Great report.

This is really nothing new. These have been the plans of the neo-cons all along. The whole world should already know about it, but apparently this is what our leaders and the American people want - a new arms race in space. Thanks for bringing it to the sheeples attention once again though.

This is really nothing new. These have been the plans of the neo-cons all along. The whole world should already know about it, but apparently this is what our leaders and the American people want - a new arms race in space. Thanks for bringing it to the sheeples attention once again though.

Duplicity unequaled ... this administration.

* Note on spelling error (( )) in a terrific article.

<<>>>

You are clearly on drugs, Cheryl. There is no space bomber.

Dear Rummie,

If this typical complete denial is the story you are planning to disseminate, hadn't you better be showering a few people with "snowflakes" (as your staff calls your endless memos on how to lie about and/or spin information) besides me? Like the editors at Space News International...the folks at Boeing's Orbital Space Program (which has been so neatly kept out of the mainstream news) and the boys and girls at NASA?
And,yes - the "title" Space Bomber is mine - I felt it called the necessary attention to the outrage and was a more accurate description of the reality than "Space Orbital Vehicle." Hey, it's a helluva a lot more accurate than you and Bush's announcement in May of the "END OF MAJOR CONFLICT." !
P.S. Get a real job.

Cheryl

I checked with several of my contacts, one of whom worked in the company before its acquisition by Boeing. He is skeptical, knowing that the original design was a test bed. His major concern, however, is the notion that a seperate vehicle is really required, particularly given the report taht the armament is a 500 lb conventional bomb. As big as that may sound, it really does not require a space platform for delivery.

Here's a couple of old articles about the space bomber, but usually the pentagon keeps pretty tight control on what information is leaked about the progress of these hi-tech weapons. They've got at least a few models to choose from to develop as space bombers but they have to work on their heat resistance for high speed reentry. Heck, they're even developing "thunder rods" or kinetic energy weapons to be tossed to the earth from space using GPS guidance.
People should read more. Look up Space Command, there should be more on the internet about that. And, I must have many other links to the subject elsewhere. I'm not going to look them up right now though; maybe I'll do it later. People, search the internet if you don't believe it. I hope that all the links haven't been taken down though.


From The BBC: Tuesday, 1 July, 2003, 13:46 GMT 14:46 UK
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3035332.stm
US plans hypersonic bomber
"The United States is planning to build an unmanned hypersonic aircraft capable of striking any target in the world within two hours. The initial description of the concept - called the "reusable hypersonic cruise vehicle" (HCV) - has recently been placed on the website of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), the central research and development organisation of the Pentagon. ... The HCV air/spacecraft could be operational by 2025. ... the United States will be able, using aircraft based on its own territory, to strike at individual targets without warning and without the need for foreign bases. ... the Research Agency also proposes a shorter term (by 2010) weapons system. It would be based on what is known as a "Small Launch Vehicle" (SLV) which would blast into space carrying the Common Aero Vehicle. This is essentially a bomb dropped from space which then freefalls or glides onto its target. ... "

7/28/2001 from Reuters:
dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010728/pl/plane_space_dc_2.html

Pentagon Considers 'Space Bomber' - La Times Saturday July 28 8:59 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Pentagon is looking into the development of a futuristic bomber that would take off like a long-range missile and drop precision bombs from heights of 60 miles or more, the Los Angeles Times reported in its Saturday edition. The Times, citing a government planning document, said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ordered the Pentagon last month to consider the sub-orbital space craft for rapid global strikes. It said the bomber, possibly manned, was expected to travel 15 times the speed and 10 times the altitude of existing bombers and hit targets on the other side of the world in a half-hour. ..."

As long as I'm still up, I'll post a couple more links. SpaceWar is a good place to go to keep up with some of this stuff, and you can search for old articles there also.

From SpaceWar:
www.spacedaily.com/news/rocketscience-03zzr.html
Bombing Anywhere On Earth In Less Than Two Hours
"Washngton - Nov 27, 2003
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the US Air Force share a vision of a new transformational capability that aims to provide a means of delivering a substantial payload from within the continental United States (CONUS) to anywhere on Earth in less than two hours. ... "

From The Telegraph (UK): (Filed: 08/06/2003)
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml
Now the US wants control of space
By Julian Coman in Washington
"The United States is planning to take control of parts of space and develop patrolling military aircraft in orbit as part of a revived Star Wars proposal for an American military empire above the ozone layer. According to James Roche, the US Air Force Secretary, America's allies would have "no veto power" over projects designed to achieve American military control of space. The key theme of the ambitious plans is described as "negation" - the denial of the use of space for military intelligence, or other purposes, without American endorsement. ...
" ... A fleet of spacecraft will be developed, designed to attack and destroy future satellites of enemies and rivals. The rapid-launch "military space plane," the potential cost of which has not been disclosed, would also be used as a mobile "bodyguard" for US space installations. ...
" ... the Pentagon believes that the struggle to control space will form the next stage of a global arms race. Its plans confirm that America expects space to be "weaponised" in the medium-term future, and is determined to take an unassailable technological lead. ...
"Last month, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Ivanov, repeated Moscow's demands for the complete demilitarisation of space. In March last year, however, Peter Teets, the under-secretary of the air force and director of the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office), said: "I believe that weapons will go into space. It's a question of time. And we need to be at the forefront of that." ..."

This was in the news today, from Reuters:
story.news.yahoo.com/news

Russia Tests New Role for Cold War Nukes
Fri Dec 5, 9:21 AM ET

"BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - Russia moved closer to obtaining its cheapest rocket yet for commercial satellites after successfully testing on Friday a converted nuclear missile that was decommissioned to meet disarmament treaties. A Strela (Arrow) modification of a Soviet RS-18 Stiletto missile roared into space from an underground silo at Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, said spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Igor Zatula.

The Stiletto was designed to carry six individually guided nuclear warheads, enough to destroy several Western cities, but may now end up providing satellites for phone networks and television broadcasters in countries it once targeted. Russia has to dismantle all its ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles with multiple warheads in order to meet the terms of the 1993 START-2 strategic arms accord with the United States.

It already launches Proton and Progress rockets from Baikonur, which are both modifications of nuclear rockets, but Russia's military has said decommissioned Stilettos may become the world's cheapest boosters. "This is the first test launch of this missile, also known by NATO's classification as SS-19 'Stiletto'," Zatula said. "This booster may be used to launch satellites into space."

Zatula said Strela had delivered a dummy satellite into low orbit, 120-160 km (75-100 miles) above the Earth. He declined to give the weight of the payload and said several more test launches were needed before commercial use could start. Zatula said that apart from testing Strela's ability to launch satellites, Russia's defense ministry had also successfully checked the reliability and safety of the formidable missile, in service since the 1970s."


There are a number of problems with this story, but let me just say that I think that the 1993 START-2 strategic arms accord with the United States and Russia is dead. It died when the US pulled out of the ABM Treaty. Or, am I mistaken?

Here's an old article archived at Black Vault about another Stiletto missile, the SS-19 (This was before the Us withdrew from the ABM Treaty):
www.blackvault.com/news2/russias_missile_hint_to_bush.html

Russia's Missile Hint To Bush

"MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russia test-fired a 1970s ballistic missile on Wednesday, hinting at a possible nuclear build-up to counter U.S. defence plans. The Russian military announced it had test-fired a huge Stiletto missile from its space base at Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Missile tests are mounted routinely in Russia, but Wednesday's came a week after President Vladimir Putin threatened a nuclear expansion if President George W. Bush's plans for a missile defence shield, NMD, went ahead. Putin repeated at the weekend his threat to put multiple warheads on existing missiles to counter U.S. moves to abandon the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. He said the U.S. would not be able to counter multiple warheads for decades.

The Stiletto, or SS-19, was built between the mid-1970s and 80s, and can carry six warheads, each with a force of one to two megatons. At one stage Russia deployed 360 of the 80ft giants, and the Stilettos were regarded as the backbone of Russia's nuclear arsenal. But under the START II treaty Moscow can keep only 105 -- and each must be downgraded to just one warhead.

Putin said last week that START II -- signed by President Bush's father in 1993 -- would be automatically void if Washington pulled out of the ABM treaty to build NMD. As well as the Stiletto Russia also has the even older SS-18 Satan missile, which can carry 10 to 12 warheads. The Satans were to be scrapped altogether under START II.

Russia's most modern strategic missile, the Topol-M, could also be refitted to take more than one warhead but only carries one tonne of payload. Itar-Tass news agency said a military source had told it Russia's older, larger missiles would be "the only way of resolving strategic tasks in contemporary conditions."

"Compared to the Topol-M, the Stiletto has a considerably higher chance of overcoming the ABM system of the likely enemy," due to its larger payload, it quoted the source as saying. Putin told reporters after a meeting with Austrian President Thomas Klestil on Saturday that world stability had been preserved "thanks to the balance of powers and interests" in the nuclear sphere. This means that all countries, including Russia, will have the right to install multiple warheads carrying nuclear weapons on their missiles," he said. For Russia, he said, installing multiple nuclear warheads on existing missiles "is the cheapest response." ... "

Now, I'm not really saying anything because I don't know. The article (Russia Tests New Role for Cold War Nukes - 12-05-2003) says they did send a payload up into near earth space orbit on a SS-19 Stiletto missile, but they won't say what it was or what it weighed. And, as far as I know the START-II Treaty is not in effect, but maybe it is.

www.bellona.no/en/international/russia/nuke-weapons/start/24686.html

Russia and America Formally Scrap Start II, ABM Treaties

Charles Digges, 2002-06-16 18:48

"MOSCOW - Russia pulled out of the 1993 START II nuclear arms treaty Friday, one day after the United States formally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty prohibiting construction of a missile defence system. The action by the Russian parliament had limited practical effect, however, because the US and Russian legislatures had ratified different versions of START II, preventing it from taking force. ...

In Moscow, by backing out of START II, Russia frees itself from what military experts in Moscow considered onerous restrictions on the land-based intercontinental missiles that are Russia's strongest nuclear assets. START II's requirement stipulating that such weapons be armed with only one warhead each meant in essence that Russia had to build an entire new generation of missiles, analysts and lawmakers said. Other restrictions set by START II are obsolete, including the requirement that both countries slash their nuclear arsenals to 3,500 warheads apiece.

The much-derided treaty signed in Moscow last month requires the United States and Russia to limit themselves to 1,750 to 2,200 each in the next decade. Opponents of the treaty have pointed out that it has no decommissioning schedule, meaning, conceivably, that neither side will have to start slashing arsenals for a decade. Also provisions for the American side allow the stockpiling — rather than the destruction of warheads — and makes the treaty virtually pointless. ... "


Also in the news today, Rummie is over in Georgia cozying up to the new heads of state:

From The BBC: Thursday, 27 November, 2003, 14:33 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3242652.stm
Shevardnadze says US betrayed him
Ousted Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze has accused the US of helping to remove him from power. Mr Shevardnadze said he could not understand why he had been abandoned after giving Washington full support in foreign policy, including on Iraq. His comments came as President George W Bush telephoned acting president Nino Burjanadze to say he was sending a delegation "to assess Georgia's needs". He said he wanted to help her democratic and free-market reforms. ... "

From AP: Dec 5, 9:28 AM (ET)
apnews.excite.com/article/20031205/D7V89C6G0.html
Rumsfeld Offers U.S. Support for Georgia
By ROBERT BURNS
"TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld pledged full U.S. support Friday for this former Soviet republic and said Russia is obliged to withdraw its troops as promised. Rumsfeld met with Georgia's interim leadership, including the acting president, Nino Burdzhanadze. He was the first member of President Bush's cabinet to come here since election protests forced Eduard Shevardnadze to resign the presidency last month. ... The Bush administration is concerned about what it sees as a growing effort by Russia to exert its influence in Georgia and elsewhere in the Caucasus and Central Asia. ... "

Can you say "war, oil, global domination, and a new arms race in space"? Just wondering.

This is also from the article at The San Francisco Chronicle (Please use the link above and read the whole thing):

By James Sterngold, Chronicle Staff Writer

" ... the administration is seeking a new stockpile of both some Cold War-era warheads and new, smaller weapons that can be used for limited attacks and for destroying caches of weapons of mass destruction, especially in buried bunkers, without causing indiscriminate destruction and loss of life. It has also proposed a policy of possible pre-emptive first use of nuclear weapons in emergencies, even against non-nuclear states.

A recent study entitled "Missiles of Empire: America's 21st Century Global Legions," by Lichterman of the Western States Legal Foundation highlights not only the administration's push for new kinds of warheads, but also the billions it is planning to spend on reducing the time it would take to launch a nuclear strike and on a new generation of missile re-entry vehicles, among other things. The re-entry vehicles would allow the military to steer warheads toward targets, even moving targets, entering the atmosphere from space. ...

" ... the administration succeeded in pushing through the repeal of the law banning the development of smaller, more usable low-yield warheads, and it got approval to begin research into advanced weapons concepts for the future. ... " ...