Writing on ACW 2008–2010 · 142 posts
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As this penultimate year of the decade draws to a close, our thoughts naturally turn to all the changes we have seen. (Don’t ask me why this year and not next, there is just something special I suppose about seeing…
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click on the image for a larger version This is the second in a series of preparatory posts leading up to a discussion on the Safir’s guidance system. The first discussed the orientation of the Safir at launch and showed,…
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This video is just a little more interesting than watching paint dry—until you realize that it is sound causing that little bright dot in the center! Sonoluminescence, light emitted by a plasma created at the center of a converging spherical…
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We usually think of the enrichment power of a centrifuge as fixed by its physical parameters. For a given gas, that of course is true. For enriching uranium hexafluoride, centrifuges with larger rotational speeds (the enrichment power of a centrifuge…
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A recent news article reporting the significant shortfall of He-3— a rare isotope of helium—has received an unfortunately small amount of attention. Apparently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has planned on putting 1,400 He-3 based neutron detectors in ports…
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click on the image for a larger version Iran’s satellite launch pad position and orientation as determined in Jane’s Intelligence Review (G. Forden, “Smoke and Mirrors: Analyzing the Iranian Missile Test, April 2008, pp. 47-51). The actual image overlay has…
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Michael Krepon, in both his recent ACW article and in the Stimson Center Occasional Paper on the 1990 Indo-Pak crisis , does a thorough job of discussing the problems associated with some the conclusions raised in Seymour Hersh’s past investigative…
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click on the image for a larger version There has probably never been a discussion on ACW that has aroused as much animated technical discussion as the thrust vector control (TVC) for Sejil. This is almost entirely due to the…
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Much has been said about the various nosecones Iran uses on its missiles. In particular, the tri-conic or baby bottle nose cone of the Kavoshgar and Ghadr is one of the primary ways of distinguishing the various Shahab-3 variants. That’s…
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click on the image for a larger version Cataloged debris associated with the 10 February 2009 collision of Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 as of 23 October 2009. The orbits associated with the major pieces of each satellite are indicated.…
