Barry Albrecht, MEDP’s Post

Heather “Lucky” Penney chats about a key component of the nuclear triad with Chris Adams, sector vice president and general manager for Strategic Space Systems at Northrop Grumman, and Jen "Boots" Reeves, Senior Fellow for Space Studies at Mitchell Institute. The nuclear triad forms the bedrock of America’s national security. The idea is simple: to hold enemy nations at risk to such a degree that they will never cross certain lines. For this to work, our nuclear enterprise needs to be highly resilient, dependable, and zero fail. We normally focus on the weapons portion of the enterprise: ICBMs, SLBMs, and air launched weapons from bombers and certain fighters. And while those technologies are obviously critical, the ability to use them demands an incredibly safe and secure command and control system—what we call nuclear command, control, and communications—or NC3 for short. People often take that part of the enterprise for granted because it’s largely invisible. Chris and Jen talk about the NC3 enterprise—outlining why it’s so important and explaining why it must be modernized.

As part of our commitment to resilience, the Army is working with the Defense Innovation Unit to actively explore advanced nuclear energy for Army installations. Read about it here: https://lnkd.in/dmxVDPtQ

UPDATE: Russia's potential on-orbit nuclear ASAT weapon. COSMOS 2553 (2022-011A, 51511) identified as test satellite. Some significant recent developments: 1.  24 April 2024: Russia vetoes a US-Japan resolution reaffirming Article IV of the OST (Outer Space Treaty) - banning placement of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) on-orbit 2. 01 May 2024: Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb provides written testimony to the House Armed Services Committee. https://lnkd.in/gRr6Yc3k 3.  03 May 2024: public statements made by the The Honorable Mallory Stewart, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability - notable excerpt: "...the orbit is in a region not used by any other spacecraft — that in itself was somewhat unusual. And the orbit is in a region of higher radiation than normal lower Earth orbits, but not high enough of a radiation environment to allow accelerated testing of electronics as Russia has described the purpose to be" * Watch the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted interview here: https://lnkd.in/gn2HH5U7 * Breaking Defense report by Theresa Hitchens: https://lnkd.in/gaQxEwAK 4. 03 May 2024: Pavel Padvig (Director, Russian Nuclear Forces Project) identifies COSMOS 2553 as the test satellite (2022-011A, 51511). Ref X post: https://lnkd.in/g7f7GRpb 5. 06 May 2024: further discussions at the United Nations planned #CounterspaceWeapons #SpaceDomainNormsOfBehavior #LongTermSustainmentOfSpace #SpaceDomainAwareness

Article IV of the #OuterSpaceTreaty prohibits placing nuclear weapons in orbit around the Earth. This The New York Times opinion piece by W.J. Hennigan provides a great discussion of the threat of nuclear weapons on orbit and how a detonation threatens not only the way armed forces operate, but society at large's way of life, given how reliant we are on space in our day-to-day lives. To maintain the safety, security, and stability of outer space, Hennigan calls for American leadership in the development of norms for responsible behavior in space, specifically, "a diplomacy-led, multilateral effort to draw up rules of behavior in outer space that reflect the technological reality of today." https://lnkd.in/gHW_MjZk #spacelaw #spacepolicy #outerspacetreaty #spacelawyer

Northrop Grumman has been selected as the prime contractor to deliver nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) aircraft for the US Navy’s Take Charge And Move Out (TACAMO) mission https://lnkd.in/et5AUEd9

Rolls-Royce is in talks to build a commercial nuclear reactor for use in space. The British engineering firm has decades of experience building power plants for Royal Navy submarines, and is already planning land-based “small modular reactors” in several nations. Resurgence of the space industry means there is a potential market for a much smaller reactor that could be lifted to orbit to power deep space probes or potential moon bases. The proposed concept would be roughly the size of a family car and would produce hundreds of kilowatts of electricity, enough to power several hundred homes.

Perhaps an important topic given the time we are in! https://lnkd.in/g_egztc3 Defense Primer: Command and Control of Nuclear Forces (2-pg CRS PDF)

Rolls-Royce, a British Aerospace and defense contractor states that they aim to bring nuclear power into the aerospace industry once again. The implementation of nuclear would make space travel to mars and beyond a possibility. The longevity of a fission reaction can sustain propulsion of a space vessel far beyond the capabilities of carbon fuel used today. Read more about the deal at engineering235.com

🔬 From PowerPoint to Power Plant: The Pentagon's Project Pele is charging ahead! 🔋 Exciting news from Idaho Falls, where the future of portable nuclear energy is taking shape. The Department of Defense has broken ground on the test site for Project Pele, a mobile nuclear reactor that could revolutionize power supply for remote military bases and even extraterrestrial operations. Key stats: Groundbreaking: August 19, 2024 Testing begins: 2026 Location: Idaho National Laboratory Assembly start: February 2025 The project brings together some heavy hitters in the industry: BWXT Advanced Technologies (NYSE: BWXT) Northrop Grumman (NOC) Rolls Royce Liberty Works (OTCPK: RYCEY, RYCEF) Torch Technologies As Project Pele Program Manager Jeff Waksman quipped, "We are thrilled to move beyond the era of PowerPoint advanced reactors." Well, Jeff, it looks like you've found the 'nuclear' option for your presentations! Who knows? This could be one small step for Pele, one giant leap for clean energy on Earth and beyond. Mars, are you ready for some nuclear-powered air conditioning? 🌡️👽 #ProjectPele #CleanEnergy #DefenseTech #NuclearInnovation