Shredder: Thoughts of a Poli Sci Guy

Marco Rubio on Iran: They were aiming to become the next North Korea — not a North Korea run by a regime that is troublesome and hard to understand, but an Iran run by radical Shia clerics with intercontinental missiles.

What will the Artemis-2 astronauts do during the entire 10-day mission? Day by day overview: Day 1. Launch. Launch on the SLS rocket, stage separation, orbital insertion. Maneuvers around the spent stage, initial system checks, change from spacesuits to everyday clothing. Day 2. Beginning the journey to the Moon: Simulator exercises, then the main maneuver—translunar injection (TLI), which places Orion on a trajectory to fly around the Moon and return to Earth. Day 3. Preparation Rehearsals for lunar observations in zero gravity, corrective maneuver, emergency procedures training (e.g., CPR). Day 4. Course correction Second minor maneuver, communication with Mission Control, media sessions, photography of Earth and the Moon at the midpoint. Day 5. Lunar Entry For the first time since 1972, humans will be in cislunar space. Spacesuit tests: rapid pressurization, life support systems checks. Another course correction. Day 6. Lunar Flyby The main day: The Orion spacecraft will fly at an altitude of 6,400–9,650 km above the lunar surface. This distance is approximately 15–24 times greater than the orbital altitude of the ISS. Plus, the Moon itself is smaller. Visually, the Moon will look like a basketball at arm's length to the astronauts. There will be only three hours for observations during closest approach. The astronauts will take photographs and record geological data. Depending on the launch time, the Artemis 2 crew could break the record for the longest distance from Earth. Day 7. Lunar Exit Data transfer to scientists, psychological and physical debriefings. Symbolic call with the ISS crew. First maneuver of the return trajectory. Day 8. Demonstrations Radiation protection training (using water and thermal protection as barriers). Testing the Orion attitude control systems in various modes. Day 9. Preparing for reentry The last full day of the flight. Technological demonstrations, course corrections, fitting of compression suits to help the body adapt to weightlessness. Day 10. Return Final maneuver, atmospheric reentry, during which the temperature will reach 1650°C. Parachute deployment, splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off San Francisco. Crew pickup by US Navy ships.

To the people of the United States of America

🇬🇧🇫🇷 BREAKING: The UK and France sign deal to study a next-generation air-to-air missile to succeed the Meteor, aiming to keep Europe at the forefront of beyond-visual-range weapons. Source: UK Defense Journal

Sure NATO won’t defend Taiwan or Japan or even Hawaii (look it up), but if aliens ever show up and attack us from the Atlantic Ocean, Europeans will send them a strongly worded letter.

Make Japan the 51st state.

📍🇺🇦 Ukrainian at Odessa nightclub

Make GOP Urban Again

“We want the Americans to re-open the Straits but they can't use our airspace or their own military bases in our country to run the logistics of any of that”: our European “allies.”