More images of space-themed stamps from India.
K.S. Jayaraman of Space News (“Indian Government Set To Create Aerospace Command”) reports that Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi told reporters India would establish Aerospace Command for various military space missions.
I blogged this back in May. IAF officers have been pushing such a command for years.
If India actually goes through with the idea, I have a standing offer to buy Shachtman dinner at the Indian restaurant of his choice in NYC.
You’re still gonna have to pay for that dosa, you damn herbivore.
Another Indian source reports Tyagi was attempting to explain the lack of progress toward establishing an Aerospace Command:
Denying that the government had rejected the proposed Aerospace Command, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi today said work on the project was well underway.
“We had forwarded a proposal to the government which in response requested clarifications on some questions… it definitely has not rejected the proposal of setting up the command,” he told journalists at his customary press conference on the eve of the Air Force Day.
Noting it was a very “complex issue,” he said it required a lot of deliberations before it became a reality.
Very complex indeed.
The most disturbing thought (hat tip, TH)—a former Indian official cites the bullshit Chinese parasite micro-satellite story to justify India’s development of directed energy anti-satellite weapons.
“While its perceived role is mostly passive, the aerospace command could play an active role if Indian satellites are threatened,” said [V. Siddhartha a former senior official in India’s Defense Research Development Organisation].
“The Chinese have a system right now consisting of very small satellites with explosives on them that can maneuver in space and attack a bigger satellite in a suicide mission,” Siddhartha said. “All our remote sensing satellites are vulnerable to such an attack. If Insat satellites are attacked, the civilian as well as military communication capability will be lost.”
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond by press time to a request for comment. Sources say Indian has been working on directed-energy weapons, including lasers, that might be used to counter such a threat.
That’s just f*cking great, huh?
No need for rules of the road or confidence building measures, here.
Take everything out of Inja with a grain of salt. About one foot on a side – available at your local farm supply store! Remember, during the era of nuclear wepons testing, the Indian Defense Minister praised Russia and blasted us because our tests were more dangerous because underground testing was in contact with the Earth! OH Yeah!