Brian Weeden
@brianweeden.bsky.social
Space policy wonk, former engineer, husband, father, Dungeon Master, and all around geek. I post things I find insightful, informative, or provocative
Really interesting research on trying to better understand deterrence behaviors and mechanisms in cyber operations warontherocks.com/can-cyber-op...
Can Cyber Operations Be Deterred? What Wargames Reveal
The most successful deterrent threats leave no evidence behind. No missiles fly. No networks go down. No troops cross borders. Nothing happens. For
warontherocks.com
NASA, SpaceX studying how to prevent future upper stage lunar collisions spacenews.com/nasa-spacex-...
NASA, SpaceX studying how to prevent future upper stage lunar collisions
With a Falcon 9 upper stage set to hit the moon this week, SpaceX says it is working with NASA on ways to prevent similar collisions in the future.
spacenews.com
Good piece in the WSJ on how China's own space capabilities have closed the gap with the US www.wsj.com/world/china/...
wsj.com
Light at the end of M-code's tunnel? Receivers for ships, planes to finish tests by 2027 - Breaking Defense
Light at the end of M-code's tunnel? Receivers for ships, planes to finish tests by 2027 - Breaking Defense
An Air Force office recently took over the sprawling M-code project, meant to give jam- and spoof-proof GPS receivers to potentially a million pieces of tech.
breakingdefense.com
Spain commits up to $2.3 billion for national military communications for IRIS²
Spain commits up to $2.3 billion for national military communications for IRIS²
Spain commits up to $2.3 billion for national military communications for IRIS²
spacenews.com
A good overview of ideas on how to preserve the ISS in orbit and why de-orbiting it is still the preferred policy option
Preserving the legacy of the ISS
The International Space Station is scheduled to be retired as soon as the end of the decade. Jeff Foust reports this is providing new urgency to efforts to preserve some aspects of the station before…
thespacereview.com
Bleeding edge chip lithography is a great example of the importance of organizations in innovation and why not all knowledge can be easily copied warontherocks.com/cogs-of-war/...
ASML's Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography and the Limits of Reverse Engineering in China
In June, the U.S. Department of Commerce informed the Dutch company ASML that it suspects one of its extreme ultraviolet lithography machines has reached
warontherocks.com
Chinese startup raises funds for space situational awareness constellation, joining commercial SSA rush
Chinese startup raises funds for space situational awareness constellation, joining commercial SSA rush
A Beijing-based startup has secured around $14 million to build a satellite constellation for tracking orbital objects, adding to China’s growing SSA sector.
spacenews.com
Atoms for space: Past US space nuclear power and propulsion programs www.thespacereview.com/article/5266/1
Atoms for space: Past US space nuclear power and propulsion programs
Throughout the Space Age the United States worked on space nuclear power and propulsion systems, although very few actually made it to space. Dwayne Day examines those programs and what went wrong.
thespacereview.com
The latest update to NASA’s CLD program raises more questions about what exactly “commercial procurement” means arstechnica.com/space/2026/0...
NASA sure seems to be asking an awful lot of private space stations
Industry finally knows what NASA is asking of them."
arstechnica.com
Satellites Maneuver on Rapid Timelines for Victus Haze Mission www.airandspaceforces.com/victus-haze-...
Satellites Maneuver on Rapid Timelines for Victus Haze Mission
The Space Force’s Victus Haze mission progressed with the two satellites performing initial operations faster than expected.
airandspaceforces.com
Couple this with the analysis showing launch costs are increasing, and it means challenging times for any companay that does not have their own space launch vehicle
Small satellite operators confront a bottleneck to space access
Small satellite operators confront a bottleneck to space access
spacenews.com
New OIG report on NASA’s Launch Infrastructure and the challenges in meeting the coming government and commercial launch demand oig.nasa.gov/audits/nasas...
NASA’s Launch Infrastructure - NASA OIG
NASA relies on large and highly complex facilities and infrastructure, such as launch pads, utility systems, and transportation networks, to launch missions
oig.nasa.gov
AI-assisted writing is now, by far, the leading reason we reject submissions. Light polishing is one thing. Anything beyond that is not permitted. We require work that clearly reflects self-evident human voice, judgment, and expertise. Our readers deserve nothing less. warontherocks.com/submissions/
Submissions
Want to write for War on the Rocks? Start here.
warontherocks.com
Great piece on the NASA-Katalyst Space partnership to try and rescue the Swift space observatory arstechnica.com/space/2026/0...
A bold satellite rescue mission came together in record time, but will it work?
I consider this a success already, just from the fact that we're even going to try this."
arstechnica.com
A really good overview of how to think about "commercial" space, past and present: bhavyalal.substack.com/p/class-6-wh...
Class 6: What commercial space is, how it got built, and why this time may be different
Continuation of the series on introduction to space policy
bhavyalal.substack.com
The Space Review: Yesterday’s Future: space settlement and castles in the sky www.thespacereview.com/article/5241/1
Yesterday’s Future: space settlement and castles in the sky
Fifty years ago this month, an issue of National Geographic introduced many people to the concept of space settlements. Dwayne Day examines what it predicted for the faraway future of 2026 and why…
thespacereview.com
LeoLabs deploys mobile space-tracking radar in Indo-Pacific spacenews.com/leolabs-depl...
LeoLabs deploys mobile space-tracking radar in Indo-Pacific
LeoLabs deploys mobile space-tracking radar in Indo-Pacific LeoLabs deploys mobile space-tracking radar in Indo-Pacific
spacenews.com
This is a great video on how GPS and GNSS works and some worrying current threats actively been seen www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz23...
Something is jamming GPS over Europe. Here's what we found
Something is disrupting GPS signals across Europe. Sponsored by Ground News. Go to https://ground.news/Ve for 40% off the unlimited Vantage plan. If you’re looking for a molecular modelling kit,…
youtube.com
For those who missed our Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion Roundtable at #ASCEND last week, here's a good summary of what we talked about: aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/institute/ex...
Experts Say Space Nuclear Power’s Biggest Obstacles Are Logistical, Not Technical
A workshop on nuclear capabilities in space dove into the opportunities and challenges that have surrounded this powerful technology since the first space race. The workshop at AIAA’s ASCEND event in…
aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org
Interesting new economic research that suggests that the origins of "New Space" is more closely linked to "Old Space" than many many realize www.nber.org/papers/w35212
Old Space, New Space: A Commercial Revolution in Innovation?
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers,…
nber.org
Space Force eyes 2027 demonstrations of in-space refueling and satellite servicing spacenews.com/space-force-...
Space Force eyes 2027 demonstrations of in-space refueling and satellite servicing
Space Force eyes 2027 demonstrations of in-space refueling and satellite servicing
spacenews.com
The US space enterprise is desperately waiting for Starship—will it finally deliver? arstechnica.com/space/2026/0...
The US space enterprise is desperately waiting for Starship—will it finally deliver?
This is such a wild ride. The highs are high. The lows are low."
arstechnica.com
Looking good, ViaSat-3 F2! 📸🛰️🌎 This amazing photo of our ViaSat-3 F2 fully deployed large reflector was taken in space – 2,236 miles above Earth. Exciting progress for our ViaSat-3 program, as we focus on advancing in-orbit testing of our ultra-high-capacity satellite.
The Winners and Losers of the Iran Energy Shock www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/winners...
foreignaffairs.com
As NASA eyes lunar base, there's still much to learn about landing on the Moon arstechnica.com/space/2026/0...
As NASA eyes lunar base, there's still much to learn about landing on the Moon
NASA is serious about taking more shots on goal, but some of them need to start landing.
arstechnica.com
The Space Review: The Moonbase moment www.thespacereview.com/article/5215/1
The Space Review: The Moonbase moment
Since early 2020, a group called the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC, pronounced “ell-sick”) has been meeting regularly to discuss the infrastructure needed for any future presence on the…
thespacereview.com
As NASA eyes lunar base, there's still much to learn about landing on the Moon - Ars Technica arstechnica.com/space/2026/0...
As NASA eyes lunar base, there's still much to learn about landing on the Moon
NASA is serious about taking more shots on goal, but some of them need to start landing.
arstechnica.com
