News of the World

[kyonides]

Chinese Rocket that Delivered Military Spy Satellites Breaks Up Over Texas

The second stage of a Chinese rocket that delivered a trio of military surveillance satellites in June disintegrated over Texas on Wednesday.

The four-ton component of a Chang Zheng 2D ‘Long March’ rocket punched through the atmosphere on Wednesday over Texas at 17,000 miles per hour and disintegrated, two defense officials confirmed.
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According to NORAD satellite tracking data, the stage was a piece of space junk in low earth orbit.
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“This was an uncontrolled reentry, meaning it was not steered but rather its orbit decayed and lowered naturally. This type of behavior reinforces the need for better international norms regarding high-risk uncontrolled reentries.”
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Based on the NORAD tracking data, the stage belonged to a mission that delivered three military electronic signals surveillance satellites that were believed to be targeted over the South China Sea.
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According to the track, the rocket section entered the atmosphere over West Texas near Marathon before heading on a northeast track between Abilene and Austin.
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The 135-foot-long Chang Zheng 2D rocket is capable of carrying about 8,000 pounds of cargo into low earth orbit... The rocket, designated Y-64, successfully took off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on June 23 in central China and successfully deployed the spy satellites.

After dropping off its payload, the second stage becomes space junk.

Tom Cruise Buzzes USS George H.W. Bush,
Carrier Could Play Role in New ‘Mission Impossible’ Movie

If the Navy chooses to accept it, USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) could get its big screen debut in Tom Cruise’s next “Mission Impossible” movie.

Cruise, who starred in the Oscar-nominated “Top Gun: Maverick” spent three days aboard the aircraft carrier at the beginning of the month, MI franchise director Christopher McQuarrie said in an Instagram post.

“On behalf of the entire Mission team, I’d like to extend our deepest gratitude for what has been an extraordinary three days with the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group,” he wrote.
“The short time we spent with you left us all with a newfound appreciation of the sacrifices you make in the name of security and prosperity and we thank you for your service.”

Bush is currently in the Adriatic Sea as part of the U.S. response to the Russo-Ukraine War.

Cruise, along with British actress Hannah Waddingham, known for playing Rebecca Welton, the owner of the Richmond Football Club in “Ted Lasso” and McQuarrie were featured in photos released on Friday from the ship.

 So was he truly scouting his next movie's scenarios? Or was he simply learning all he could about the Navy and its lifestyle during its current Cold War trip?
Or should I better nickname it the current "Cool" War?

Kim supervises N. Korean troops simulating attack on South

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a live-fire artillery drill simulating an attack on a South Korean airfield and called for his troops to be ready to respond to the enemies’ “frantic war preparation moves” — apparently referring to the recent series of military drills between the United States and South Korea.

The North Korean state media report Friday came a day after South Korea’s military detected the North firing at least one short-range ballistic missile toward the sea from a site near the western coastal city of Nampo. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff was assessing whether more missiles may have been launched simultaneously.

The United States has recently sent long-range B-1B and B-52 bombers for several rounds of joint aerial drills with South Korean warplanes. The allies are also preparing this month for their biggest combined field training exercise in years to counter the growing threat of Kim’s growing nuclear arsenal. North Korea views regular U.S.-South Korean military exercises as invasion rehearsals.

Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim urged his troops to be prepared to “overwhelmingly respond to and contain” the military action of the North’s enemies, which he said were proceeding with “all sorts of more frantic war preparation moves.”