Russia, China Plan a Joint Moon Base
Jason Ditz / AntiWar.com
(June 27, 2021) — Russia and China have a joint plan to build a Lunar research station, a base that they intend to have ready for crewed visits by 2036. This would be the the only manned presence on the Moon, at least as is currently planned.
The Pentagon has other ideas, however, envisioning the US Space Force needing to treat the Moon as a “militarized front,” and that they need to prepare to fight an entire war on the Moon. They don’t single out the Russo-China base, but nothing else is on the Moon to fight right now.
The US proposal is plainly self-serving, coming from the Space Vehicles Directorate, and boiling down to needing space vehicles, since the US has yet to actually manufacture any costly space vehicles for warfare.
These sort of initiatives are a big part of what is likely to result of the Space Force, a continued litany of excuses to spend vast sums of money gearing up for nonsensical sci-fi wars across the solar system.
Terrestrial weapons projects often reach into the many billions of dollars, and investing in speculative technology to fight on other celestial bodies seem bound to quickly find themselves over-budget, with the only reassurance being that these wars are so unlikely.
Military Report Says Space Force Must Prepare for Moon Warfare
(June 25, 2021) — When former reality TV star and US president Donald Trump formed a new branch of the military called the Space Force, it wasn’t exactly clear what it would accomplish or how its existence would impact existing peace treatiesthat prevent military activity in space.
For better or worse, we now seem to be approaching some answers — and according to a new report by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate (SVD), the time has come for the Space Force to treat the Moon and the surrounding area as a new militarized front.
The report, which is comprised of a series of recommendations by industry and academic experts, argues that the military needs to expand its reach beyond Earth, according to SpaceNews, as both governmental and private space programs continue to grow.
New Domain
The AFRL has been a longtime advocate for expanding military research and technology programs into cislunar space, the region of space that falls at or within the Moon’s orbit, according to SpaceNews. The new report now takes things a step further by predicting a future in which the Moon itself becomes the stage for military operations — especially as missions to the Moon become increasingly common.
“Operating spacecraft beyond geosynchronous Earth orbit poses unique challenges,” SVD director and Air Force Colonel Eric Felt said in a statement provided to SpaceNews. “As commerce extends to the moon and beyond, it is vital we understand and solve those unique challenges so that we can provide space domain awareness and security.”
READ MORE
• Report: Space Force has to prepare for operations beyond Earth’s orbit [SpaceNews]
• Progressive Groups Call For Elimination of Space Force
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