Free Republic

SOCHACZEW, Poland (AP) — U.S. air defense troops are training rapid deployment of Patriot missile launchers in Poland amid concerns that the conflict between Russia-backed rebels and government forces in Ukraine is threatening the security in the region. On Saturday, at a test range in Sochaczew near Warsaw, two U.S. soldiers demonstrated for reporters the procedure of emplacement of a Patriot launching station of 16 missiles, as part of their week-long exercise.

Los Angeles Unified School District police officials are considering whether they need the armored vehicle and grenade launchers they received from the U.S. military.

vid at link

More bizarre ordering courtesy of  DHS. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved ICE has a requirement to purchase Less Lethal Launcher Kits for Federal Protective Services (FPS). FPS agents will use the identified kits for training purposes as required by agency policy. This action will be a Firm Fixed-Price Contract with an estimated cost for this acquisition of $498,970.00.

(IsraelNN.com) IDF soldiers uncovered missiles and anti-tank rocket launchers in a Gaza schoolyard in late Thursday. The anti-tank missile launcher and a stack of missiles were found at a school in Sajaiya, in northern Gaza, during routine counter-terrorism operations. ) The Israel Air Force reports hitting two members of a terror cell carrying anti-tank weapons in southern Gaza, after an IDF soldier was moderately wounded in a firefight with terrorists in the area early Friday morning. The soldier was struck down when terrorists fired anti-tank shells at the troops. He was airlifted to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva. Soldiers...

The successful launch and recovery of the Prospector 6 (P6) test vehicle on Saturday, 21 May 2005 represents another important milestone for the joint industry / academic team that is working to develop a low-cost Nanosat Launch Vehicle (NLV) that will be dedicated to delivering 10 kg payloads to low Earth orbit. The partially reusable P6 is a full-scale, low-fidelity prototype of the two-stage, pressure-fed NLV and is serving as a pathfinder for evaluating new vehicle technologies and efficient field site operations.

Boeing Satellite Systems is facing renewed questions about the quality of its satellites and manufacturing processes following a new set of in-orbit failures and the disclosure that work on several current programs has taken an expensive turn for the worse. In Boeing's latest setback, two Boeing 601HP satellites owned by PanAmSat Corp. could be prematurely forced from service following the failure within the last month of their next-generation propulsion systems, which were designed to increase efficiency by replacing traditional chemical systems with lightweight xenon-ion gas technology. The affected satellites, PAS-6B and Galaxy 4R, were built by Hughes Space and Communications...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 4/4/03 -Raids on Baghdad, Palaces, Airport, STRIKE VIDEOS BREAKING: Baghdad - Blackout - and crescendo shock and awe BREAKING: Saddam's Presidential Palace - raid BREAKING: Tharthar Palace - raid BREAKING: Chemical Ali''s House - taken BREAKING: Saddam Jessica Lynch International Airport - weapons hot BREAKING: STRIKE VIDEOS : Apache helicopters, Iraqi tanks, anti-aircraft missile launchers, meeting complex, An Najaf, artillery launcher, Karbala, communication facility, Ar Rutbah, bunker, Mosul, armored personnel carrier, trucks and other vehicles, Al Amarah, surface to air missile facility, fuel tank, radar ========= the ex-Saddam International Airport ========= Coalition...

<p>The generals always fight the last war, and NASA managers always design to the last disaster.</p> <p>They're proposing (as was the case with the ill-fated X-33 VentureStar program) that the new launch system be designed to be flown unpiloted, and have a separate, separable crew module when it has to carry people.</p>