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Archive for the ‘existential risks’ category: Page 73

May 7, 2020

Satellite images reveal North Korea is building a giant facility which could hold nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military

Satellite images suggest North Korea has almost built a facility large enough to store all of its nuclear missiles.

May 7, 2020

Kim Jong Un once filmed talking to possible body doubles

Posted by in category: existential risks

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was once filmed chatting to two identically dressed lookalikes — escalating wild conspiracies that a body double was recently used to claim he is alive and well.

Footage from July 2017 discovered by the Sun shows the Hermit Kingdom’s leader with the doppelgangers as he showed off a new missile.

The pair appear the same height and size, with identically cut hair shaved at the back and sides, and wearing suits perfectly matching the one worn by their leader, the Sun noted.

May 6, 2020

Nuclear Proliferation North Korea

Posted by in categories: biological, chemistry, existential risks, military

North Korea has an active nuclear weapons program & has repeatedly tested nuclear explosive devices. It is also believed to possess biological & chemical weapons.

May 6, 2020

US: N.Korea may be building missile facilities

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military

A US think tank says North Korea appears to be building facilities that can be used to assemble ballistic missiles near the capital, Pyongyang.

On Tuesday, the Center for Strategic and International Studies published the results of an analysis on a construction site near Pyongyang International Airport. The site was captured in satellite images.

Pictures show three new buildings. The largest one is about 120 meters wide and 40 meters in depth. They all have bay doors, wide enough for large vehicles. The center says one of the buildings may be able to accommodate an intercontinental ballistic missile.

May 6, 2020

Surprise asteroid EVADES Earth protection satellites in one of the closest flybys ever recorded

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks, satellites

A truck-sized asteroid has careened past Earth in one of the closest flybys ever recorded – but none of satellites scanning the skies to protect our planet saw the space rock coming.

The previously unseen asteroid, 2020 JJ, whizzed past at a distance of around 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) this week. In astronomical terms, that’s an incredibly close shave, and it makes it one of the closest passes of our planet ever recorded.

In a development that might worry those tasked with protecting Earth from being smashed by space objects, the asteroid was only discovered by the Mount Lemmon Survey in Arizona at almost exactly the time it reached its closest point to Earth.

May 3, 2020

Kim Jong Un surfaces — North Korea leader spotted at factory visit on May Day

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military

Seoul/New York: Kim Jong Un ended his almost three-week absence from public events with a factory visit, an appearance that will ease, but not end, concern about the stability of the North Korean regime and control of its nuclear arsenal.

Kim presided over a May Day ceremony to mark the completion of the Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory northeast of the capital Pyongyang, the official Korean Central News Agency reported early Saturday. State media released photos showing the North Korean leader in a black Mao suit cutting a ribbon outside the facility, which non-proliferation experts say could be used to help produce fissile material for nuclear bombs.

U.S. President Donald Trump declined to comment on Kim’s reemergence besides telling reporters before heading to Camp David for the weekend that he “may” speak with the North Korean leader. “We’ll have something to say about it at the appropriate time,” Trump said.

May 2, 2020

A piece of moon once fell on Earth, and now you can buy the 13.5 kg rock at £2 mn

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

International auction house Christie’s is set to offer one of the largest lunar meteorites in existence for private sale. It is the fifth largest piece of the moon, larger than any moon rock returned by the Apollo programme.

Christie’s presents NWA 12691, a significant lunar rock, among the largest known in existence. Moon rock is among the rarest substances on Earth, with less than 650 kgs of lunar meteorites known to exist. This example is the fifth largest piece of the Moon on Earth, larger than any returned by the Apollo programme. Valued in the region of £2 million, the specimen is available for immediate purchase via Christie’s Private Sales.

Lunar meteorites arrived on Earth after having been blasted off the lunar surface by the collision with an asteroid or comet. All of the Moon’s large craters were created by such impacts. This particular meteorite was part of a large meteorite shower straddling the Western Saharan, Algerian and Mauritanian borders, responsible for nearly half of all known lunar meteorites. Approximately 30 different meteorites were collected, analysed, classified and assigned different NWA numbers in the belief they might be from different events and represent different lunar samples; but it has been determined that they all originate from the same lunar impact event as the current offering. NWA 12691 was found in the Sahara Desert two years ago.

Apr 29, 2020

NASA Science Live: Asteroid Close Approach

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks, science

Have you heard about an asteroid close-approach happening on April 29? Asteroid 1998 OR2 poses no threat to our planet, but we can still learn a lot by studying it. Don’t miss a special Planetary Defense episode of NASA Science Live on Monday, April 27 at 3:00 p.m. EDT to learn how we find, track and monitor asteroids and near-Earth Objects.

Apr 26, 2020

Air Force plans May start on $218 million conversion of new ‘nuke sniffer’ planes for Offutt fleet

Posted by in categories: energy, existential risks, transportation

Replacements are on the way for two decrepit 55th Wing jets that give the Air Force critical information about nuclear detonations in North Korea and elsewhere in the world.

The giant defense contractor L3Harris and the Air Force’s “Big Safari” acquisitions group are scheduled to start in May converting the first of three former Air National Guard fuel tankers into WC-135R radiation-detection aircraft. Work will start on the other two next year.

When they’re finished, all three aircraft will be assigned to the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base. The first is scheduled for delivery in 2022, said Maj. Malinda Singleton, an Air Force spokeswoman, with the other two following in 2023.

Apr 25, 2020

Size Estimations of Missiles Displayed in Recent North Korean Military Parade

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military

Appropriate references can help observers determine the size of North Korean rockets with modest confidence. Using this method, the author has previously identified the unique North Korean SCUD-ER ballistic missile by establishing its body diameter at almost exact 1 meter instead of the common SCUD’s 0.88m width[1].

Images from recent parades and test firing of North Korean rockets have offered more opportunities for relatively accurate estimation of the rockets’ dimensions. In this analysis, the author will present findings on the dimension of the missiles/ mock-ups exhibited in the April 15, 2017 parade in North Korea. The findings would in turn shed light on the technological sophistication of these weapon systems.

The “new HS-10” .

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