayden said...
Notice that the US military is planning on installing small modular nuclear reactors at many of its military bases around the world, starting in the next year, or so. Yes, that fast.
That's really awesome news
It may just be an attempt to keep spending money on space or to scare off our adversaries with a lot of big talk. Sit down and drink your Tang, Seth.
’The number of satellites in orbit has exploded in just the last couple of years, and what's up there now pales in comparison to what's on the drawing board.’
I’m aware of what’s up there now and very aware of what’s on the drawing board. And I appreciate the comment, but again, there are mitigation strategies, one of which I mentioned above and others which can’t be disclosed. ;)
Im sure the pla has no such objections
’Their appearance at the eyepiece has become tedious. I think I am witnessing the end of my hobby. I may be aging out of observing at just the right time…’
I truly hate that. I don’t have a telescope in the way a cobbler has holes in his soles.
It's a very complicated subject with lots of interconnected moving parts involving high levels physics, rocket science and human psychology.
Either way, it's not a slam dunk.
You have to take off the Blue dress once in awhile.
I suspect this is just a bullshit negotiating tactic ahead of Trump's meeting with Xi Jingaling of China. Speaking of the president of China, his name sounds like a non-binary pronoun.
The worst is binocular viewing; there may be a handful of satellites crawling through the FOV at any one time. Twilight and the first/last hour (or 2) of dark have become a wasteland. There is some refuge during midnight.
What I don't understand about the Kessler Syndrome is how the debris performs re-boost maneuvers?
’The worst is binocular viewing; there may be a handful of satellites crawling through the FOV at any one time.’
You must have a fantastic viewing area for binocular viewing. I assume you’re far away from ambient light… :)
’What I don't understand about the Kessler Syndrome is how the debris performs re-boost maneuvers?’
Teeny tiny hydrazine thrusters, of course!!
We can walk and chew gum which the last cigar store indian couldnt
Clyde, there's an old SF novel, "The Space Merchants", wherein one character is described as "The honorable John Doe, Senator from Coca-Cola".
The protagonist can't get life insurance because his job is too dangerous. He's an advertising copywriter.
"I assume you’re far away from ambient light… :)"
Nah, I live in Madison, WI. I do routinely travel to dark sites, 1-2 hours from town. But as I get older that's going to limit me. Setting up the scope, pulling all nighters, then crawling into a tent at daybreak for a couple hours of sleep is taxing. Especially on the 2nd or 3rd night.
Right now, I am planning my annual sojourn downunder. I ship a 12.5" DOB to New Zealand for 2 months over the winter when the southern Milky Way is high in the sky.
’Right now, I am planning my annual sojourn downunder. I ship a 12.5" DOB to New Zealand for 2 months over the winter when the southern Milky Way is high in the sky.’
Very cool!!
12.5" is kind the bare minimum of worthwhile aperture. There's an Australian star party I go to every few years that has 18- and 25-inchers available. They had a 30", which was spectacular, but that mirror met an untimely end.
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