Space really should be a neutral ground like Antarctica. Especially since the consequences of space debris might trigger the Kessler effect [1], denying humanity future access to low-earth orbit for the considerable future.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome

I think most of the powerful countries in the world already have space weapons. Space exploration is just a facade for this.

Rather interesting timing after the US accused China of supplying Iran with high-res imagery used to support attacks on US bases, then a Chinese satellite mysteriously broke apart

Behold, the real bull case for SpaceX: not space-based datacenters, colonizing Mars, or asteroid mining, but the thorough militarization of Earth's orbit by the US.

If we get to try and explain these times in like 30 years to our (grand-)children, I'm sure it will be with a great sense of embarrasment.

I hope one of these days we can get our priorities straight.

Earlier: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49706451

In the great power struggle their can be no safe havens. All the world is a stage. And the sky too.

How is this smart? US was already able to strike any place on the globe, what happens if this motivates the US enemies also have weapons in space and then US mainland becomes strike-able.

What was the thing that the US military previously couldn't blow up? The enemy now can have giant piece of hard metal in orbit and blow up previously %100 out of range data centers for example.

Very unwise action on US part.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dome_(missile_defense_s...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starshield

Bunch of idiots with space weapons. Great!

As long as they're OK with China and other countries having space weapons then all is fine.

Everyone is equal with - they all have nukes in space sitting over each other's countries waiting to drop.

This is fine.

I suspect this isn't true in any meaningful way, and relates to Trump's people deceiving him. Seems 100X more likely that Trump said "what kind of weapons does space force have?" and they had to come up with something, rather than a clandestine space weapons program being successfully developed and deployed.

> "a kinetic kill vehicle of some sort - so a vehicle that would release a projectile of some sort that would ram into a satellite and destroy it"

Semi related "Rods from God": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_bombardment

I feel safer already. What's the worst that could happen? I'm sure no-one will put an AI anywhere near it.

Well, that's one way to kick off a new arms race. Guess the orbital junk problem is about to get worse.

Who do they want to shoot in space?

It would not surprise me at all if the Trump administration is the one to bring Kessler's nightmare to fruition.

Might be a good thing for humanity if we all get stuck here, and have to figure out how to get along or die trying...

The biggest assets space weapon wise has Musk? Anything that can become a particlecloud taking out a orbit counts- so two constellation sattelites, that aim for one another should count?

Because, of course, P47 has to be the first, do the thing that’s obscene. Grrr.

> China responded on Tuesday by warning against an "arms race" in space.

> "We urge the US side to stop expanding its military capabilities and preparing for war in outer space," AFP quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.

Next up; America cries rivers of victimhood when Russia and China put their far more advanced space based weapons systems into orbit and 100x as many in response because the narcissistic maniacs in the “American” educated idiot class ripped the lid off Pandora’s box because Hollywood taught them that the good guy Americans always win.

Technically the US has had 'space weapons' for many decades, due to how an intercontinental ballistic missile works.

Incidentally, the Shuttle raised concerns in the USSR because they saw those large cargo bay doors and rocket thrusters out back, to think that this was a 'delivery system'.

In the modern battlefield, 'hypersonic' missiles are the new shiny. However, any ICBM is 'hypersonic', at least during the space phase. The new meaning of hypersonic means going at 'hypersonic' speeds through the atmosphere and in the final approach. Force equals mass times acceleration, more speed means more deceleration, which means packing a bigger kinetic punch.

What's a space weapon?

I imagine launching anything from space to earth would be highly inefficient and inaccurate. So it must be space to space.

Space to space weapons are what? Small drones with an explosive charge? I guess that could work. These "combats" are going to be weird, because the objects are trapped in their orbits. Things are going to move very slowly with a lot of intertia.

> Golden Dome

Trump seemingly cannot resist the classic opportunity for a "1up", can he?

the idea that the orange infant can order the use of weapons in space should be terrifying to everyone regardless of politics

no-one is stupid enough anymore to say "oh he would never"

or "only against people we don't like"

No, of course he would use it against Canada or Greenland if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed or didn't sleep at all

He clearly has rage fits which is one of the early signs of dementia

He would most definitely order the use of space weapons

I am really surprised he has not nuked some part of Iran yet, innocent civilians be damned but there are still 800 days left so here's hoping we don't wake up to that headline

Isn't it ironic? Spending billions on threats from space while ignoring the person on Earth who acts like Putin's favorite unsecured login.

Cmon folks. What is happening over there? Can anyone tell me? Is it the plastic in water or something?