Wonder about this aspect:
https://panda.substack.com/p/salvage-fuzing-and-co-orbital-n...
US confirms for first time it has deployed space weapons
191–200 of 397 posts
Re: US confirms for first time it has deployed space weapons
#192Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is the Outer Space Treaty (1967), which forbids placing "nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or station them in outer space in any other manner", but you can get around that by saying that it's just a conventional weapon, not nuclear or WMD. If it's for space to space combat, you could say that any weapon is potentially a WMD due to the Kessler potential, but if…
What is the point of any treaty with the current US administration which does not play by international laws? Rules and laws that the USA itself spearheaded after WW2.
The Soviets attached cannons to space stations, and the Chinese are believed to have deployed space-based weapons. The USA is actually a laggard in this field.
Re: US confirms for first time it has deployed space weapons
#193I think most of the powerful countries in the world already have space weapons. Space exploration is just a facade for this.
I'd wager starlink is mostly military with the cover of civilian use case.
There's the program called Starshield, that's part of the miltech side of the program. One of the military uses is using the starlink constellation signals as a passive SAR for the whole planet with millimeter scale accuracy.
Re: US confirms for first time it has deployed space weapons
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
You absolutely can legislate morals and ethics. That’s why you can’t murder people.
“Can’t” seems incorrect here. Plenty of people murder people. You can’t murder people and expect life to go on as usual. But the act itself doesn’t seem to be eliminated by legislation.
Is the bar for this conversation “zero instances ever”?
Our laws are informed by our values. How can we possibly argue they aren’t an attempt at legislating ethics and morals?
Re: US confirms for first time it has deployed space weapons
#195If 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.
Hopefully our grand children are alive to hear that explanation.
Re: US confirms for first time it has deployed space weapons
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yaogan-50 for anyone asking. Interesting. A bit conspiratorial, but hey. It would be a major provocation if so
A major provocation? "Oh, you deny using your satellites to supply them with imaging? All right, then it wasn't us who blew up your spy satellite that wasn't supplying imaging." That is, China's in a bit of an awkward position to complain very much.
Problems start when their complaints take the form of using their own deniable capability against U.S. satellites.
I've a feeling our satellites are far more expensive and advanced than theirs. Nobody wants a space tit-for-tat that can escalate dramatically.
Re: US confirms for first time it has deployed space weapons
#197[dead]
Re: US confirms for first time it has deployed space weapons
#198It’s paywalled. Is anyone reading it before replying here?
It's not paywalled - it's the BBC. But maybe try CNN's version: https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/15/us/us-space-force-weapons-cap...