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Atlas V rocket to launch Space Force's 'watchdog' satellite Silent Barker on Aug. 28.
The United States Space Force is about to get an unprecedented view of some of the most distant reaches of Earth orbit.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) will launch the multi-payload Silent Barker mission, also designated as NROL-107, on Tuesday (Aug. 29) on the behalf of the Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Liftoff is set for 8:34 a.m. ET (1234 GMT) on an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The launch will be livestreamed by ULA beginning at 8:15 a.m. ET (1215 GMT) on Tuesday. You can watch it live on Space.com, courtesy of the company, or directly from ULA's YouTube channel.
Silent Barker will mark the 18th and final Atlas V mission for the NRO to launch from Cape Canaveral; ULA will soon replace the rocket with its new Vulcan Centaur. The mission will place multiple highly secretive payloads into geosynchronous orbit, the region of space some 22,236 miles (35,786 km) up that allows spacecraft to remain stationary above fixed points on Earth.
Space Force Lt. General Michael Guetlein, commander of Space Systems Command, said in a pre-launch teleconference on Monday (Aug. 28) that the Silent Barker mission is designed to "deter aggression" through letting the United States' potential adversaries know that the Space Force is keeping a close watch on what happens in geosynchronous orbit (GEO).
"A huge element of deterrence is the ability for the adversary to know what we can and cannot see," Guetlein said. "So we actually want our competitors to know that we have eyes in GEO and that we can see what's happening in GEO. Not only are we going to maintain custody and the ability to detect what's going on in GEO, but we'll have the indications and warnings to know there's something out of the normal occurring, and that goes a long way towards deterrence."
Silent Barker will act as a "watchdog" in geosynchronous orbit, keeping an eye on any satellites that reposition themselves to get a better look at U.S. spacecraft or even to carry out counterspace attacks, according to NRO director Chris Scolese.
"Satellites do move in geosynchronous orbit," Scolese said. "You've heard about communication satellites moving from one location to another to provide better coverage for other areas. Certainly we want to be able to see that so we know what is going on in that area.
"But we also want to know if there is something going on that is unexpected, or shouldn't be going on that could potentially represent a threat to a high value asset, either ours or one of our allies'," Scolese added.
The exact capabilities of Silent Barker remain unknown. During Monday's teleconference, officials confirmed that Silent Barker will consist of multiple payloads, although neither the NRO nor Space Force are sharing exact numbers — nor is either agency divulging the manufacturers and contractors with whom they are partnering to develop the Silent Barker spacecraft, Scolese said in response to a question from Space.com.
However, in 2021, Air Force Space and Missile Systems issued a contract modification to defense contractor L3 Harris, noting that the total value of its Silent Barker contract was over $283 million. A previous budget estimate conducted by the Government Accountability Office estimated the cost of the program to be $994 million, with a planned full operational capability scheduled for 2026.
Silent Barker's data will be processed by the National Space Defense Center in Colorado Springs, while the satellite itself will be operated by the NRO.
Silent Barker's launch comes after the U.S. Space Force has established units dedicated to tracking threats in orbit and even targeting enemy satellites.
https://www.space.com/atlas-v-rocket-silent-barker-watchdog-satellite-space-force-launch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76zt-6-fnRg
Viasat reports problem with new Inmarsat satellite
Aug 25, 2023
WASHINGTON — A new Inmarsat communications satellite has suffered an “unexpected anomaly,” the second in as many months for a Viasat-owned spacecraft that could create bigger headaches for the space insurance sector.
Viasat, which completed its acquisition of Inmarsat in May, announced Aug. 24 that the Inmarsat-6 (I-6) F2 spacecraft encountered a problem with its power subsystem while raising its orbit after its February launch. The company didn’t elaborate on the nature of the problem or when it took place, but noted the similar I-6 F1 satellite, launched in late 2021, is working normally.
“At this stage, Viasat and Airbus, the satellite’s manufacturer, are working to determine the root cause of the anomaly and assess whether the satellite will be able to perform its mission,” Viasat said in a statement. It added that Airbus Defence and Space considered this an “unprecedented event” as no previous Airbus-built spacecraft had suffered an in-orbit failure.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched I-6 F2 in February, placing it into a geostationary transfer orbit. The spacecraft was designed to use its electric propulsion system to go to its final geostationary orbit over the Atlantic. According to the U.S. Space Force’s Space-Track service, I-6 F2 was in an orbit of 23,061 by 48,126 kilometers with an inclination of 3.28 degrees, still well short of geostationary orbit. There has been no significant changes in its orbital parameters since mid-August.
Viasat downplayed the significance of I-6 F2, noting that the satellite had yet to enter service so its loss would not disrupt any customers. “I-6 F2’s initial mission was essentially to provide spare L-band and four gigabits per second of additional Ka-band capacity, consistent with deploying and operating a resilient, redundant network,” Mark Dankberg, chief executive of Viasat, said in a statement.
The announcement comes six weeks after Viasat acknowledged a problem deploying the main antenna on its ViaSat-3 Americas satellite, launched April 30. That antenna, previously described by the company as “exceptionally large” in order to provide consumer broadband services, was provided by a third-party supplier for the Boeing-built satellite.
In an Aug. 9 earnings call, Dankberg said Viasat was not ready yet to declare ViaSat-3 Americas a total loss. The company was still determining how much performance it could get from the broadband payload, which was designed to provide 1 terabit per second of capacity. He said the company expected to determine a plan forward by its next earnings call in November. That could include building a replacement satellite or using one of two other ViaSat-3 satellites, yet to be launched, to replace ViaSat-3 Americas.
If the company does declare ViaSat-3 Americas a total loss, that and I-6 F2 could deal a double whammy to the space insurance field. Insurers were already preparing for a claim of as large as $420 million from ViaSat-3 Americas. At the time, one insurer warned that the ViaSat-3 Americas claim could drive insurers from the market, reducing capacity and raising premiums for other companies.
In an Aug. 25 research note, Louie DiPalma, analyst with investment firm William Blair, said Viasat had a $350 million policy on I-6 F2. Those claims, along with the redundancy from Viasat’s overall satellite fleet, would mitigate the near-term financial effect of the two satellite losses on Viasat.
However, he added, “over the long term, Viasat and other industry participants will likely experience significant challenges with obtaining insurance for future satellite launches.”
Shares of Viasat were down about 5% in trading Aug. 25 on the Nasdaq. The company is near its 52-week low, down nearly 50% from a high in early June.
https://spacenews.com/viasat-reports-problem-with-new-inmarsat-satellite/
IT'S HERE I’m an ex-CIA officer and know of UFO encounters – there’s ‘non-human intelligence living with us on Earth’
Updated: 11:40 ET, Aug 28 2023
AN EX-CIA officer has revealed his belief that non-human intelligence is currently living alongside us, with him opening up about his own alien encounter.
Jim Semivan has a 25-year career as a CIA agent, where he worked at the National Clandestine Service.
He is also a co-founder of To The Stars Academy with Tom Delonge, a company that looks into various topics surrounding aliens.
In an appearance on the Calling All Beings podcast, Semivan said, "There's an entity out there!"
"There's some kind of non-human intelligence that's living with us on this planet!"
He believes that there's another reality that surrounds us humans, one that we're not aware of.
"We're not alone.
"And we've never been alone."
Semivan also claims to have experienced an alien encounter himself.
He claims that in the '90s, beings showed up in his bedroom, with his wife being in the room with him and witnessing the encounter herself, he said on Coast to Coast AM.
Semivan described one of the aliens as a Dementor from the Harry Potter films.
“I think they mention that the phenomenon is a natural part of our universe, and we’re living in it but we don’t recognize it," said Semivan in the interview.
"The same way that insects and animals don’t recognize the human universe.
"A cat and a dog could be running through a library, but they don’t have the faintest idea what the books are all about and what libraries are all about.
"We might be walking through our existence and there’s a whole other reality that surrounds us that we just simply don’t have the ability to see or interact with.”
When discussing Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, also called UAPs, Semivan claims we have "zero answers" on the topic and stressed on the importance of conducting the necessary research to understand them.
"These UAPs or whatever the hell they are," he said on the Brian Keating podcast.
"Are they here to basically change us or are they more of a control mechanism?"
"We have tons of questions, zero answers."
"I don't think we have an option except to investigate this."
https://www.the-sun.com/news/8944173/ex-cia-officer-ufo-encounters-non-human-intelligence/