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To protect its satellites, France outlines ambitious space-weapons program
After French President Emmanuel Macron called for a space high command to protect his nation's satellites earlier this month, military officials on Thursday released their plans in more detail.
As reported in the French financial newspaper Les Echos, the French Defense Minister, Florence Parly, outlined a new space weapons program that would allow the country to move from space surveillance to the active protection of its satellites.
"France is not embarking on a space arms race," Parly said, according to the publication. However, the projects outlined Thursday by French officials include swarms of nano-satellites that would patrol a few kilometers around French satellites, a ground-based laser system to blind snooping satellites, and perhaps even machine guns on board some satellites.
Parly said one of the country's biggest challenges would be to develop these capabilities with about one-tenth of the budget that the US spends on civil and defense space activities.
Troupes de espace marine.
(Score: 3, Informative) by ikanreed on Friday July 26 2019, @03:36PM (4 children)
kessler syndrome
kessler syndrome
kessler syndrome
kessler syndrome!
KESSLER SYNDROME!!
KESSLER SYNDROME!!
I love how completely fucked we are
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday July 26 2019, @03:58PM (1 child)
Gravity (2013) syndrome
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @06:35PM
Σύνδρομο Πλάνητες
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday July 26 2019, @04:02PM
We've got a bit to go, before kessler syndrome is a real problem. Though, really, anyone capable of launching a rocket into space has the potential to cause serious problems.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday July 26 2019, @08:32PM
No medical web sites mention kessler syndrome, [wikipedia.org] so maybe there is no cure.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday July 26 2019, @03:54PM
How about the Légion Strange? https://www.legionforeign.com/regiments#! [legionforeign.com]
(Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Friday July 26 2019, @04:10PM (2 children)
Maybe the United States Space Force can help...
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Friday July 26 2019, @08:23PM (1 child)
Why, oh why, oh why didn't they name them
Space Cadets ?
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 2) by martyb on Saturday July 27 2019, @02:33PM
Because that would be a "bad move space cadet" [wikipedia.org]?
=)
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @04:18PM (3 children)
Seriously, Marines?! Are they mariners? Is this a division of the Navy?
(Score: 1) by NPC-131072 on Friday July 26 2019, @04:52PM (2 children)
No.
Would French space ships not fly under a French flag? [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 3, Touché) by ikanreed on Friday July 26 2019, @06:14PM (1 child)
The increasing irony of the US, which gets into conflict after conflict where the only outcome is more of what they intended to stop, making fun of French military history just keeps increasing.
What's the last actual war we actually won? And no kill-stealing from stalin.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Saturday July 27 2019, @07:00PM
The last war the US unambiguously won was the invasion of Granada.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @06:07PM
"but we're going to put machine guns on satellites."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @06:08PM (2 children)
the french need to hang macron in the street for letting the country be taken over by desert rats. the algerians have been rioting for days. i don't know what the french are doing. hiding in their chateaus?
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Friday July 26 2019, @06:22PM
I hear these space weapons are for shooting down all the yellow balloons.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @06:47PM
Eh, the French have been "rioting" against Macron since last year. There's a lot of "rioting" going on right now.
Macron Renuncia!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by pvanhoof on Friday July 26 2019, @06:45PM
Blinding the enemy? Sounds like they want equipment to shoot at China's QUESS [wikipedia.org].
Maybe in the EU we should instead develop our own quantum key exchange capability.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Friday July 26 2019, @08:30PM
I fail to see how France's space weapons can protect their satellites?
Wouldn't it be relatively easy to take out their satellites?
Shoot several independent projectiles at it that intersect it at differing points in its orbit.
Or fire a weapon in the opposite (east to west) direction to have a high closing speed, then before they meet the weapon turns itself into a small debris cloud. Going in the wrong direction takes more energy, but maybe a suborbital flight could still accomplish the task?
Maybe a space weapons platform disguised as something nice, like a flower garden, could suddenly reveal its true porpoise by firing a laser powerful enough to effectively destroy a French satellite. Even if it isn't like spectacular movie special effects.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @08:56PM (2 children)
The last time I checked launching 10-20 grams of lead or other dense material at roughly 1000 meters per second accelerated the launch platform in the opposite direction.
Who's calculating the new orbit?
With every single shot you will need to calculate the new orbit of the launch platform. That's quite an overhead!
I don't think Monsieur Macron understands orbital mechanics any more than Mister Trump does.
"Macron thinks orbital mechanics are astronauts with monkey wrenches"
~childo
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @10:39PM
A ton of coarse sand launched into an elliptical polar orbit will put this space race to an end.
For good.
(Score: 3, Informative) by martyb on Saturday July 27 2019, @12:31AM
At first glance, this did seem to be a problem but upon further thought, I do not see it being anything near an insurmountable one.
1.) Just shoot an object of equivalent kinetic energy in the opposite direction and it will cancel out; no recalculation needed.
2.) Why assume that your "kill vehicle" is traveling at a matched speed and direction to the target? If you have a [near] intercept path coming from the opposite direction, you need only gently release a projectile so that it parallels your course and the projectile impacts the target. Only smallest of delta-V change in your pursuing vehicle.
3.) Why is recalculating an orbit such a big deal? Geostationary satellites are regularly released in a geostationary *transfer* orbit and it is up to the satellite (bird) to propel itself to its intended altitude and velocity. Further, birds are occasionally moved to a different orbit to take over for one that failed. Though not something I'd like to do with pencil and paper, it is done quite regularly and not that hard a calculation to do. Certainly not enough of a difficulty to be a blocking issue.
Thanks for the opportunity to do a little mental gymnastics!
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 1) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Saturday July 27 2019, @10:53AM (1 child)
are going to be funny as the sheer expense of robotic weapons systems gets them special status and rights that humans do not have.
The Bill of Rights 2020
1 PROTECT THE ROBOTS AT ALL COSTS
2 DO NOT HURT THE ROBOTS FEELINGS
3 DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE MILITARY BUDGET
4 DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE MILITARY BUDGET
The End.
(Score: 1) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Saturday July 27 2019, @10:56AM
5 ENJOY YOUR SAFETY IN SILENCE IN FULL VIEW OF YOUR FREE COMPANION ROBOT
(Score: -1) by MyOpinion on Sunday July 28 2019, @09:29PM
This idea of air against the void without expanding into it is prohibited by the second law of thermodynamics.
'space' is the distance between physical objects, not a physical place where one ventures in.
Be intellectually honest, and instead of flagging this post as "Le Troll", practically demonstrate the existence of a pressurized gas system without a container.
Truth is like a Lion: you need not defend it; let it loose, and it defends itself. https://discord.gg/3FScNwc