Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Pentagon Has Far-Reaching Defense Spacecraft in Works

"This year, the Falcon program will test a launcher for its Common Aero Vehicle (CAV), an unmanned maneuverable spacecraft that would travel at five times the speed of sound and could carry 1,000 pounds of munitions, intelligence sensors or other payloads. Among the system's strengths is that commanders could order a CAV -- an unpowered glide vehicle -- not to release its payload if they decided not to follow through with an attack."

I think it's rather terrifying that this thing's ability to abort an attack is being cited as a "strength." I think that option should be standard, personally.

By the way, this is the "Moon-Mars Initiative." But you knew that.
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"The first-generation CAV, expected to be ready by 2010, will have "an incredible capability to provide the warfighter with a global reach capability against high payoff targets," Gen. Lance W. Lord, commander of Air Force Space Command, told the House Armed Services Committee last Wednesday."

General LANCE W. LORD, Space Commander??!! You gotta be kiddin' me. Some god with a sense of humor or a taste for bad space opera has to be scripting this.
--WMB

9:15 PM
Mac said...

"To the battle stations, men! We have an asteroid to liberate"!

"Aye, aye, Space Commander!"

11:13 PM
Anonymous said...

Space Commander Lance Lord let his fingers play idly over the console in front of him. Decisions, decisions. To release the CAV's payload of devastation or not to release, that was the question.... It felt a little like playing God, a role for which he was not inappropriately named.
--WMB

12:26 PM

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