MiTex - Top Secret No More

. Friday, January 16

What was a secret is no longer, as far as I can tell. I have to wonder whether this little tidbit of news flew under the radar, so to speak, when it began in 2006. Suffice it to say that I'm none too happy about being the last one to find out about it.

An American missile-warning satellite, DSP 23, that was monitoring whether Iran and North Korea were conducting deep space nuclear testing has quit working. So, the US is sending up two MiTex (Micro-satellite Technology Experiment) satellites to investigate.

In 2006, two of the MiTex satellites were sent up in orbit, circling each other and operating flawlessly. Analysts now say that if the MiTex satellites succeed in diagnosing the problem with the DSP 23, it will have a global impact because the technology could be used to take out an enemy orbiter.

If they are circling each other, they are not a danger, but if they are actually put to use they are? The former Center for Defense Information Director Theresa Hitchens said:

One cannot escape the fact that this technology, while potentially extremely useful in diagnostics of sick and ailing birds, also has tremendous potential for ASAT [anti-satellite] missions. It's stealthy, highly maneuverable, potentially lethal in more ways than one -- with potential kinetic, electronic or laser-killing payloads.
Hitchens is joined by the Union of Concerned Scientists in their angst about China finding out about this and complaining to the international community since they caught flack for their own ASAT missions. I never heard about that either.

The timing couldn't be worse in this little leak of information. It makes me wonder how many other little tidbits of information are known by the rest of the world and not us!

2 comments:

Betty said...

I actually did hear about these subjects but it wasn't from your local liberal left stations. I believe it was on Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck, maybe even O'Reilley.

There is no such things as journalism anymore as most of media decide what they think we 'need' to hear and want we 'need' to know.

Tis a shame as i remember a time when there was real journalism and they kept digging and reporting until we got the whole truth.

Unknown said...

As a reporter, what I've found is that politicians have gotten very, very good at not letting anything slip at all! So, there are few clues that something deeper is actually happening.

This undercover government of ours is the perfect example. Not only do they keep very tight lips, they make sure anyone who might stumble onto a thing a two keeps their lips sealed too!