A new Pentagon study lays out the roadmap for a multibillion-dollar push to the final frontier of energy: a satellite system that collects gigawatts' worth of solar power and beams it down to Earth. The military itself could become the "anchor tenant" for such a power source, due to the current high cost of fueling combat operations abroad, the study says.
Iran's announcement that it launched a research rocket has called new attention to a space program that Tehran says is peaceful but which some fear aims to produce long-range ballistic missiles that could reach Europe or the United States. Exactly what Iran launched, or even what it aimed to do, remains the subject of debate, speculation and possible misinterpretation.
MSNBC reports that there is In September, NBC News first reported on a fierce debate within the Pentagon over 'Trophy', an Israeli-made system that shoots rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) out of the sky. The Army seems intent on killing the system, but officials in the Office of the Secretary of Defense believe it can save American lives.
Europe should consider using its "civilian" Galileo satellite navigation system for military purposes as part of a drive to recover its escalating costs, Jacques Barrot, EU transport commissioner, has proposed. His suggestion could raise concern in Washington, which has long feared that Galileo could be used to provide military intelligence to potentially hostile regimes. China is one of the investors in the EU satellite system.
A company that someday hopes to build the first space elevator says it is testing a system that could take it to a lower-altitude goal along the way: balloon-based wireless data services.
An overview of some of the legal and philosophical issues faced by the growing online gaming industry as people start taking their virtual property holdings more seriously.
The U.S. intelligence agency that tasks spy satellites to monitor military maneuvers and to find secret weapons plants has been pressed into service to help in the relief effort following Sunday's earthquake and resulting tsunami.
China has big plans for nuclear power, hoping to build 27 new reactors at a cost of $1 billion each in order to quadruple capacity by 2020.
Intelligence experts say that the top-secret intelligence project which held up approval of the recent intelligence reform bill in the U.S. Senate is a satellite that would, or maybe already can, intercept and shut down other countries' spy satellites.
UPDATE: The Washington Post is now reporting that the program in question is a low-observable, "stealth" satellite project and not an anti-satellite weapon.
"Tales about artificial beings have sparked fascination and fear for centuries; now the tales are turning into reality.."