Really Rocket Science

Well, duh. Ever since Adm. William Owens’ 1996 paper and Vice Admiral Arthur K. Cebrowski and John Gartska’s 1998 public paper (.doc) on Network-centric warfare, space guided military operations have been central to the military’s long term planning. What is network centric warfare?

Network-Centric Warfare derives its power from the strong networking of a well-informed but geographically dispersed force. The enabling elements are a high-performance information grid, access to all appropriate information sources, weapons reach and maneuver with precision and speed of response, value-adding command-and-control (C2) processes–to include high-speed automated assignment of resources to need–and integrated sensor grids closely coupled in time to shooters and C2 processes. Network-centric warfare is applicable to all levels of warfare and contributes to the coalescence of strategy, operations, and tactics. It is transparent to mission, force size and composition, and geography.

As front-lines and trench warfare are forgotten, innovation in satellite-military technology is constantly shaping our military’s future:

New satellites, radar sites, laser technology and missile defense locations overseas are among initiatives planned by the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command that will help warfighters in the next five years, according to Lt. Gen. Kevin T. Campbell.

The SMDC commander spoke at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Land Warfare Forum Breakfast in Washington on November 8, providing an overview of his command’s wide-ranging operations from Army astronaut Col. Doug Wheelock returning to earth Wednesday on the Space Shuttle Discovery to National Guard troops manning Ground- Based Missile Defense systems at Fort Greely, Alaska.

"Space is important for what the Army does," said Lt. Gen. Campbell, who also heads up the U.S. Army Forces Strategic Command "and it’s going to be more important." He explained that SMDC provides commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan satellite imagery, intelligence and reconnaissance, and communications capabilities.

Space-based communications were bolstered last month when the first Wideband Global SATCOM satellite was launched. Lt. Gen. Campbell said the new satellite has up to 10 times the capacity of older ones in the Defense Satellite Communications System. He said more of these new satellites will be launched in the next few years to replace the "legacy" system.

"We want to be responsive to (Joint Task Force) commanders – not commanders in Washington, but in the field – that’s where we want to go with this," Lt. Gen. Campbell said of SMDC initiatives.

He said the command is looking at ways to provide "coherent change detection" to support warfighters and route reconnaissance. Such initiatives might better detect improvised explosive devices in the future along convoy routes.

SMDC is also experimenting with new ways to provide early warning to troops, Lt. Gen. Campbell said. He wants to better integrate a global Ballistic Missile Defense System.

The Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC), a not-for-profit association committed to the rapid global deployment of network-centric applications, has been a big part of this innovation. They recently received an award for their development of a tool-kit for the development of network-centric systems:

The developers’ kit includes a company and industry-neutral set of NCW principles, processes, best practices and tools that are available free of charge at http://www.ncoic.org/. The Consortium’s online resources can help developers assure that a new system will advance interoperability; determine how a legacy system can bridge the gap between current and desired levels of net-centricity; and adapt systems to meet evolving interoperability and NCW requirements.

In accepting IDGA’s award, NCOIC chairman emeritus Harry Raduege said, "We salute IDGA for its efforts to advance net-centricity and for recognizing the Consortium’s contributions. Our tool kit enables the military to identify gaps between existing and planned systems’ ability to support NCW as well as their ability to operate within a network. It is part of a suite of deliverables that represents some of the best collaboration and thinking of industry, government and academia."

Among NCOIC’s other material is an explanation (.pdf) of how and why to develop Fly-Away-Kits (FLAK) to support Hastily Formed Networks(HFN) in the event of Complex Humanitarian Disasters (CHDs). *Exhale* Oh, and this is just a little too deep/complex to be tomorrow’s DIY post.

Nice demo video from Analytical Graphics:

Remember the Voom Satellite Service? It was an all-HDTV service intended to compete for viewers with DirecTV, Dish Network and local cable systems. Owned by Cablevision and the Dolan family, they built and launched the Rainbow 1 satellite in 2003. I remember the launch had a rocketcam and they produced the video in HD, of course. Here’s the launch clip (action begins around 1:30):

Unfortunately, the service shut down in 2005 and all subscribers were transitioned to Dish Network, who bought the satellite, which is now a.k.a. EchoStar 12. Fortunately for those looking for HD content, they’re still broadcasting the 15 Voom HD channels — many with original content — to Dish and Cablevision subscribers. Neither DirecTV nor Verizon FiOS offer those channels. I just upgraded my service to HD and I dig those Voom channels, in all its 1080i glory, 24×7 and commercial-free. There’s content for kids, like Flipper from the 60s and UFO from the 70s, a cartoon channel called Animania and for those crazy kids, Rush HD — featuring extreme and action sports. The program they put together on downhill skiing was very well done:

THE THIN LINE: Life on the Edge – HD Trailer from VOOM HD on Vimeop>

Seeing how HDTV is really catching on in the marketplace. Now that the Super Bowl is over, expected prices to drop:

Missed a great deal on an HDTV this past week? Don’t sweat it. Analysts over at Pacific Media Associates say we can expect a 15.6% drop on flat panel display prices this year. According to the research company, last year they saw a 14.7 percent price drop on HDTVs, which increased sales by 41 percent. If their estimates are correct, over 113 million displays were sold worldwide instead of the 80 million units they had predicted.

If you think about it, the idea was ahead of its time. Demand for HD content will continue to increase, and Voom offers good, differentiated content — designed for and originated in HD.

And Voom sees growth outside the U.S., too. An international Voom HD channel is available in Northern Europe on Thor 2 (1° West, transponder 15, 11434V, SR 25000, FEC 2/3) and Southeast Asia on Measat 3 (91.5° East, 3752V, SR 13330, FEC 2/3) — both in MPEG-4, and HD, naturally.

Photo: The world’s largest BSoD, outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York.

Who will be the next President? With voters casting ballots in 43 nominating contests in 24 states right now, we should have a clearer understanding — though most probably not a definitive one — of who the nominees for each party will likely be later this evening.

(Voters in New York might be late getting to the polls today, on account of the Giants parade taking place as we write this.) 

Regardless of who ultimately wins in November, among the many issues the next president will have to contend with is creating a strategy for securing cyberspace. But they don’t have to contend with the issue alone, because the Center for Strategic and International Studies has established a Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency:

The Commission will examine existing plans and strategies to assess what a new administration should continue, what it should change, and what new policies should be adopted or new authorities sought from Congress [in pursuit of cyber security].  Issues for consideration will include infrastructure protection, software assurance, federal agency cyber security, and information security initiatives in both the public and private sectors.  As part of its work, the Commission will review how the Federal government organizes its cybersecurity efforts and make recommendations for improvement.  It will examine existing legal authorities for cyber security and identify where new authorities (including incentives) are necessary.

The Commission will be a bipartisan group composed of twenty to twenty-five experts drawn from the cyber security policy community and from the private sector.  It will be co-chaired by leaders from Congress and the private sector.  The work of the Commissioners will be reinforced by a private sector advisory group composed of representatives from companies and associations, and by the ex officio participation of relevant federal officials…

 The final product would be a well-supported package of recommendations for improving cyber security that could help to guide both a legislative agenda and Presidential policy documents….

CSIS is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research center organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. with more than 200 staff and a large network of affiliated experts.  Its focus is on security in a changing global environment. 

The CSIS isn’t alone in thinking ahead about cyber security, of course. DoD IT, cybersecurity, SPACECOM, STRATCOM, DISA — everybody’s trying to prevent an "electronic Pearl Harbor."  

Cybersecurity is becoming a critical issue for the private sector, too. Verizon just hired a former Army guy to lead their cyber security effort.

What will Verizon’s new cybersecurity guru look into first? How about the submarine cable disruptions in the Mediterranean Sea and Persion Gulf? If you’re keeping score at home, there have been two disruptions in each cable — near Marseilles, France, and Alexandria, Egypt; near Dubai and another near Qatar–  all within a week of each other. Ships’ anchors caused three of the incidents and power trouble caused the fourth, as we blogged recently. 

Given all the recent trouble undersea, it’s no wonder the U.S. government prefers using satcom over fiber, even for their radios in the field . 

In preparation for the lifting of its first nationally-built satellite, the Omid, Iran has launched a Kavoshgar1 "sounding rocket" into space. The launch also marks the inauguration of Iran’s first domestic satellite complex:

 The suborbital research rocket took off at Iran’s space launch base, which is specifically built for sending Iranian rockets into outer space from inside the country.

A sounding rocket is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its suborbital flight.

Kavoshgar1 was launched as a preliminary step towards sending the ‘Omid Satellite’ into orbit. Omid is the first advanced scientific research satellite exclusively designed and made by Iranian scientists.

The Omid (which is Persian for "hope") Iran will be the first of five satellites that Iran plans to launch into orbit by 2010. Iran "joined the international space-faring community" in February 2007 after successfully testing its first sounding rocket.

The AP reports that "some Western experts also have raised the possibility that Iran’s space program may be a cover to more fully develop its military ballistic missiles, a prospect many find troubling at a time when the U.S. and others worry Tehran is trying to develop nuclear weapons." 

In other satellite news from the Middle East, Israel Aerospace Industries announced over the weekend that its TecSAR satellite, launched last month, had beamed down its first images of Earth and was in "perfect" working condition. We blogged about TecSAR’s launch here.

We’re all about holidays here at ReallyRocketScience. Yesterday, we commemorated the Explorer 1 launch 50 years ago. Today, we celebrate the DIY-Friday from one year ago – LED light shirts. The beauty of LED’s is that they never burn out. My cheesy shirt is still functioning perfect for the occasional ugly sweater theme party.

Now LED’s are hitting Saks Fifth Avenue – on the store’s facade, not the clothes racks:

This Christmas, Royal Philips Electronics (PHG) is vividly displaying its dominance in the lighting market. It supplied the 50 giant illuminated snowflakes that festoon the front of the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue (SKS) store in New York. The flakes are aglow with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs–semiconductor devices that produce bright beams of light using a fraction as much electricity as incandescent bulbs. The 40,000-plus LEDs in the display sip about the same amount of power as three toaster ovens.

Philips also will provide the lights for the New Year’s Eve Times Square Ball in New York. Instead of 600 incandescent and halogen bulbs, the ball will be fitted with more than 9,500 LEDs, which burn twice as brightly and can create a palette of 16 million colors. Depending on their hue, they’ll be up to 98% more energy-efficient than the bulbs they replace.

The demonstration is a symbolic blow to its main LED rival – GE:

Philips’ latest LED installations give the company much-coveted green bragging rights. Lighting accounts for about one-fifth of all electricity used, in part because, with traditional incandescent bulbs, most of the energy is wasted in heat. LEDs burn cooler and last much longer. So the company that leads in this area can claim to be helping planet earth.

General Electric (GE), Philips’ biggest rival in lighting, has spent millions to bolster its own environmental credentials in a high-profile campaign whose slogan is "ecomagination." But it hasn’t matched the billions of dollars Philips has spent on LEDs and other energy-efficient lighting systems. This year alone, Philips has paid $4.2 billion to acquire five companies in the lighting sector, including the Nov. 26 purchase of Genlyte (GLYT) in Louisville, the No.2 U.S. maker of lighting fixtures. As a result, Philips has vaulted past GE as the leading supplier of lights and fixtures in the all-important U.S. market.

Over the next ten years, as much of the world makes the transition to LED lights, Philips’ lead over GE is expected to grow. "A building contractor can go to Philips and get everything he wants," says Janardan Menon, a financial analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort in London. The same, he argues, is not true for GE.

It won’t be long before LED’s cross-over from Fifth Avenue to the home. Get started by buying some LED candles.

Or, better yet, take up our DIY-challenge: construct "Peggy," a light emitting pegboard kit:

Our light-emitting pegboard display, affectionately known as "Peggy," provides a quick, easy, powerful and efficient way to drive a lot of LEDs– up to 625– in a big matrix covering almost a square foot of area. You can make an LED sign for your window, a geeky valentine for your sweetie, one bad-ass birthday card, or freak the holy bejesus out of Boston. Your call. It’s a versatile, high-brightness display. How you configure it and what you do with it is up to you.

The display can run off batteries (3 ‘D’ cells) or an optional ac adapter, and is designed to drive as many green/blue/white/violet LEDs as you care to solder into the holes, all with excellent brightness. The board can accommodate LEDs in several common sizes: 3mm, 5 mm (standard T-1 3/4 size), and 10 mm. A photosensor is provided that can automatically turn off the display in bright daylight or incandescent light.

Instructions are available here. The good news is you have two weeks to construct your Valentine’s Day surprise creation. Or build a LED-shirt, version 2 – I’m sure he/she will love the gesture. I told you we liked holidays here at ReallyRocketScience.