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But it gave the MiTex craft a new mission: find out why the 5,000-pound orbiter dropped dead.

Imaging of the satellite could possibly show damage from a micrometeorite hit or perhaps a bent antenna. Radio data obtained up close could also perhaps detect a malfunctioning circuit or computer. And the exercise of coordinating the Mitex visits to the DSP in itself is valuable to Darpa.

In addition the Delta 2 that launched the Mitex spacecraft from the Cape here was a unique four-stage version that used a new, solar array-equipped upper stage developed at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) near Washington, D.C. This new NRL upper stage is itself an important new military space element, that in the future could allow the delivery of small covert spacecraft to geosynchronous orbit.

"One cannot escape the fact that this technology, while potentially extremely useful in diagnostics of sick and ailing birds, also has tremendous potential for ASAT [anti-satellite] missions. It's stealthy, highly maneuverable, potentially lethal in more ways than one — with potential kinetic, electronic or laser-killing payloads," Theresa Hitchens, the former director of the Center for Defense Information, tells Danger Room.

The Chinese — who have taken American heat for their own ASAT test — "will complain to the international community," says Greg Kulacki of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"If this story was that China had secretly developed inspection satellites and orbited them around one of their failing satellites, what would be the reaction from the U.S.? I'm betting on hysteria," Hitchens adds. "It behooves the U.S. government to be more transparent itself if it wishes others to open up about their programs; doing this in secret only adds to the suspicions of other nations [about] U.S. intentions and provides political cover for others who may not have benign goals in mind."

 

Secret Micro-Sat Mission Feeds Space War Worries

An American missile-warning satellite has died, more than 22,000 miles up. So now, the U.S. is sending a pair of mini-spacecraft on a top se...

// blog.wired.com

 

Американское космическое агентство на шаг приблизилось (NASA’s 3D-printed Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine Test a Success - NASA) к созданию инновационного двигателя, использующего для создания тяги детонационные волны. Инженеры Космического центра Маршалла успешно испытали опытный образец вращающегося детонационного двигателя, изготовленного методом 3D-печати. Он проработал на четыре минуты дольше, чем прошлая версия, и выдал тягу мощностью свыше 2,6 тонн.

«ВДД обеспечит большой шаг вперед в эффективности конструкции, — сказал Томас Тизли, руководитель проекта ВДД в центре Маршалла. — Он показывает, что мы ближе к созданию легких систем движения, которые позволят нам отправлять больше массы и груза дальше в космос. Это важнейшие условия, необходимые для реализации полетов на Луну и Марс»

 

NASA’s 3D-printed Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine Test a Success - NASA

Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Center successfully test-fired an innovative Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine combustor, a potentially revolutionary propulsion technology that could deliver a lander to the lunar surface or propel a spacecraft to Mars. //  www.nasa.gov