The chief of the US Space Force has warned that China is putting military capabilities into space at a “mind-boggling” pace, significantly increasing the risk of warfare in orbit.

“The number of different categories of space weapons that [China has] created and … the speed with which they’re doing it is very threatening,” said General Chance Saltzman, head of space operations at the US military’s recently created force tasked with protecting American interests in space.

  • @b161@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    18 hours ago

    This is what happens when you’re more concerned with genociding innocent people and making like 10 guys obscenely wealthy rather than doing anything useful.

    • @NobodyElse@sh.itjust.works
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      1418 hours ago

      We’ve been spending the last generation funneling as much money to the oligarchs as possible. We’ve seen what that did/does to Russia’s capabilities and we’re somehow surprised that it works the same way here too.

    • @InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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      1523 hours ago

      Amazing what can happen when your “Only Real American” Talibangelicals manage to enforce their view that science is blasphemy in the face of their God who only talks to them in their heads.

      We are being lead to destruction by the most violently proudly ignorant among us.

    • @yeahiknow3
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      91 day ago

      You’re right, let’s allow China to militarize space unopposed. What could go wrong?

      • Flying Squid
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        820 hours ago

        Reminder: we were opposing such things just fine when the Space Force was just part of the regular Air Force.

          • Flying Squid
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            820 hours ago

            Yes. In this case the change was because Donald Trump needed something to brag about.

            • @Plastic_Ramses@lemmy.world
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              320 hours ago

              You’re not entirely wrong.

              However, it is 100% prudent to put military power into space as many other nations are doing the same.

              Just because you dont like the words “space force” doesn’t make it a bad move.

              • Flying Squid
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                219 hours ago

                I didn’t say it was a bad move to do it. I said we did it just fine when it was part of the Air Force.

                We don’t need a Space Force.

  • @LANIK2000@lemmy.world
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    1123 hours ago

    Lol, any orbital war would be extremely short lived due to the Kessler Syndrome. Tho the world’s leadership is definitely stubborn and dumb enough to not let such a silly thing like facts stop em.

  • Don Escobar
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    21 day ago

    China spends a quarter of what the US does in military and somehow gets 5 times more accomplishments. This is either 1 a lie to get more spending or 2 gross mismanagement by the US

    • @linearchaos@lemmy.world
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      121 day ago

      China certainly could be lying.

      Half of the US states are purposely bankrupting their education systems to make sure that the 1 percenters are the only ones with any advantage. Even in the States that aren’t actively trying to stamp out education the poor and middle class can’t afford a respectable education.

      China is sitting on a pile of natural resources and doesn’t have any problems with underpaying and working people to death.

      They’re set up to do a lot with very little, they have a lot of people and resources and they’re not afraid to educate enough people to get the job done.

      It’s not just space, they’re getting places with electric cars that we can’t touch.

      It’ll be interesting to see where all this ends up.

    • @InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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      623 hours ago

      NASA’s headquarters are in Alabama.

      2 people managed to utterly destroy NASA and everything it stood for:

      1. George Walllace: Incensed that NASA did not enforce the rigid segregation he originally prescribed

      2. Richard Shelby: Who made sure all NASA funding went straight to Alabama and only Alabama, all contractors had to work there, and all private space funding was absolutely forbidden: https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/so-long-richard-shelby-and-thanks-for-all-the-pork/#gsc.tab=0

      If we want to have a space program again, we need to take it out of Alabama, or it’s just a money faucet, the equivalent of giving inbred cavemen an electron microscope, which they then tear apart to beat each other with.

    • @RangerJosie@lemmy.world
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      91 day ago

      5:1 is less than I’d have guessed on the money. We have a capitalism problem. Contractors dont charge an honest price, they charge every penny they can get away with. MIC is just a big money printing machine for a couple dozen companies.

      That $45 hammer meme isn’t just a meme.

      • @InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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        423 hours ago

        We have a southern problem, they know they can bribe the good ol boys for pennies on the dollar and the pork will always flow.

        Cut the spending, send it to states where people learned to read.

  • This is the time when parts suppliers switch from EUV to warfare. Either that or some shitty stupid custom screw that holds a special EUV related shitty reactor thingamabob get used in F-16s. So then the EUV component holds up the manufacturing line.

    Shoot your foot, then jump and shoot your other foot.