US plans to deploy space weapons would destroy security balance warns Moscow

February 18, 2020 — SpaceDaily.com reports: “Washington is trying to use allegations that a Russian inspector satellite was ‘chasing’ a US reconnaissance satellite as an excuse to fuel an arms race in space, which could lead to the destruction of the existing security balance in space, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.

‘We would like to point out that the movement of our spacecraft did not pose a threat to the US satellite and, most importantly, did not violate any norms and principles of international law,’ the ministry said in a comment to Sputnik.

‘This provocative step is another attempt by the United States to justify the US plans to deploy weapons in space, shifting to others the responsibility for destabilizing the situation in space security,’ the ministry said.

The ministry stressed that the implementation of US military plans in space would cause irreparable damage to the existing space security system…” (“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” – Luke 21:25 – 27. See the next four reports.)

Space Wing squadron poised to receive first Space Force weapon system

February 11, 2020 — SpaceDaily.com reports: “Imagine a secure communications room, like what has been shown in big-screen blockbuster movies…dozens of space and communications professionals behind computer terminals working together to deny an adversary the ability to attack the United States.

Now imagine being able to pick-up and throw that entire room into a plane and drop it into a deployed location, enabling allied forces to counter attacks in the midst of a crisis.

That is the capability that the 21st Space Wing will soon bring online with impending operational acceptance of the new Counter Communications System upgrade.

‘The Counter Communications System is a transportable satellite communications system that provides a ground-based capability to reversibly deny adversary satellite communications,’ said Maj. Seth Horner, United States Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center CCS B10.2 program manager. ‘CCS has had incremental upgrades since the early 2000’s, which have incorporated new techniques, frequency bands, technology refreshes, and lessons learned from previous block upgrades. This specific upgrade includes new software capabilities to counter new adversary targets and threats.’

Total force Airmen worked with L3Harris during the last year to put together a comprehensive training program for this new software upgrade for the technicians who would be using it, as well as sending the software through rigorous testing…”

Russian satellites tracking U.S. spy satellite, Space Force chief says

February 11, 2020 — SpaceDaily.com reports: ‘The U.S. Space Force is watching two Russian satellites which appear to be observing a U.S. satellite at close range, Gen. John ‘Jay’ Raymond said on Monday.

Kosmos 2542, which was launched in November and split into two separate satellites when it reached earth orbit, is in the same plane as USA 245, a secretive satellite launched in 2013 by the National Reconnaissance Office. Both the Russian and U.S. spacecraft travel in a plane between 250 and 550 miles above the earth’s surface, where many of about 2,200 orbiting craft reside. The Russian and U.S. satellites pass each other, approximately every 10 days, but on Jan. 20 the Russian spacecraft came within 100 miles of the U.S. craft.

‘We view this behavior as unusual and disturbing,’ Raymond, commander of the U.S. Air Force Space Command told Time. ‘It has the potential to create a dangerous situation in space.’

Kosmos is a small ‘inspection satellite,’ capable of using thrusters to maneuver close to other spacecraft for observation. USA 245 is one of four NRO spy satellites used to photograph various parts of Earth, notably U.S. enemies…”

Russia successfully test fires Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile

February 28, 2020 — SpaceWar.com reports: “Russia has successfully test-launched its Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile from a ship for the first time and is planning more tests from nuclear submarines.

The missile was fired from the frigate Admiral Gorshkov in early January while it was cruising in the Barents Sea, state news agency TASS reported Thursday. It landed at a military testing range in the Northern Ural mountain range more than 300 miles away.

More Tsirkon cruise missile tests from nuclear-powered submarines are expected this year.

Russia first began work on the hypersonic weapon in 2015 and Moscow says it can reach speeds of Mach 9 – nine times the speed of sound – which enables it to evade enemy air defenses. Officials say the missile has a range of more than 600 miles…”

 ‘Over in under a minute’: commander divulges how quickly Moscow’s defences can thwart missile attack

February 18, 2020 — SpaceWar.com reports: “The Russian capital’s air and missile defence system is one of the most sophisticated in the world, and includes a dense layer of anti-aircraft missile launchers, interceptor systems, and a unique tetrahedral truncated pyramid radio-radar station so powerful it can detect space debris.

In the event of an enemy attack, Moscow’s air defences would intercept and destroy enemy missile targets in the space of less than a minute, missile defence forces commander Maj. Gen. Sergei Grabchuk has revealed.

In an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda, the officer explained that, in the first place, Russia’s global missile launch detection network would calculate enemy missiles’ projected targets, taking account of warheads and potential dummy warheads. ‘Such a complex ballistic target moves toward the defended object at speeds of up to seven kilometers per second,’ he noted.

‘The fact of the missile launch is recorded by the space-based echelon of our missile attack warning system, with further tracking of the complex ballistic target is carried out by radar stations, which comprise the second, ground-based echelon of the missile attack warning system, located along the borders of our country,’ Grabchuk continued…”