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The project, known as RAMA (Reconstituting Asteroids into Mechanical Automata), is part of Made In Space's long-term plan to enable space colonization by helping make off-Earth manufacturing efficient and economically viable. "Today, we have the ability to bring resources from Earth," Made In Space co-founder and chief technology officer Jason Dunn told Space.com. "But when we get to a tipping point where we need the resources in space, then the question becomes, 'Where do they come from and how do we get them, and how do we deliver them to the location that we need?' This is a way to...

February 22, 2008 Son of Star Wars takes out toxic satellite in $30m space hit Michael Evans, Defence Editor and Jane Macartney in Beijing Video need to know: expert opinion on the satellite operation The United States provided dramatic proof of its capability to destroy an object in space when a US navy missile scored a direct hit on an American satellite falling out of control. Missile experts said that the Standard SM-3 weapon, fired from the USS Lake Erie, a Ticonderoga-class cruiser, took about three minutes to reach the satellite 150 miles (240km) up in the sky, flew above...

Gannett newspaper, link only: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120117/NEWS/301170042/0/mobile/?odyssey=nav|head

A group of retired Russian generals warned on Thursday that the country's space defenses are obsolete and have a limited capability to counter possible threats from space. "Frankly, our space defense capabilities are limited and insufficient to ensure our national security," former Air Force commander Anatoly Kornukov told a roundtable on the future of Russia's air and space defenses in Moscow. He said Russia is lagging behind the United States in the development of space-based weapons and space defense systems by at least 25-30 years and the Russian defense industry cannot meet the demand for advanced weaponry. The Russian political...

Russia will have complete array of military-space defence capabilities by 2015, according to a leading missile manufacturer. "By 2015, we will have Morfei short-range air-defense complexes, Vityaz, Favorit and S-500 medium-range systems, and something else," said Igor Ashurbeili, general director of the Almaz-Antei concern's design bureau. Russian news agency Ria Novosti quoting him said, the 2015 deadline was linked to the fact that by that time S-300 PS antiaircraft complexes, the first in the S-300 series, would have been taken out of service. Antei is currently developing six new types of air-defense/missile defense systems, of which Ashurbeili has only named...

HONOLULU — Senior military commanders at the U.S. Pacific Command here said China's recent test of an anti-satellite weapon and increased computer-hacking activities prompted increased defenses for U.S. forces in the region and in space. "U.S. space capabilities are an asymmetric advantage that we have to maintain," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Daniel Leaf, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. "There has been significant discussion and activity to assess the impact of [the anti-satellite test] and other [Chinese] space developments, and how to protect our extraordinarily important space capability," he said in an interview at the command's headquarters at...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US military has been quietly working on an array of defenses against attacks on its satellites, including tiny new satellites that could one day be armed for wars in space, analysts say. That may explain the muted US response to China's anti-satellite test two months ago. When China destroyed one of its own weather satellites with a ballistic missile in the January 11 test, the White House waited a week until news of it leaked and then issued only a mild expression of concern. Experts said the test came as no suprise to the US military,...

US adopts tough new space policy The document outlines US military and commercial ambitions in space The US has adopted a tough new policy aimed at protecting its interests in space and denying "adversaries" access there for hostile purposes.The document - signed by President Bush - also says "freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power". The document rejects any proposals to ban space weapons. But the White House has said the policy does not call for the development or deployment of weapons in space. The United States will...

U.S. Must Move to Full Missile Defense by Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.Posted Oct 09, 2006This week, HUMAN EVENTS begins an occasional series of exclusive articles in which leading conservatives who served in the Reagan Administration explain how they believe the principles of Reagan conservatism ought to be applied today and in the coming years. This week, Frank Gaffney, who served in Reagan’s Defense Department, addresses the issue of missile defense. Ronald Reagan is now esteemed around the world for having the vision and the leadership skills to bring about the demise of the Soviet Union. He is less widely appreciated...

Symposium: Star Wars DefenseBy Jamie GlazovFrontPageMagazine.com | August 25, 2006  The critical issue of Missile Defense now confronts our nation. The key questions remain: How mandatory is it? What is the threat that we need to protect ourselves against? What kind of system do we need? Is the one that is in the plans effective enough? How expensive will it be and how long will it take to build? And do we have the political will and leadership to get it done?   To discuss these issues with us today, we have assembled a distinguished panel. Our guests are: Thomas Karako, the Director of Programs...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon's top weapons buyer has endorsed a controversial plan that could lead to a multibillion-dollar U.S. missile defense component in space and strain ties with China, Russia and other countries. At issue is what the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency calls a space-based "test bed." It would initially involve as few as one or two interceptor missiles designed to shoot down ballistic missiles possibly tipped with nuclear, chemical or germ warheads. "I'm supportive of creating a test bed," Kenneth Krieg, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "And then we'll see what...