Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: military – Page 66

Rocket Report: China selling reusable engines; can SpaceX still raise money?

Welcome to Edition 5.36 of the Rocket Report! A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the space media were given a May 4 launch date for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket. Alas, May the 4th, in 2023, wasn’t meant to be. In this week’s report, I explain why.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Electron to serve as a hypersonics test bed. Rocket Lab’s small booster will use essentially the same first and second stages for hypersonic test flights, but it will have a modified kick stage that will allow Electron to deploy payloads with a mass of up to 600 kg into trajectories five times greater than the speed of sound, Ars reports. The Army, Navy, and Air Force are all developing hypersonic missiles to provide a fast-moving, maneuverable capability for striking targets quickly from thousands of kilometers away. Among the research problems the military likely wants to test is managing the extreme heat that hypersonic missiles are exposed to by traveling at high speeds in the atmosphere for most of their flight.

DARPA is making Nikola Tesla’s dream of wireless energy a reality

“First of all, the environment has changed, and the need for more resilient energy transport methods for military operations is at a premium,” explained Col. Paul “Promo” Calhoun to Popular Mechanics in an exclusive interview. American forces operate globally like the special operations units he resupplied as a C-17 cargo pilot, from outposts in the South China Sea to the Iraqi desert. Since there is no simple way to power them, many forces use their radars, anti-drone microwave weapons, lasers, or other energy-intensive equipment. And with each passing year, the severity of the issue increases.

Watch DARPA’s Maneuverable Sniper Bullet Hit Its Target

In this video, the YouTube channel Dark Footage explains and demonstrates how the small-caliber guided bullet was developed and how accurate it is. As explained in the description box, this system combines a movable bullet with a guidance framework that can alter the bullet’s path after it has been fired. This guarantees the bullet reaches its target no matter what. Yes, this means both experienced and inexperienced shooters can hit a moving target using the technology.

Ask a Generalized AI What The Greatest Threat Is to Our Planet and You Likely Won’t Like the Answer

He thinks about Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project that led to the atomic bomb, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, and the current state of mutually assured destruction (MAD). It started with a science experiment to split the atom and soon the genie was released from the bottle.

I think of the arrival of generalized AI like ChatGPT as being equivalent to the revolution brought on by the invention of movable type and the printing press. Would the Reformation in Europe have happened without it? Would Europe’s rise to world dominance in the 18th and 19th centuries have resulted? The printing press genie uncorked led to a generalized knowledge revolution with both good and bad consequences.

The future uncorked AI genie with no guidance from us could, in answering the question I asked at the beginning of this posting, see humanity as the greatest threat to life on the planet and act accordingly if we don’t gain control over it.

China simulates algorithm to evade US’s sophisticated hypersonic missile defense system

People’s Liberation Army (PLA) researchers claim they have created algorithm-based technology to defeat sophisticated hypersonic missile interception systems.

Engineers led by Zhang Xuesong from China’s Strategic Support Force Information Engineering University developed the algorithm that analyzes the trajectory of hypersonic missiles in order to avoid detection by missile defense systems, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Saturday.

The algorithm “can analyze the trajectory of these hypersonic weapons to help them avoid missile defense systems, including advanced systems under development” in the US, claimed the engineers in a paper published in the Chinese journal Common Control and Simulation last month.

Private Chinese company to develop Starlink-like 5G network, according to media reports

According to the South China Morning Post, a Chinese private company is planning to develop a constellation of satellites akin to Starlink for Chinese hypersonic craft.

GalaxySpace.

Called GalaxySpace, according to some space experts, it is “somewhat unusual” for a commercial company to participate in China’s hypersonic program. This is because China’s hypersonic flight program is normally used for military purposes. Others hailed the action as a significant step forward, emphasizing how private sector innovation may enhance the nation’s space capabilities.

China tests super accurate AI-powered artillery, SCMP claims

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has successfully tested long-range artillery that can hit a bullseye from almost 10 miles away, says report.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), China has tested an AI-powered, long-range artillery piece that is so accurate, it could hit a single person from 9.95 miles (16 km) away.

Images released from testing by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) show shells hitting target boards in the bullseye, according to the traditionally state-friendly SCMP. The precision attained in the tests, which exceeded expectations, was significantly higher than that of any other big guns currently in service.

What it will look like if China launches cyberattacks in the U.S.

Chinese hackers could also attack the networks of companies that provide services to the military or to critical infrastructure operators, holding their systems hostage for ransom payments.

“If you get the right supply chain, it can have a lot of effects against a lot of targets,” said John Hultquist, head of Mandiant Intelligence Analysis at Google Cloud.

China is viewed as one of the most dangerous nations in cyberspace, and its cyber espionage operations are among some of the U.S. government’s top cyber-related investigations. FBI Director Christopher Wray said in 2020 that his agency opens a new investigation into a Chinese counterintelligence effort every 10 hours, and half of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigations are related to China. And the intelligence community’s threats assessments have long warned that China is “almost certainly capable” of launching disruptive and destructive cyberattacks.

Mixed Reality Tracking System For Future Pilot Training

Vrgineers and Advanced Realtime Tracking demonstrate the combination of XTAL 3 headset and SMARTTRACK3/M in a mixed reality pilot trainer. The partnership between these two technological companies started in 2018. At IT2EC 2023 in Rotterdam, the integrated SMARTTRACK3/M into an F-35-like Classroom Trainer manufactured and delivered to USAF and RAF will be for display. This unique combination of the latest ART infrared all-in-one hardware and Vrgineers algorithms for cockpit motion compensation creates an unseen immersion for every mixed reality training. One of the challenges in next-generation pilot training using virtual technology and motion platforms is the alignment of the pilot’s position in the cockpit. By overcoming this issue, the simulator industry is moving forward to eliminate the disadvantages of simulated training.

“We are continuously working on removing the technological challenges of modern simulators, one of which is caused by front-facing camera position distance from users’ eyes. We are developing advanced algorithms for motion compensation to minimize the shift between virtual and physical scene, making experience realistic. The durability and compact size of SMARTTRACK3/M, which was optimized for using in cockpits, allows us as training device integrator to make it a comprehensive part of a simulation,” says Marek Polcak, CEO of Vrgineers.

“This is the application SMARTTRACK3/M was designed for., We have taken the proven hardware from the SMARTTRACK3 and adapted it to the limited space available. As a result, we have the precision and the reliability of a seasoned system in a form factor fitting to simulator cockpits” says Andreas Werner, business development manager for simulations at ART.

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