SpaceX Is Building a Military Rocket to Ship Weapons Anywhere in the World
Dan Robistzski /Futurism.com
(October 9 2020) — SpaceX and the Pentagon just signed a contract to jointly develop a new rocket that can launch into space and deliver up to 80 tons of cargo and weaponry anywhere in the world — in just one hour.
Tests on the rocket are expected to begin as early as next year, Business Insider reports. It’s expected to shuttle weapons around the world 15 times faster than existing aircraft, like the US C-17 Globemaster.
“Think about moving the equivalent of a C-17 payload anywhere on the globe in less than an hour,” General Stephen Lyons, head of US Transportation Command said at a Wednesday conference.
The new contract is further evidence that SpaceX is leaning hard into military partnerships. Earlier this week, the private space company won a contract with the military’s Space Development Agency to manufacture four missile-tracking satellites.
Prior to that, the Army approached SpaceX about turning its constellation of Starlink broadband satellites into a new military navigation network, and Space Force officials let slip earlier this year that they were already working closely with SpaceX after awarding the company a contract in August, BI reports.
The new weapon delivery system resembles a militarized version of something that SpaceX CEO proposed back in 2017, when he talked about passenger space travel.
Back then, Musk proposed launching passengers into space and then quickly landing them back down closer to their destination. The new plan is highly similar, just with weapons rather than people.
The US Military and Elon Musk Are Planning a 7,500-mph Rocket that Can Deliver Weapons Anywhere in the World in an Hour
(October 7, 2020) — Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the US military plan to build a rocket capable of delivering 80 metric tons of cargo anywhere in the world in 60 minutes.
Under a newly agreed contract, SpaceX will assess the costs and technical challenges of the project, while initial tests are expected in 2021, Gen. Stephen Lyons, the head of US Transportation Command, said Wednesday at a virtual conference.
A 7,652-mile journey from Florida to Afghanistan could be completed within about an hour with such a high-speed rocket, which could travel at 7,500 mph, per The Times.
In comparison, a US C-17 Globemaster, a military transport aircraft costing $218 million with a maximum speed of 590 mph, would complete this journey in about 15 hours.
“Think about moving the equivalent of a C-17 payload anywhere on the globe in less than an hour,” Lyons said.
“I can tell you SpaceX is moving very, very rapidly in this area. I’m really excited about the team that’s working with SpaceX.”
Another aerospace company, Exploration Architecture Corporation, will also be part of the research program.
SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, has already developed the Falcon 9, a reusable rocket designed to carry 22 metric tons of cargo and land vertically in a controlled descent.
The plan comes days after SpaceX landed a $149 million contract to build missile-tracking satellites for the Pentagon, indicating that the aerospace firm is ramping up its military contracts.
As part of the deal, SpaceX will build four satellites fitted with wide-angle infrared missile-tracking sensors in its assembly plant in Washington, where the firm builds satellites for its Starlink internet project.
In August, SpaceX won 40% of a billion-dollar agreement with the Department of Defense to launch new rockets for the Space Force. The remaining 60% went to United Launch Alliance.
What Elon Musk’s 42,000 Satellites Could Do To Earth
The US Military Wants Access to SpaceX’s Satellite Constellation
(September 28, 2020) — The US Army has its eyes on SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which already has more than 700 satellites in orbit and has plans for many more.
SpaceX launched Starlink with the goal of beaming down internet access to the entire planet, but now the Army wants to tinker with the satellites and build in another purpose: to create a navigational network that’s reportedly better and more secure than GPS, according to MIT Technology Review.
A team of engineers at the University of Texas at Austin shared research online this week that describes a navigational system that’s both 10 times as precise as GPS and less vulnerable to spoofing or interference, MIT Tech Reviewreports. After his startup was bought by Apple, UT Austin engineer Todd Humphreys was introduced to Army officials who wanted to put his tech to use.
“That got us an audience with people at SpaceX, who liked it, and the Army gave us a year to look into the problem,” Humphreys told MIT Tech Review.
If SpaceX agrees to the idea, even its existing Starlink satellites would be able to contribute to the new network after a software update. According to Humphreys, doing so would also improve GPS data down to the order of centimeters, as Starlink satellites can communicate at 100 megabits per second compared to a GPS satellite’s 100 bits.
“If you have a million times more opportunity to send information down from your satellite, the data can be much closer to the truth,” study coauthor Peter Iannucci told MIT Tech Review.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
Comments
Al M. — Just what the world needs to be more peaceful. SpaceX and the Pentagon just signed a contract to jointly develop a new rocket that can launch into space and deliver up to 80 tons of cargo and weaponry anywhere in the world — in just one hour.
Imagine, if instead, Elon Musk teamed with Care, Doctors Without Borders, Catholic Relief Services, Red Cross and Red Crescent, Oxfam and others to deliver first aid supplies, medicines, PPE, food, wells, water purifiers, desalinization equipment, tents, latrines and on an on, wherever there’s a crisis.
But no, we first want to use this technology to spread death and war more quickly around the world. The world would think more highly of the US if we were truly known for humanitarian, lifesaving efforts.
When 3% of what we spend on war and preparation for war could end starvation on earth, good God, America, where are our priorities?
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
