Airmen and cohorts in industry and NASA combined at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., to launch a Delta II expendable launch vehicle carrying the OSTM/Jason 2 satellite into orbit June 20. OSTM stands for Ocean Surface Topography Mission and describes the spacecraft’s primary mission, that is, to measure and gather data about ocean topography. The OSTM payload, aboard the low-Earth orbiting host Jason 2 satellite, is a cooperative venture among NOAA, NASA, and French and European research agencies. (Vandenberg report)
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
