China Developing Giant Magnetic Launcher for Hypersonic Space Planes

China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation’s (CASIC) plans to build a giant magnetic launcher to propel airplanes up to speeds where they can start hypersonic scramjet engines. CASIC has built a 2000 meter long low-vacuum track high-speed maglev test facility in the industrial heartland of Datong, Shanxi province. This is able to accelerate heavy object …

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SpaceX Starlink FCC Filing for Closer, Faster and Better Service

SpaceX second-generation satellites have performed even better than expected so SpaceX has sent a request to the FCC to allow operation at about 350 kilometer instead of 530 kilometers. This would be 68% of the height which would enable 68% latency. This would get latency from 28-35 milliseconds down to 15-20 milliseconds. In 2022, the …

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2 Megawatt Nuclear Reactors That Can Fit In a Truck

NANO Nuclear is a startup that has raised over $8 million to develop micro nuclear fission reactors with up to 2 megawatts of power. They will be transported by Semi Trucks. They plan to sell 1,000 microreactors on a yearly basis for a trillion-dollar industry. Nuclear currently supplies some 18% of US power needs off …

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AI to Track Hypersonic Missiles

EpiSci will use AI software to leverage infrared satellite data from the Space Development Agency (SDA) future constellation of hundreds of satellites. The satellites will have overhead persistent infrared (OPIR) sensors. The startup EpiSci has expertise in signal processing technology using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) techniques to provide warfighters a competitive advantage. A …

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Six of Russia’s Most Modern Fighters Were Lost in Three Days

Ukraine reports that six of Russia’s most modern fighters were shotdown over three days. The Russia-Ukraine war is an intense war of attrition, where both sides are losing a lot of equipment and personnel. Nextbigfuture has previously reported on the Russian and Ukrainian air force losses. Russia has now lost about 88 modern fighter planes. …

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SpaceX and US Military Will Build Hundreds of Mechazilla Launch Towers by 2030

The US military will need to build hundreds of Mechazilla launch towers by 2030. The US military is planning to get to thousands of SpaceX flights per year and this will mean that the US military will need hundreds of Mechazilla launch towers. SpaceX, the US Air Force and the US Space Force discussions about …

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