brianweeden @brianweeden Twitter profile

Last Seen Profiles

@tyorurunangel

@itsnot_demarco

@takayoshi_dayo

@TsuBaKi_CE

@JamesWickham

@Lun4rCS

@poi2para

@MallowMan4979

@slay_capy

@LoganQuindell

@kcncsk_

@UkraineFocus

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@DragonNovelist

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@JineshGheeya

@arbaggage_

@SearchLingo

@ClassPointMENA

@Sushi0

brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

I knew one of the Senate staffers who literally designed SLS in a conference room

Stephen C. Smith / Нет войне 🇺🇦

@WordsmithFL

2 years

Wow, @SciGuySpace just went there, asking Bill Nelson about when he wrote the SLS law did he take into consideration problems with LH2. (Answer: "we deferred to the experts.")

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

1/ (THREAD) Ok, short thread rounding up what we know so far on the #Cosmos1408 breakup, potentially as a result of a Russian ASAT test

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

11 months

I couldn't be prouder of my amazing wife Charity as she takes on this new role! She's going to help @NASA do amazing things!

NASA Names New Head of Technology, Policy, Strategy - NASA

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Monday Charity Weeden will serve as associate administrator for the agency’s Office of Technology, Policy, and

www.nasa.gov

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Exactly this. If the only answer is Elon/SpaceX, then there isn’t actually a commercial industry. Just a monopoly.

Eric Berger

@SciGuySpace

2 years

Seeing umbrage that SpaceX did not win one of NASA's spacesuit contracts. The reality is you don't want SpaceX to win every NASA contract. Commercial space needs a diversity of healthy companies to survive. If commercial space is seen as "SpaceX only" it loses government support.

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

1/ With this huge milestone of 4,000 operational Starlink satellites from @SpaceX , I think it's worth pausing for a moment to reflect on what it means for #spacesustainability

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Mass combat at the Well of Dragons using @mattcolville 's Kingdoms and Warfare rules

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

6 months

1\ So I will go out on a limb and offer my own speculation that this dastardly Russian space thing is perhaps some sort of nuclear-powered electronic warfare satellite

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

Great overview of just how cool NASA's Lucy mission is. I mean just look at this funky trajectory diagram!

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

10 months

After decades of ridiculing anyone who suggested the Space Shuttle or X-37B might be used as a weapon, the Space Force's first official painting is....a spaceplane being used as a weapon?

US Space Force's 1st official painting shows military space plane intercepting adversary satellite

The "futuristic intercept vehicle" is based on historical space planes and the artist's imagination, Space Force says.

www.space.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

4 months

Plan ahead!

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

RIP my actual Monday to-do list

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

For your weekend reading - my colleague @VSamson_DC and I writing on why we need to work towards a global ban on destructive ASAT testing:

It's Time for a Global Ban on Destructive Antisatellite Testing

The orbital debris created in the explosions is dangerous, long-lasting and a threat to the growing space economy

www.scientificamerican.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Something caused a serious GPS outage near Denver that lasted more than a day and affected aircraft and mobile networks

What happened to GPS in Denver? - GPS World

The advisory, posted at 10:33 p.m. Denver time, said GPS was unreliable within a 50-nautical-mile radius of the Denver International Airport. Interference was

www.gpsworld.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

It is looking that way (slight tweak that the test was earlier today on the 15th), and if so it was beyond irresponsible for Russia to do this.

Jonathan McDowell

@planet4589

3 years

With LeoLabs confirming debris "near" Kosmos-1408 and CNN quoting US officials that there was an ASAT test, rumours are solidfiying into a consistent story that indeed a Russian antisatellite test on Nov 13 or 14 hit Kosmos-1408 causing a debris cloud intersecting the ISS orbit

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

10/ So, to sum up, we know there was a debris event and its PLAUSIBLE it was caused by an ASAT test but do not yet have confirmation. If we get reports of a much larger debris cloud, then that will be a big sign...

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

6/ The ISS will keep passing through the Cosmos 1408 debris field every ~90 min or so for the next day, which is why they've been directed to prep for potential collisions:

Spaceflight Now

@SpaceflightNow

3 years

Mission control has informed the crew that some space station hatches will need to stay closed through Tuesday because of the threat from the debris cloud after a satellite breakup. "It's a crazy way to start a mission," they told the astronauts:

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

Yes, but let's also ensure the UAG is representative of actual end users of space, not just companies trying to land contracts

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

NASA says the @18SPCS has determined that the breakup of a Chinese weather satellite last March was caused by collision with a piece of #spacedebris

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

This is really a big deal - it shows massive international support against ASAT testing, despite significant lobbying from Russia/China to defeat it

UN committee endorses US call for moratorium on destructive ASAT missile tests

"There are ongoing reviews to find other other commitments that we can make, specifically around national security space activities," said the State Department's Richard Buenneke.

breakingdefense.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Turns out killing hundreds of people by remote control, often not knowing why, takes a mental toll on you

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

10 months

1/ Short thread on the space components of this year's China Military Power Report, which was released by the Pentagon last week

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

SpaceX says the Starlink constellation has done nearly 7,000 automated maneuvers in the last 6 months to avoid potential collisions, 1,700 of which were due to Russian ASAT debris

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

7/ It seems Russia posted a NOTAM for a missile launch from 0200-0500Z on 15-17 Nov, which roughly corresponded to a flight test of a Nudol DA-ASAT out of Plesetsk

brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

Well shit. (H/T @The_Lookout_N )

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

Well shit. (H/T @The_Lookout_N )

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

5 months

Space nerds unite! Had an amazing time hanging out with @planet4589 and getting an updated tour of his secret lair and ever-growing space library

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

This is absolutely true, and also where previous efforts to boost human spaceflight spending have faltered

Frank Slazer

@FSlazer

2 years

@Astro_Pam “We need to develop our Moon to Mars strategy. And the space community knows we want to go - but the public needs to understand why we want to go.”

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Fascinating reseach - based largely on Warsaw Pact archives - that dispels the myth that Able Archer 83 nearly led to nuclear war

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

While China may have (finally) matched the optical resolution of US spy satellites, I suspect they have a ways to go to match the wide range of other types of space-based ISR capabilities the US has at its disposal

China launches new Gaofen-11 high resolution spy satellite to match U.S. capabilities

spacenews.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

So maybe it's time to have that discussion about orbital carrying capacity?

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

5/ It was also a LARGE spacecraft (~ 2,000 kg) so if it was a hypervelocity collision (large debris or ASAT KKV), we'd expect hundreds to thousands of resulting debris

Tselina-D (11F619, Ikar)

The Tselina-D (11F619) was one component of two-satellite Tselina ELINT satellite system. Tselina-D provided detailed observation of radio sou...

space.skyrocket.de

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 months

We space nerds tend to focus far too much on the satellites in orbit and need to pay a lot more attention to the ground infrastructure that makes everything work

Why we need to take satellite ground station security seriously

The satellite ground stations that control orbiting payloads and collect telemetry from them may be woefully undersecured.

spacenews.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

9/ @planet4589 has lined up the NOTAM with the orbit of Cosmos 1408 to show that it was possible to do the intercept

Jonathan McDowell

@planet4589

3 years

Here is the pass of Kosmos-1408 (red line) northbound over Plesetsk at about 0245 UTC Nov 15. Well aligned with the NOTAM areas (indicated) for the suspected Nudol antisatellite test.

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

2/ A breakup event for Cosmos 1408, a derelict Russian ELINT satellite, was initially reported by @US_SpaceCom in @HoustonChron

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

@MasterActual the number of icons on his dock is giving me conniptions

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

For all you #spacedebris nerds out there like me, @NASA has released the 16th Edition of the History of On-orbit Satellite Fragmentations

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

11/ ADDENDUM - The US has confirmed it was an ASAT test that created thousands of pieces of debris

Michael Sheetz

@thesheetztweetz

3 years

The U.S. State Department confirms and condemns that Russia conducted an anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) test in low Earth orbit. Full statement:

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Obviously.

‘We Have Nothing’ Showing UFOs Are of Alien Origin, Defense Official Says

So far, data has not shown unidentified anomalous phenomena to be from an alien source, according to defense officials.

www.nextgov.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

3/ Breakup was confirmed by @LeoLabs_Space , and at this point is only a few to couple dozen objects

LeoLabs

@LeoLabs_Space

3 years

With new data from Kiwi Space Radar gathered at 1620 UTC, we confirm detection of multiple objects near expected location of Cosmos 1408. We will share supporting data as we gather it today.

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

I wish the public was able to hear the skepticism actual #AI experts have on its value for national security decisionmaking vs. the optimism/hype expressed by pundits, strategists, & politicians who don't understand the technology

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

Great article by @TimFernholz on why the US govt's reliance on SpaceX isn't really due to the federal govt "receding":

🚀 Space Business: Codependent

Why does the US government need Elon Musk and SpaceX so badly?

qz.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

New piece from me on how the US can (and should!) become a leader in cleaning up space by modeling a remediation R&D program after NASA's Commercial Cargo and Crew programs:

Op-ed | How America Can Become a Leader in Cleaning Up Space

spacenews.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

6 months

2\ That would make more sense than a nuclear weapon for attacking satellites, and also has some background as discussed at length in this 2019 article on the Ekipazh program:

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

4/ Cosmos 1408 was a Tselina-D, which doesn't have a known history of spontaneous fragmentation (from fuel or batteries):

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

This is an terrible failure of one of the most important US national security capabilities

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

5 months

1/ So what's the German word for having strong feelings of both sadness of a departure and also excitement about the future? Because whatever that is, it's what I've got right now

Secure World Foundation

@SWFoundation

5 months

Secure World Foundation bids a bittersweet farewell to Dr. @brianweeden as he embarks on a new journey with Aerospace's Center for Space Policy and Strategy. A pivotal figure in space sustainability, his legacy at SWF is unparalleled.

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

A know a lot of space advocates don't like this, but I'll submit if it weren't true there would be a lot less political support for NASA, which may be an even worse outcome

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Fascinating to see this map of both @SpaceXStarlink satellites (white dots) and where they've rolled out ground stations (red dots)

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

This is going to spark a lot of future discussions and debates on the role (and legal implications) of commercial space companies in armed conflicts

Ukraine official confirms urgent request for Western satellite data

"Within one hour, there will be an attack on Kyiv again."

arstechnica.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

8/ Russia has tested the Nudol ten or so times since 2014, although to date not attempted an actual intercept that we know of

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Good piece from @SciGuySpace on the complications of splitting Russia out from the ISS

Legally, Russia can’t just take its Space Station and go home

Ignore Dmitry Rogozin. Putin is the real decision maker.

arstechnica.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

10 months

This is a phenomena we're only just starting to understand and could become a real problem as we rapidly scale up the number of satellites re-entering the atmosphere

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

9 months

A very good discussion of the protection of hospitals under IHL and when those protections may cease

Dave Harden

@Dave_Harden

9 months

🧵 A few observations regarding Israel’s operation at Al Shifa Hospital. When I was in seat, it was broadly suspected/understood as far back as 2014 that Hamas used the Al Shifa Hospital complex as a command center and base for operations.

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

China to conduct asteroid deflection test around 2025

spacenews.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

If only I had a dollar for every pundit and reporter declaring "this is a Sputnik moment!" without actually knowing what happened with Sputnik, I could afford my own hypersonic weapon

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Over/under on how long before American pundits start calling for us to develop our own balloon spy/bomb/dominance super weapons?

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

In case anyone cares, this is breaking the law

Bradley P. Moss

@BradMossEsq

3 years

It wasn’t just Trump ripping up papers left and right. His staff has seemingly no understanding of records management protocols.

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Whoa

Bizjets of War

@bizjetsofwar

2 years

The United States (🇺🇸) will reportedly receive Russia's (🇷🇺) Krasukha-4 mobile electronic warfare system, which was recently captured in #Ukraine (🇺🇦). This is one of Russia's most capable Electronic Warfare Systems and potentially an intelligence goldmine.

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

Who had "so many Americans are hospitalized with COVID that we can't launch as many rockets as we want" on their 2021 bingo card?

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

LOL. My wife makes a lot more than I do and we're both perfectly OK with that.

CNBC

@CNBC

7 years

Millennial women are 'worried,' 'ashamed' of out-earning boyfriends and husbands

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

6 months

So I guess today was the wrong day to close out updates on the Russia chapter of this year's Global Counterspace Capabilities report...

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

5/ Today, we know for a fact that this autonomous system works. Between July-Dec 2021, Starlink satellites did 3,300 maneuvers to reduce the probability of a collision with other space objects

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

1/ Last week I had the honor of testifying before @USCC_GOV on China's approaches to international space law and norms. My written testimony and the recording are available below, but I wanted to draw out some key points

Secure World Foundation

@SWFoundation

1 year

Last week, @brianweeden appeared before the @uscc_gov to testify on China's actions in space regarding international norms/laws. The video recording and full written testimony is now available:

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

You hear stories about how awesome the Shinkansen is, but man it’s even better than advertised for intercity trips within Japan

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

If you're a space policy/natsec wonk who doesnt really understand Earth orbit astrodynamics, I can guarantee you don't grok cislunar astrodynamics

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

1\ So finally had a chance to look over the new @FCC proposed ruling on #spacedebris and wanted to share some thoughts

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

This really is going to turn out poorly for China, isn't it

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

6 months

\4 one more thing - I would not be surprised if this was linked to Cosmos 2575, which is a classified Russian satellite launched on Feb 9, which would be just enough time for the IC to do its thing...

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

So now we know who was behind that 300,000 satellite ITU filing from Rwanda

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

10/ So in general, the collision/debris concerns many envisioned for Starlink have not come true, and that's largely due to SpaceX's diligence

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

My timeline is now a combo of devastating ground war in Europe and North Korean missile/nuclear shenanigans and can we please go back to just having a global pandemic to worry about?

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

First commercial on-orbit refueling contract!

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

15/ So bottom line, the worst fears about #megaconstellations mucking up space have not materialized, but that doesn't mean we can stop worrying all together just yet!

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

8/ Data compiled by @planet4589 shows that while the failure rate of Starlinks is somewhat higher than desired, the decision to launch into a very low orbit & then raise to ops altitude means failed sats decay pretty quickly

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

9 months

Space-based jamming is something we've long suspected was going on but had very little public data on. Let's hope this piece changes that conversation:

Is Military Space-Based Jamming Normal? Some Worry It Is - War on the Rocks

Most open source researchers following the Chinese military space program are well aware of China’s perceptions of the U.S. Space Force and its public

warontherocks.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

@SciGuySpace Two NASA Administrators in a row that were former politicians and have proven their critics wrong

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

6 months

Who had "New Zealand launches Japanese commercial inspection satellite" on their space bingo card 10 years ago?

Electron launches Astroscale inspection satellite

A Rocket Lab Electron launched an Astroscale spacecraft that will rendezvous with and inspect a spent upper stage in low Earth orbit.

spacenews.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

Very interesting analysis of #Cosmos1408 debris suggests that Russia may have tried to minimize the debris created by using a "rear-end" collision but still got it wrong

Part II — New Observations on Cosmos 1408 Breakup

In trying to make sense of the debris counts from Cosmos 1408 over the last few days, a few characteristics have been difficult to…

leolabs-space.medium.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

1/ Satellite close approach mini-thread! This is a pretty fascinating set of data on GSSAP close approaches with Chinese satellites (H/T @shell_jim )

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

This is why diversity and inclusion is so important to have in space

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

10 months

@nktpnd who had “Russia needs to rely on North Korea for ballistic missiles” on their bingo card?

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Want to commend @planet4589 for putting together a comprehensive page on all the planned large satellite constellations - it's my go-to quick reference:

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

Interesting discussion of what appears to be a covert satellite deployment by the US govt on the most recent SpaceX launch:

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

1/ This is a great article by @CaseyDreier explaining why SLS is all about optimizing for political reasons, not technical ones, and why that is important to sustainability

Why we have the SLS

The SLS rests on a secure foundation of political support, a consequence of the U.S. framework of representative democracy and discretionary funding.

www.planetary.org

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

Q for @SciGuySpace @thesheetztweetz @BryceSpaceTech or anyone else who might know - what’s the annual revenue from COMMERCIAL customers (i.e. not from govt sales) SpaceX taken in for launch services over the last 5 years?

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

So does this mean HIMARS is using the civil GPS signals instead of M-Code (which is much harder to jam)? Is that part of the downgrade package or is HIMARS old enough to not use M-Code at all?

Ryan Chan 陳家翹

@ryankakiuchan

1 year

Russia has been thwarting US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System in Ukraine more frequently in recent months, using electronic jammers to throw off its GPS guided targeting system to cause rockets to miss their targets.

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

8 months

Of the 104 successful US space launches last year, 96 were done by SpaceX (92%). But we're not supposed to be concerned about a monopoly...

Jonathan McDowell

@planet4589

8 months

Happy New Year! My 2023 space summary report is at

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

9/ In fact, failed/EOL Starlink satellites have been deorbited much faster than the international standard of 25 years (at least so far), which a fair number of govts don't themselves abide by

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

Excellent round-up of today’s events around the #Cosmos1408 ASAT test from @joroulette , including what the astronauts on the ISS had to do to protect themselves

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

This thread is a depressing look at the "financialization" of local newspapers is destroying a key civic institution

Cory Doctorow NONCONSENSUAL BLUE TICK (AFK)

@doctorow

3 years

Last May, the profitable @chicagotribune was acquired by the notorious vulture firm Alden Global Capital. They suffered waves of downsizing, including a sell-off of the iconic Tribute Building. Today, a skeleton crew puts out the Trib from "a newsroom the size of a Chipotle." 1/

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

1) very few (if any?) of these close approaches would have actually resulted in collisions 2) that Starlink can do this autonomously is an incredible feat of engineering 3) we should still be concerned about risks of deploying massive constellations

SpaceX Starlink satellites had to make 25,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers in just 6 months — and...

Since the launch of the first Starlink spacecraft in 2019, the SpaceX satellites have been forced to move over 50,000 times to prevent collisions.

www.space.com

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

@robschafer @DavidLarter

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

1 year

7/ On another big measure of #spacesustainability , proper disposal at end-of-life, again SpaceX and Starlink have been doing remarkably well compared to some of the prior expectations

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

6 months

3\ Hopefully we find out more details soon!

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

3 years

This description of the SM-3 is...interesting

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

6 months

This was SUPER close to being a very bad day in space for everyone.

LeoLabs

@LeoLabs_Space

6 months

Too close for comfort. 😳 At ~06:30 UTC today we observed a conjunction at 608 km between two non-maneuverable spacecraft: a derelict Russian satellite and an operational NASA satellite. Miss distance = <20 meters Probability of collision = 3 to 8% at TCA

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brianweeden

@brianweeden

2 years

As @Marco_Langbroek points out, it is likely that #Cosmos2558 is an inspector satellite that wants to get a good look at the NRO's new toy

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