Please enjoy this electric scooter yule log.
Dwayne Day
@kennen11.bsky.social
Historian of military and civil space programs and policy. In my day job I direct studies for NASA on space and aeronautics subjects including planetary science, astrophysics, and Earth science. Work at the National Academy of Sciences. Trekkie. Dogs.
Doing research on when/how the CIA knew that Plesetsk was an ICBM base. These two maps tell a story. In Sept 1960, CIA knew there was something there, but did not have any imagery. By Dec, they had decent imagery showing massive construction. But building what? (more)
More re Plesetsk: by summer 1961, the US intelligence community was increasingly desperate to obtain imagery to determine if Plesetsk was an ICBM site. The US Intelligence Board went so far as to recommend resumption of U-2 flights over the Soviet Union after they were halted in May 1960. (more)
Ukraine attacked Plesetsk Cosmodrome. That prompted me to ask Harry if he has good satellite photos of P. He does. Now I am looking at declassified CIA records about it. Plesetsk had an operational ICBM site in July 1961. CIA listed it as "highly suspected" for an ICBM launch site in Feb 1962.(more)
Hello Star Trek fans! I completely overhauled the engineering section and added a lot of details I had previously omitted. After a few final tweaks, I'll be moving on to the definitive 3D finalization. #starshipdesign #conceptart #conceptartist #startrekstarship #scifidesign #scifiart #startrek
New reports that Ukraine has attacked Russia's Plesetsk Cosmodrome with drones. Interesting development if true.
Harry and I are chasing after shiny objects. Reading an intelligence report produced after the only successful LANYARD reconnaissance satellite mission in 1963, I noticed that it had photographed a missile base. I asked Harry if he had any other satellite photos of that base, and he found a doozy.
Looking at satellite photos of the Aspidnoye airfield, there is a support area near the water. I think it is at least a mile from the runway, so not really useful for supporting planes. Lighter photo is 8/66, darker is 6/67. Boat offshore hasn't moved in 4 years, so it sank. Building burned down?
Harry Stranger and I have been doing mischief, gathering information on the Soviet Aspidnoye airfield in the far north. Not much available on it. It was a long runway, suitable for bombers, but never paved. My suspicion is they had bigger plans and never finished it. No aircraft in any photos.
Solar eclipse (let's be honest, it's more of a transit) last Thursday, 13 August 2026, photographed from the surface of Mars.
9月5,6日(土,日)開催トレフェスオンライン24参加予定です。 各1/2000 ククルカン級(全長9.5㎝) 4,000円 ラスコー級(全長12㎝) 6,000円 ゴストーク級(全長15.6㎝) 12,000円 カラクルム級(全長26㎝) 10,000円 1/1000アマテラス(全長45㎝) 70,000円(トレフェス価格) 全種3Dプリンタ出力ガレージキット よろしくお願いいたします。
Animation of ice plumes erupting from Enceladus, the sixth-largest moon of Saturn. Enceladus is an icy moon. In its south polar region, huge jets of water ice particles erupt into space from ridges in its icy crust. #SciArt #spaceart #3Danimation #3dsmax
My next article in The Space Review should appear today. It is about the SPARTAN program to use a Samos E-6 reconnaissance camera in a test program. I'll be using this graphic, ca 1966. It is a decent overview of US reconnaissance satellite systems at that time.
Took these in DC Sunday (we had rain in the morning followed by sun). NatGuard presence is increased for the big race. More streets closed off for the race. At times DC feels like a military occupied city.
BBC should do better. I know it says 'file image' and that the image comes from a trusted source (UK MOD), but it is plainly the wrong type of aircraft. Second image is an Iranian Su-24 for reference
The Samos E-6 reconnaissance satellite was launched five times, all failures. Unfortunately, we have relatively little information on this program. The Air Force did not do a good job recording the history. I would love to have good hardware photos. But we've got almost nothing.
Looking for satellite reconnaissance images to include in my LANYARD part 3 article and came across this July 1961 CORONA photo of the Soviet nuclear test site at Novaya Zemlya. I'm using the images for general illustration, not because the article is about NZ. Tsar Bomba was detonated here 10-31-61
Part 3 of my series on the LANYARD satellite program will appear in The Space Review next week. It focuses on the SPARTAN program, which was an effort to use a camera from the Samos E-6 program. I have never been able to figure out exactly how that E-6 camera operated. S was canceled before launch.
#SubTuesday #Submarines Pacific Fleet's base in Vilyuchinsk, August 4, 2026. Dolgorukiy, Severodvinsk, Akula & Oscar hulls all covered in anti-drone nets. FYI @salisbot.bsky.social @covertshores.bsky.social @alxluck.bsky.social @spectrecrouton.bsky.social @mikeplunkett.bsky.social
Pluto TV Relaunching Pop Up Category Of 7 Star Trek Channels, Including All The Movies https://bit.ly/4hXPWWU
Pluto TV Relaunching Pop Up Category Of 7 Star Trek Channels, Including All The Movies
New "Star Trek En Español" channel also added for the event.
bit.ly
Part 2 of my LANYARD article should be online soon. These 1963 photos are from the only successful mission. Obtained by Harry Stranger, never published before.
