click on the image for a larger version The currently active US early warning satellites, SBIRS and DSP: each satellite is removed one at a time to highlight its individual coverage. Orbits have been determined by the amateur satellite observer…
The Strategic Posture Commission has released its interim report. For what it is worth, I think Hans K has it backward. The report doesn’t “reinstate Russia at the center of U.S. nuclear thinking” as he suggets, so much as it…
The image on the left is a simulation of the Delta II powered trajectory in GoogleEarth, the red portion is the solid rocket boosters; the image on the right is the actual SBIRS photo with the outline of Florida highlighted.…
Before analyzing the two SBIRS–HEO images, its necessary to review a little of phenomenology associated with viewing rocket plumes in the infrared. That’s because there are some surprising effects that show up very well in both these photos that, perhaps,…
This post has been updated as of 4:02 pm on Friday. Sometimes you see a picture that is simply so amazing you have trouble believing it is real. That was the case with two images the Air Force released from…
I am close to posting on the most recent Missile Defense Agency flight test (FTG-05). In case you wonder why this is taking me literally days to work through (with lots of help from David Wright), read these statements by…
In a talk at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Frank Pabian makes really amazing use of GoogleEarth and SketchUp. (There are also a couple of references to the blog, for which I am grateful.) You can also watch…
In my most recent article, After the Reliable Replacement Warhead, in Arms Control Today I mention the so-called “extensive reuse” Life Extension Program (erLEP), in which components are mined from other warhead designs to make more reliable weapons: One option…
Just a reminder, dear colleagues and friends, I am giving a talk tomorrow at 4 pm at the Carnegie Endowment, followed by a happy hour at the Big Hunt. Here are the details: On behalf of Physicians for Social Responsibility,…
I recently heard a funny story about the negotiations for the START II treaty. It turns out that when the US START II treaty negotiators tried to explain to their Russian counterparts the need for a “strategic reserve” of nuclear…
