TYB
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/elon-musk-promises-more-risky-launches-after-sixth-starship-failure
Elon Musk promises more risky launches after sixth Starship failure
June 22, 2025
This was the ninth test flight for the rocket, and the third catastrophic failure in a row, just this year.
Is this what we should expect from the very ship some are counting on to take humans further than we’ve ever been in the solar system? Or does this failure point to deeper concerns within the broader program?
The Starship program from Elon Musk’s space technology company, SpaceX, has been in development for more than a decade now and has undergone many iterations in its overall design and goals.
The Starship concept is based upon the SpaceX Raptor engines to be used in a multistage system.
In a multistage rocket system, there are often two or three separate blocks with their own engine and fuel reserves. These are particularly important for leaving Earth’s orbit and travelling to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
With Starship, the key factor is the ability to land and reuse vast amounts of the rocket stages again and again. The company’s Falcon 9 vehicles, which used this model, were fantastically successful.
Initial tests of Starship began in 2018 with two low-altitude flights showing early success. Subsequent flights have faced numerous challenges with now four complete failures, two partial failures and three successes overall.
Just two days ago, during the latest failed attempt, I watched alongside more than 200 other space industry experts at the Australian Space Summit in Sydney.
Broadcast live on a giant screen, the launch generated an excited buzz – which soon turned to reserved murmurs.
Of course, designing and launching rockets is hard, and failures are to be expected. However, a third catastrophic failure within six months demands a pause for reflection.
On this particular test flight, as Starship positioned itself for atmospheric re-entry, one of its 13 engines failed to ignite.
Shortly after, a booster appeared to explode, leading to a complete loss of control. The rocket ultimately broke apart over the Indian Ocean, which tonnes of debris will now call home.
Polluting Earth in pursuit of space
We don’t know the exact financial cost of each test flight. But Musk has previously said it is about US$50–100 million.
The exact environmental cost of the Starship program – and its repeated failures – is even harder to quantify.
For example, a failed test flight in 2023 left the town of Port Isabel, Texas, which is located beside the launch site, shaking and covered in a thick cloud of dirt.
Debris from the exploded rocket smashed cars. Residents told the New York Times they were terrified. They also had to clean up the mess from the flight.
Then, in September 2024, SpaceX was fined by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for 14 separate incidents since 2022 where the launch facilities discharged polluted water into Texas waterways.
Musk denied these claims.
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That same month, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a fine of US$633,009 in civil penalties should be issued to SpaceX.
This was on the grounds of using an unapproved launch control room and other violations during 2023. Musk denied these claims too and threatened to countersue the FAA for “regulatory overreach”. It’s unclear if this suit was ever filed.
Two other failed launches in January and March this year also rained rocket debris over the Caribbean, and disrupted hundreds of commercial flights, including 80 which needed to be diverted and more than 400 requiring delayed takeoff to ensure they were entering safe air space.
Success of different space programs
Until last year, the FAA allowed SpaceX to try up to five Starship launches a year. This month, the figure was increased to 25.
A lot can go wrong during a launch of a vehicle to space. And there is a long way to go until we can properly judge whether Starship successfully meets its mission goals.
We can, however, look at past programs to understand typical success rates seen across different rocketry programs.
The Saturn V rocket, the workhorse of the Apollo era, had a total of 13 launches, with only one partial failure. It underwent three full ground tests before flight.
SpaceX’s own Falcon 9 rocket, has had more than 478 successful launches, only two in flight failures, one partial failure and one pre-flight destruction.
The Antares rocket, by Orbital Sciences Corporation (later Orbital ATK and Northrop Grumman) launched a total of 18 times, with one failure.
The Soyuz rocket, originally a Soviet expendable carrier rocket designed in the 1960s, launched a total of 32 times, with two failures.
No sign of caution
Of course, we can’t fairly compare all other rockets with the Starship. Its goals are certainly novel as a reusable heavy-class rocket.
But this latest failure does raise some questions. Will the Starship program ever see success – and if so when? And what are the limits of our tolerance as a society to the pollution of Earth in the pursuit of the goal to space?
For a rocketry program that’s moving so fast, developing novel and complex technology, and experiencing several repeated failures, many people might expect caution from now on. Musk, however, has other plans.
Shortly after the most recent Starship failure, he announced on X (formerly Twitter), that the next test flights would occur at a faster pace: one every three to four weeks.
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https://www.space.com/astronomy/sun/may-2024-solar-storm-cost-usd500-million-in-damages-to-farmers-new-study-reveals
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025JA033839
May 2024 solar storm cost $500 million in damages to farmers, new study reveals
June 22, 2025
Location signals beamed to Earth by GPS satellites were off by hundreds of feet during the Gannon Solar Storm in May last year, and the disruption lasted for up to two days in some U.S. regions, a new study has revealed.
The outage wreaked havoc across the farming sector, which suffered losses of more than $500 million as a result.
A succession of powerful solar eruptions in early May last year triggered the most powerful solar storm to hit Earth in 20 years.
Later named after the deceased space weather scientist Jennifer Gannon, the solar storm produced awe-inspiring auroras visible as far south as Mexico, Portugal and Spain. It also made GPS go haywire for days.
Farmers in the American Midwest, at that time at the peak of the planting season, reported their GPS-guided tractors acting like they were "possessed" during the storm, according to accounts.
A new study has now quantified how big those GPS errors were not only during the height of the storm, but also in its aftermath when a lingering aurora continued to skew GPS signals.
A team of researchers from Boston University used data from close to 100 high-accuracy, fixed GPS receivers scattered across the U.S. that form a seismic research network that measures the motions of tectonic plates.
As it turns out, the network is also perfectly suited to study space weather effects in Earth's ionosphere, a layer of electrically-charged air found 30 miles (48 kilometers) above Earth.
The effects that solar storms have on the ionosphere can affect the readings of GPS receivers.
"GPS receivers work with the assumption that the ionosphere has a uniform plasma density," Waqar Younas, a space physics researcher at Boston University and lead author of the paper, told Space.com.
"But a solar storm creates irregularities in the ionosphere and as the signal passes through the ionospheric layers, it grows errors."
When a solar storm hits, the charged solar particles it brings with it heat up and disturb the ionosphere. As the weak signals from the global positioning satellites pass through this suddenly turbulent region, they get thrown off course.
Because the fixed GPS receivers in the research network are firmly attached to the ground, any change in their positioning data could only be a result of turbulence in the ionosphere.
Measurements from this scientific GPS network revealed the scale of these errors with great accuracy, and enabled researchers to reconstruct what had gone on in the ionosphere during the storm.
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"By measuring the disturbance of the signal, we can tell the structure of the plasma in the upper atmosphere," Toshi Nishimura, a professor of space physics and co-author of the new study, told Space.com.
Analysis of the data revealed that the storm created a "wall of ionospheric plasma," stretching across the North American continent.
This wall threw off GPS signals by up to 230 feet (70 meters) in central U.S. states, with smaller errors of up to 65 feet (20 m) reported in the southwestern parts of the country.
The peak disruption lasted for about six hours on May 10, 2024, but things remained unsettled for up to two days, the study showed.
After the shaken ionosphere began to calm down, the auroral lights triggered by the storm caused further GPS disruptions as charged particles from space trickled through the atmosphere along disrupted magnetic field lines.
The GPS receiver network showed errors up to 30 feet (10 m) for the duration of these auroras.
The erratic behavior of GPS-guided farming machinery caused by the Gannon solar storm cost American farmers in the U.S. midwest more than $500 million, according to Terry Griffin, a professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University.
"Because of the Gannon storm, planting of corn got delayed because our planters were mostly inoperative," Griffin told Space.com.
"Currently, about 70% of planted acres in the United States rely on equipment that uses GPS automated guidance to make straight parallel lines through the field.
We no longer even have physical road markers, and the equipment is getting bigger to the point that we can no longer operate when the GPS is taken away."
But agriculture was not the sole victim of the space weather-induced GPS mayhem. Aircraft rely on GPS not only to follow their paths but especially to know their precise altitude during landing.
Errors of up to four meters can be compensated for, according to Nishimura. But the disruption on May 10 and 11 last year was "way beyond that tolerance window," Nishimura said.
The Gannon solar storm may have been the strongest in two decades. But it only provided only a weak taste of what the sun is capable of.
The frequently discussed worst case scenario is the so-called Carrington event — a storm that hit Earth in 1859, knocking out telegraph services all over the world.
A storm of that strength today would no doubt have wide-ranging consequences around the world.
"During the Gannon storm, we saw the most intense impact in the central regions of the U.S.," Nishimura said.
"But for a Carrington-sized event, we would see disruption all over the continent and errors so large that the signal would be unusable."
Waqar says that in the future, real-time forecasting of ionospheric disruptions paired with AI-driven forecasts of GPS signal irregularities could help correct the errors as a storm progresses.
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Transporter-14 Mission
June 22, 2025
SpaceX is targeting Sunday, June 22 for a Falcon 9 launch of the Transporter-14 mission to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The 57-minute launch window opens at 2:18 p.m. PT. If needed, there is a backup opportunity on Monday, June 23 at the same time.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This will be the 26th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission which previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9, NROL-146, Bandwagon-2, NROL-153, NROL-192, and 15 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, Falcon 9 will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
Transporter-14 is a dedicated smallsat rideshare mission.
There are 70 payloads on this flight, including cubesats, microsats, re-entry capsules, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying three of those payloads to be deployed at a later time.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=transporter14
https://glassalmanac.com/u-s-on-high-alert-pentagon-confirms-mysterious-signal-traced-to-russian-space-anomaly-now-feared-as-a-major-threat/
U.S. on high alert: Pentagon confirms mysterious signal traced to Russian space anomaly, now feared as a major threat
June 21, 2025
Space: A New High-Stakes Arena
Space, once a realm of peaceful exploration and international cooperation, is rapidly becoming a high-stakes strategic arena.
With countries vying for technological supremacy, the recent event has raised alarms about the growing risk of space becoming a potential battlefield.
But what does this mysterious signal mean, and what could it mean for future space operations?
Heightened Surveillance and Discreet Launches
In recent months, the U.S. Department of Defense has reported an increase in the surveillance of Russian and Chinese space activities.
Intelligence reports have suggested that both countries are testing offensive orbital capabilities, stoking fears of an arms race in space.
Russia’s launch of three military satellites—Kosmos 2581, 2582, and 2583—on February 2nd added to the growing sense of unease.
The precise mission details of these satellites remain a closely guarded secret, raising further intrigue and suspicion.
The situation took a turn toward the mysterious in mid-March when Kosmos 2583 released an object that appeared to follow an unusual trajectory.
The U.S. Space Force quickly took note, adding the new object to their list of monitored space debris.
Leading up to this event, there had been reports of coordinated movements between the three Russian satellites from late February to mid-March. On March 7th, for example, two of the satellites came alarmingly close to Kosmos 2583.
The maneuvers sparked speculation: were these simply orbital adjustments, or was it a demonstration of “attack and defense” tactics designed to simulate neutralizing or isolating enemy satellites?
Many analysts believe the latter hypothesis is more likely, pointing to the growing possibility of anti-satellite (ASAT) testing.
This is not the first time Russia has engaged in suspicious satellite activity. In 2022, the launch of Kosmos 2558 placed it dangerously close to a U.S. military satellite, a move that was seen as a possible act of space espionage.
However, astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics urged caution, suggesting that simultaneous launches can naturally lead to similar orbits, and the observed maneuvers may not indicate hostile intent
Low Earth Orbit: A New Battlefield?
The release of this mysterious object underscores a larger, more alarming trend: the transformation of low Earth orbit (LEO) into a potential battlefield.
This region, essential for satellites responsible for communication, intelligence, and reconnaissance, is becoming a strategic asset.
Reports from the U.S. Department of Defense reveal that both Russia and China are conducting military exercises in this region, heightening concerns about the future of space security.
The growing militarization of space could have significant implications. Nations may soon develop capabilities to jam, damage, or even destroy crucial satellite infrastructure in the event of a conflict.
With the growing use of dual-use technologies—satellites with both civilian and military applications—the true intentions of these space missions remain shrouded in mystery.
This makes it increasingly difficult to assess the risks of such actions, and the U.S. and its allies are under pressure to stay vigilant.
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The recent release of the mysterious object has added another layer of complexity to the situation. Every suspicious maneuver and newly identified object only increases the tension in an already volatile global rivalry.
The U.S. Space Force, along with allied intelligence agencies, is keeping a close eye on these developments, aware that the next move could drastically affect the balance of power in space.
The Need for Space Diplomacy
As space becomes more militarized, there’s growing urgency for international space diplomacy.
The increasing importance of space has sparked a technological race, not only between military powers like the U.S., Russia, and China, but also between emerging space-faring nations and private companies.
While this has spurred rapid advancements in satellite technology, propulsion systems, and even lunar and Martian exploration, it also introduces new challenges.
For one, there’s the issue of space debris, which is rapidly becoming a significant risk to operational satellites. With growing congestion in space, the potential for accidental collisions increases.
Moreover, the lack of clear guidelines regarding military activity in space means that nations are left to navigate this new frontier without a comprehensive framework.
This is where space diplomacy becomes essential. The United Nations and other international bodies are working to establish space treaties and agreements aimed at promoting transparency, cooperation, and peaceful use of space.
However, the question remains: will these efforts be enough to prevent the militarization of space from spiraling out of control?
The Future of Space as a Strategic Domain
As space evolves into an increasingly critical domain for both national security and technological progress, the need for clear governance becomes more pressing.
The growing presence of military activities in space introduces significant risks, particularly if these operations aren’t properly regulated by international agreements.
The possibility of space-related conflicts is real, and the potential consequences for global stability could be devastating.
Looking ahead, it’s clear that finding innovative solutions to balance security and sustainability in space will be key. As space technology advances, our approaches to managing its use must also evolve.
The future will require collaboration between governments, the private sector, and international organizations to ensure that space remains a domain for peaceful exploration, rather than one marked by conflict.
The coming years will determine whether humanity can successfully navigate the complexities of this final frontier, ensuring that space remains an asset for all nations, not just a few
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Universe is built on three dimensions of time, suggests new research
Jun 22, 2025 04:36 AM EST
It is believed that matter, motion, gravity, and everything else we know of originated from the three dimensions of space and one of time.
However, a new idea challenges this theory, suggesting that time, specifically in three dimensions, is the true fabric of the universe, with space emerging as a secondary effect..
This strange theory is proposed by Dr. Gunther Kletetschka, a physicist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
His research challenges one of the most deeply held ideas in modern physics: that space and time form the joint foundation of the universe.
Kletetschka suggests that time is not a single, forward-flowing line but a multidimensional framework with three independent directions.
He claims that “viewing time as three-dimensional can naturally resolve multiple physics puzzles through a single coherent mathematical framework.”
A framework that satisfies real-world values
To understand Kletetschka’s proposal, imagine replacing the traditional spacetime framework with a six-dimensional setup: three axes for time and three for space. However, unlike conventional physics, this new theory treats time as the core structure.
Space is no longer fundamental; it’s more like a consequence of how time behaves at different scales and orientations. Kletetschka arrived at this idea by re-examining the role of time in physical equations.
He began with the thought that if space can have three dimensions, perhaps time can, too.
Using this assumption, he developed a mathematical model in which particles and forces interact within a three-dimensional temporal framework.
The important insight is that when this model is applied to fundamental particles, it can reproduce some of their known properties, particularly their masses.
For instance, the Standard Model of particle physics includes detailed data on particles like electrons, muons, and quarks, but it doesn’t clearly explain why these particles have the masses they do.
Kletetschka’s framework generates values that closely match the observed masses of these particles. This clearly shows that he’s not just describing an abstract idea; he’s using it to explain real-world measurements.
“The three-dimensional time framework represents a significant advance in fundamental physics, providing a unified description of nature while making testable predictions,” he said.
“Its mathematical consistency and explanatory power, combined with specific experimental signatures spanning multiple scales and phenomena, suggest it deserves consideration as a candidate theory of quantum gravity and unification,” Kletetschka added.
Multiple dimensions of time, not a new idea
While some theoretical physicists have previously proposed the idea of extra time dimensions, those earlier models largely remained abstract and mathematical, with little connection to measurable physical quantities.
They also faced major challenges; for example, in those models, having more than one dimension of time often led to logical contradictions, such as the possibility of an effect occurring before its cause.
Kletetschka’s theory avoids this problem by designing a mathematical structure that keeps the flow of time ordered across all three time dimensions. In his model, events still unfold in a consistent sequence, even within a more complex temporal framework.
What makes his work stand out is that it is not just a theory but makes concrete predictions.
His framework accurately reproduces the known masses of fundamental particles like electrons, muons, and quarks, which means it connects directly with experimental data in a way previous models did not.
“Earlier 3D time proposals were primarily mathematical constructs without these concrete experimental connections.
My work transforms the concept from an interesting mathematical possibility into a physically testable theory with multiple independent verification channels,” Kletetschka said.
The next steps could involve refining the mathematical framework and identifying specific experiments, especially in particle physics or cosmology, that could test the theory.
If the assumption remains valid in further research, it might offer a new framework for integrating quantum mechanics with gravity, something that physicists have been chasing for generations.
https://interestingengineering.com/science/time-has-three-dimensions
https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S2424942425500045
Iran: 50+ arrests accused of drone espionage
2025-06-22 08:35
Shafaq News/ On Sunday, Iranian police arrested 53 individuals accused of using drones to film public and strategic sites in the southern province of Fars, according to Tasnim news agency.
Yousef Malekzadeh, deputy police chief of the province, indicated the arrests were part of an effort to identify individuals suspected of collaborating with Israel or engaging in activities aimed at influencing public perception and conducting intelligence operations within the country.
Authorities reported that those detained were in possession of small drones and related spare parts. Many of the seized devices—16 in total—were equipped with various operational features.
The group is also accused of filming sensitive locations and transmitting footage to opposition media outlets based abroad.
The arrests come as Iran intensifies its crackdown on hundreds of suspected collaborators with Israel, which launched Operation Rising Lion on Tehran on June 13.
Since the operation began, Iran and Israel have traded near-daily drone and missile strikes despite international calls for restraint.
https://shafaq.com/en/Middle-East/Iran-50-arrests-accused-of-drone-espionage
Jordanian army intercepts drone carrying crystal meth on eastern border
June 22, 2025
A military source in the General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces – Arab Army said Sunday that the Eastern Military Region successfully thwarted an attempt to smuggle narcotics using a drone.
The source explained that Border Guard forces, in coordination with security agencies and the Anti-Narcotics Department, detected a drone attempting to cross the border illegally.
The drone was intercepted and brought down inside Jordanian territory, and its payload—identified as crystal meth—was seized and transferred to the relevant authorities.
The source stressed that the Jordanian Armed Forces remain committed to using all available resources and capabilities to prevent infiltration and smuggling in all forms, in order to safeguard the security and stability of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
https://en.royanews.tv/news/60604
Iran strikes back: Massive missile and drone attack hits Israeli cities
June 22, 2025
Iran launched a powerful missile and drone assault on Israel early Sunday in direct response to U.S. airstrikes on its nuclear facilities.
Explosions rocked major cities like Tel Aviv and Haifa, with air raid sirens blaring across more than 400 Israeli towns.
Israel’s air defense systems responded swiftly, but several missiles struck key locations, leaving multiple people injured and causing serious damage.
Iranian state media confirmed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) led the retaliation, firing long-range Ghader-F missiles and drones at 14 strategic targets.
These included an Israeli airbase, military software centers, the headquarters of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and the Israeli Cyber Command. The IRGC described the operation as one of its most successful yet.
According to Arab media reports, between 20 to 40 ballistic missiles were launched in the attack, many of which hit buildings in major Israeli cities.
Israeli officials confirmed damage at 10 important sites and reported several casualties. In Tel Aviv and Haifa, residents described hearing loud blasts and seeing flames rise from multiple impact zones.
This retaliation follows U.S. airstrikes ordered by President Donald Trump on Iran’s nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
Trump called the strikes a “spectacular military success,” claiming Iran’s key nuclear capabilities were “completely obliterated.” He warned that the U.S. was prepared to strike again unless Iran chose peace.
In preparation for such attacks, Iran had already evacuated its nuclear sites, minimizing the potential for radioactive harm.
Still, tensions in the region have reached dangerous new heights. While the U.S. insists it seeks no regime change, Iran’s sharp response suggests the conflict could widen rapidly.
Global leaders have expressed deep concern, calling for restraint on all sides. With both nations trading heavy fire and diplomacy failing, fears of a broader Middle East war are growing by the hour.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/1320597/iran-strikes-back-massive-missile-and-drone-attack-hits-israeli-cities/
Russia strikes Ukraine with missiles and drones
Ukraine, Sun, June 22, 2025 - 09:58
Russian forces launched ballistic missile strikes on Ukraine overnight on June 22. In addition, the enemy attacked with 47 drones, according to the Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram.
The enemy fired two ballistic missiles — Iskander-M/KN-23 — from Voronezh and Rostov regions, as well as a guided S-300 missile from temporarily occupied territory in Donetsk region.
Additionally, Russia launched 47 attack drones and drone imitators from two directions — Kursk and Primorsko-Akhtarsk.
Air defense forces shot down 28 drones in the north, east, and south of Ukraine: 18 were destroyed, and 10 were lost or suppressed by electronic warfare.
The main strike was on Chernihiv region. According to the Air Force, enemy air attacks hit seven locations, including Chernihiv, Sumy, and Odesa regions.
Consequences of the Russian attack
On the evening of June 21, it became known that Russian forces attacked the Nizhyn district of Chernihiv region. One man was killed in the drone strike. Houses, an outbuilding, and a garage were damaged or destroyed.
The enemy also struck Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. In Sloviansk, a 17-year-old boy died in the attack, and there were injured people.
In the morning, the State Emergency Service reported an attack on Odesa region. The enemy targeted southern Odesa.
Fires broke out at the impact sites, damaging buildings at an ambulance station, a garage, and a car inside it, as well as a nearby residential house. No casualties were reported.
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/russia-ukraine-war-frontline-update-as-of-1750574201.html
New team of police officers first to be equipped with off-road vehicles, drones on patrol
UPDATED Jun 22, 2025, 10:24 PM
SINGAPORE – A specialist police unit has acquired a fleet of off-road vehicles to help officers navigate rough, unpaved terrain – and flood waters – to respond more quickly to public security incidents.
The cars will be used by the Protective Security Command’s (ProCom) newly established strategic location response (SLR) teams, which were officially implemented on June 22.
The commander of ProCom, Assistant Commissioner of Police Victor Ho, said the aim is to strengthen the Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) ability to respond more quickly and effectively to a wider range of public security incidents, such as terror attacks.
“Our officers will be patrolling key locations, including shopping centres and tourist spots, to deter and respond to any security threats,” he said.
While such patrols are a mainstay of ProCom operations, SLR officers are the first to be equipped with drones and counter-drone technology such as handheld drone jammers.
The new off-road vehicles – the Land Rover Defender 110 – have been modified to accommodate this equipment and officers in tactical gear.
They also have 360-degree camera systems, multiple airbags, and a tyre-pressure monitoring system.
SPF said it worked with HTX (Home Team Science and Technology Agency) to equip SLR officers with the handheld drone jammers, which “allow them to disrupt… unauthorised drone operations”.
The rifle-style jammers disrupt communications between a drone and its controller, preventing the drone from receiving commands.
SLR officers are tactically trained and more heavily armed as they patrol strategic locations such as critical infrastructure, tourist attractions and other public areas with high foot traffic.
In addition to bulletproof vests and helmets, they carry submachine guns.
AC Ho told The Straits Times that ProCom had decided to implement SLR teams in response to evolving security threats.
“The launch of SLR (teams) will complement ground response officers in dealing with public security incidents by providing aerial surveillance and counter-drone capabilities,” he said.
“This will enable the officers to better manage incidents at the onset, as these enhanced capabilities will boost the officers’ ability to attend to incidents swiftly and effectively.”
Assistant Superintendent of Police Jaslyn Lee, the officer in charge of a troop of SLR officers, said that compared with their predecessors, “the new off-road vehicles offer a larger cabin space to accommodate our operational equipment and officers in tactical gear”.
She added: “Its high ground clearance allows us to move through obstacles and respond swiftly to security incidents.”
A team of SLR officers showcased their abilities on June 22 at ProCom headquarters in Ulu Pandan, where they used a drone to track the movements of a “gunman” on the third floor of a building during a simulated exercise.
The drone, equipped with a camera, revealed the “gunman’s” hiding place, even showing him in thermal imaging. An officer later demonstrated using a drone jammer gun to incapacitate a drone.
ProCom was formed in 2016 to protect strategic events and locations in peacetime and during national emergencies.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/new-team-of-police-officers-first-to-be-equipped-with-off-road-vehicles-drones-on-patrol
NIA arrests man for supplying drone to CPI (Maoist) to further violent anti-national activities
Jun 22, 2025 05:13 PM IST
New Delhi, The National Investigation Agency on Sunday arrested an accused for supplying a drone to the banned CPI outfit to further its violent anti-national activities, officials said.
The probe agency has also seized digital devices, including hard drives, pen drives and mobile phones, as well as other incriminating material during a search in the west Delhi house of the accused, identified as Vishal Singh, originally from Uttar Pradesh's Mathura, they said.
The investigations have revealed that the accused, a member of the CPI , had delivered a drone to leaders of the banned terror outfit in Chhakarbanda/ Panchrukhiya forest area of Bihar to further its violent anti-national activities, said a statement issued by the NIA.
He had imparted technical training to other cadres of the CPI and had also attended meetings with its central committee members in deep forest areas of Bihar in 2019, it said.
The NIA had earlier in August 2024 arrested another accused, Ajay Singhal alias Aman, the in-charge of the State Organising Committee Haryana and Punjab of the CPI , in the case, the statement said.
The case relates to the terror organisation’s conspiracy to re-energise its decrepit influence in the Northern Regional Bureau area, comprising Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, the NIA said.
The conspiracy involves recruitment of cadres and strengthening of the organisation in the region through underground cadres working in urban areas along with some over ground workers operating in the guise of activists, it said.
"Several front organisations and student wings have been used to prepare the ground for promoting the conspiracy, aimed at waging war against the government of India.
They were receiving funds from the outfit’s Eastern Regional Bureau , particularly from Jharkhand," the probe agency said.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nia-arrests-man-for-supplying-drone-to-cpi-maoist-to-further-violent-anti-national-activities-101750592591031.html
FAA Blocks Drones Before NBA Finals Game 7
June 22, 2025 12:34pm
The TFR prohibits unmanned aircraft systems, which include drones and model aircrafts, from flying from the surface up to, and including, 400 feet above ground level.
The prohibition excludes drones operated by DHS, police, firefighters and commercial operators who obtain an airspace waiver.
Violators can face a bevy of sanctions, including revocations of licenses and fines.
In certain instances, criminal charges are also possible. Earlier this year, the Department of Justice charged a man, Alexis Perez Suarez, who flew a drone over Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium during an AFC Wild Card game.
Suarez was charged with operating a drone without a license and willfully violating U.S. National Defense Airspace.
Suarez, who insisted he was only trying to take photographs, pleaded guilty and last week was sentenced to one year of probation, 100 hours of community service and a $500 fine.
In a statement issued by the Department of Justice regarding Suarez’s sentencing, FBI acting special agent in charge Amanda M. Koldjeski said, “It is not just irresponsible and reckless, but illegal to fly a drone over a major sporting event such as a Ravens playoff game.”
Koldjeski went on to say, “capturing a photo is not worth the risk of hurting any spectators, players, or employees. As shown by this investigation, the FBI and our partners will hold those caught violating the law fully accountable.”
The FAA’s move to block drones around Paycom Center is consistent with agency practices. The FAA regularly restricts unmanned aircraft systems from flying above a stadium, ballpark, racetrack and other venues.
Federal law also imposes numerous restrictions on drone use, including as to permissible locations and how drones interact with air space and aircraft.
Data suggests that drone incursions into restricted airspace are occurring more frequently.
Science and technology publication The Debrief recently reported a 25.6% increase in illegal drone incursions near U.S. airports from January to March 2025 compared to that time period in 2024.
Incursions could become more worrisome in light of national security concerns connected to U.S. military operations abroad.
Drones have caused injuries to unsuspecting bystanders, including those celebrating sports.
Last October, two people in Boston were hurt when a drone hit a light pole and crashed during a Boston Celtics opening night watch party at City Hall Plaza.
Tip off for Game 7 is at 7:00 pm local time.
https://www.sportico.com/law/analysis/2025/faa-blocks-drones-nba-finals-pacers-thunder-1234857507/
Scientists Unearth 500-Million-Year-Old Creature with Three Eyes and Alien-Like Features
June 22, 2025
A recently discovered creature, Mosura fentoni, has stunned paleontologists with its bizarre, otherworldly features.
Unveiled in the pages of Royal Society Open Science, this ancient arthropod sheds light on the complexity of life during the Cambrian Explosion, offering new insights into the early evolution of animals.
The creature, resembling a sea moth, lived over 500 million years ago in what is now the Burgess Shale of Canada.
With a distinctive three-eyed appearance, clawed limbs, and gill-lined tail segments, Mosura provides a glimpse into the strange and often alien-like biodiversity that once thrived in the oceans.
A Strange Predator: Three Eyes and a Flappy-Limbed Design
The creature, Mosura fentoni, belongs to a group of extinct arthropods known as radiodonts. These creatures are among the most iconic of Cambrian predators, with a lineage that includes the notorious Anomalocaris.
However, Mosura stands out due to its unusual features. Measuring just a few centimeters, it had a set of three eyes and clawed limbs designed for predation.
Its body was adapted for both swimming and feeding, equipped with paddle-like limbs and a feeding disk similar to other radiodonts.
Yet, what makes Mosura truly fascinating is its unique tail. Unlike its radiodont cousins, which had longer, more traditional tails, Mosura had a tail-like segment with 16 body sections, each lined with gills.
This tail structure sets it apart, and researchers remain uncertain about its precise function. One hypothesis suggests that the tail could have helped the creature breathe, especially in environments with low oxygen levels.
Alternatively, it could have served as a form of propulsion or helped with mobility in a dense underwater environment.
The Name “Mosura”: A Nod to Pop Culture
The naming of Mosura fentoni pays homage to the giant kaiju Mothra from the Godzilla franchise.
While Mosura is not directly related to moths, the creature’s broad, flappy limbs and slender body shape bear a striking resemblance to the fictional monster.
The name was chosen by the research team as a playful reference to the creature’s otherworldly appearance, a nod to the way science fiction often draws inspiration from nature.
Despite the name, Mosura is much more ancient than any moth and represents a much earlier branch of the arthropod family tree.
As part of the radiodonts, it existed long before the emergence of insects or modern arthropods, providing important clues to the evolutionary timeline of early marine life.
Preserved Anatomy: A Window Into Ancient Biology
One of the most remarkable aspects of Mosura fentoni is the exceptional preservation of its internal structures, which has provided valuable insight into the biology of Cambrian organisms.
Fossils of Mosura reveal not just the shape of the creature but also details of its internal anatomy. The preserved nerve tissue, eye structures, and even the digestive tract have allowed paleontologists to reconstruct aspects of its physiology.
Perhaps most surprising of all is the discovery of reflective patches in the fossils, which appear to represent an open circulatory system.
These patches are indicative of a primitive heart that pumped blood through internal cavities known as lacunae. Such a system was unusual for its time, providing new evidence about the evolution of circulatory systems in ancient arthropods.
The research team, led by Joe Moysiuk of the Manitoba Museum, believes that these discoveries represent a new frontier in understanding the biology of early life.
The detailed preservation of soft tissues is a rare find, especially from creatures as ancient as Mosura.
This fossil, along with others from the Burgess Shale, is rewriting what we know about the internal workings of early Cambrian life forms.
https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/06/scientists-506-million-year-sea-creature/
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.242122
Building AI Felt Like Watching An Alien Intelligence Arrive: Early OpenAI Researcher
June 21, 2025
OpenAI had stunned the world by releasing ChatGPT in November 2022, but it turns out that the researchers working on the technology were even more stunned at what they’d developed.
Jeff Clune, a former researcher at OpenAI, says that building AI felt like watching an AI intelligence arrive. His words paint a vivid picture of a small group of scientists who felt they held a world-altering secret, a sentiment that oscillated between exhilarating and terrifying.
Clune had worked at OpenAI from January 2020 to May 2022, and now works at Google DeepMind.
Clune’s analogy captures the surreal feeling of knowing the world was on the precipice of a monumental shift, while life for everyone else continued as normal. “It’s kind of like you’re an astronomer,” he explained.
“You’re looking at your equipment, your sensors and your computer readouts, and you and a handful of other people have the expertise to look at this complicated data and say, ‘Oh my gosh, aliens are on the way. They’re going to arrive on Earth in a couple of years.'”
The sense of uncertainty was palpable. “We haven’t fully figured out how fast they’re traveling and what their technology is, but they’re going to be here real soon, and that’s going to change everything,” Clune said.
The fundamental unknown, he suggested, was the nature of this impending change. “We don’t know whether or not it’s going to change it for the better or worse.
Whether it will be good aliens or bad aliens, will it completely cause global chaos or will they usher in a new utopian era of great technology and friendships and knowledge expansion? Who knows.”
This feeling of holding a monumental, yet disbelieved, truth created a sense of isolation. “Like us seven people, or us 70 people, we know it. But nobody else listens to us and believes that this is happening,” he recalled.
“I was speaking to journalists then, and nobody was listening. Everybody felt we were crazy, but we in that room, we knew that the data were pretty… we were sure that the aliens are coming.”
Adding another layer of complexity to the analogy, Clune acknowledged the active role the researchers played in this arrival.
“The analogy’s even weirder because we weren’t just watching the aliens coming, we were also giving them information. We were helping them come to us by making the technology, which is also kind of a weird dynamic.”
This cognitive dissonance extended into their daily lives. “You know that, and then you walk home for the day and people are pushing their babies in a baby stroller and they’re going to the supermarket.
You look around, it doesn’t look like the world’s about to radically change. It totally feels normal, but rationally, you know the world is going to be wildly different soon,” he reflected. “And I still feel that way.”
Clune’s sentiment resonates deeply within the current AI landscape. While the release of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Sora has certainly woken the world up to the power of this technology, a chasm of understanding still exists.
The conversations have now reached the highest levels, with prime ministers and global leaders discussing AI’s implications. Yet, as Clune notes, skepticism remains.
“You still have skeptics saying, ‘Oh, you guys are making this all up, and you’re hyping it for your own valuations and it’s hitting a wall and nothing’s about to happen.'”
This skepticism, however, does little to shake the conviction of those who have seen the data. “But I’m very confident that the world is going to be radically different very soon,” Clune asserts.
This perspective from an insider serves as a stark reminder that as astounding as recent AI advancements have been, they may only be the faint, initial signals of a much larger, more transformative arrival.
The “aliens,” it seems, are no longer a distant prospect but are beginning to unpack their bags, and the world is only now starting to grapple with what that truly means.
https://officechai.com/ai/building-ai-felt-like-watching-an-alien-intelligence-arrive-early-openai-researcher/
Deep State Abducts JP in Space Ark Takeover Plot – JP Update #47
June 19, 2025
On June 5, JP was abducted by a group of black-clad masked men while staying in a Japanese hotel, who took him onto a fast-moving ship traveling far into the Pacific Ocean.
The rectangle shaped craft reached a submerged space ark. Once inside, JP saw up to 30 of the black-clad men who put off an evil aggressive vibe as they walked about trying to activate the ark.
JP was told to activate the Pacific Space Ark in the same way he had activated the Atlantic Space Ark back in January 2022. When JP refused, one of the men placed a choke hold over his throat and threatened him and his family.
JP says that he next saw a Nordic extraterrestrial who appeared to be having a similarly tough time dealing with the aggressive Deep State operatives.
JP says that he and the Nordic were then helped by the space ark, which possesses an organic consciousness that was not happy with what the Deep State operatives were trying to do.
The ark put off an energy pulse that shocked the Deep State operatives who let go of JP and the Nordic alien. That gave JP and the Nordic time to escape with the help of ark, and the next thing JP remembers is being back in his hotel room.
In addition to his disturbing Pacific Space Ark experience, JP describes his plan to reveal his identity and share unredacted military documents proving his military service and the bases he was stationed at.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2FzHdRhZA0
https://exopolitics.org/deep-state-abducts-jp-in-space-ark-takeover-plot-jp-update-47/
A WIDER PERSPECTIVE: ISRAEL THE ANUNNAKI, TRUMP AND IRAN
Jun 20, 2025
Kerry Cassidy / Project Camelot talks about what is really going on from the perspective of the Earth and the various alien races involved, going back eons.
https://truthsocial.com/@kerrycassidycamelot/posts/114719791064040320
https://projectcamelotportal.com/2025/06/20/a-wider-perspective-israel-the-anunnaki-trump-and-iran/
https://rumble.com/v6v3o7j-kerry-cassidy-a-wider-perspective-israel-the-anunnaki-trump-and-iran.html