Remember the news about the satellite that the US lost contact with back in late January? Well, someone believes that it might be harmful to denizens of planet Earth once it re-enters after all. The Pentagon's top brass that think shooting it down is the best way to stop NROL-21, the recon satellite, from burning up in the atmosphere and releasing its poisonous rocket fuel.

*UPDATE*: They're gonna shoot it. And they've probably launched now!

It has been confirmed that a certain U.S spy satellite will fall back to Earth sometime during late February or early March. It is feared that this could cause some damage due to its hazardous content and unknown expected crash site.

Pentagon, however, and other organizations have assured everyone that this is close to being a routine and that people need not fear anything. The complete details can be found in the "read more" link below.

Tommy Remengesau Jr., President of Palau, showed interest in space power, an alternative source of energy during the recent U.N. climate conference.

This works in such a way that satellites orbiting Earth will be beaming down energy from their solar panels. A demonstration has been proposed to be done in the island nation, specifically on Helen Island in Palau. More information on the space power after the jump!

We've seen global warming rear its ugly head in ways that run from in the subtle to the stark in recent years. A recent report, however, suggests that the Pentagon's Northern defense strategy may be put into compromise by the planetary crisis. Find out what's happening to NORAD radars up in Alaska and Canada in the detailed version.

Would you feel safer is the Pentagon told you that they plan to send a satellite into orbit which can beam down microwaves and lasers from above? Does the premise bring about of the Death Star or Dr. Evil saying "Fire the laser?"

You don't need to worry about that too much because the plan is not meant for warfare. The Pentagon intends to back the NSSO's plan to send huge satellites into space to harness an almost-unlimited energy source: the sun.

Over the next 10 years, the Pentagon will dole out US$ 10 billion to build a satellite equipped with kilometer-long solar panels which will collect energy from the sun. High-tech photovoltaic cells will ensure that the power is maximized and sent down to antennas on Earth in the form of lasers and microwaves. If all goes well, the NSSO says we could be looking at a means to generate more electricity than fossil fuels, nuclear plants, and windmills combined can provide.

Peter Glaser, an engineer from the Arthur D. Little consulting firm first came up with this idea in 1968. The plan was forwarded to the U.S. government but huge costs and the danger entailed with having astronauts assemble the satellite in orbit stopped the proposal dead in its tracks. Today, however, things have changed.

Breakthroughs in robotics have been made so that astronauts won't have to risk their lives in space construction efforts. Photovoltaic advances will also mean that costs of bringing the plan to life will cost considerably less than it would have during the 70s. This also holds a potential solution for solving the puzzle in the search for an effective alternative to fossil fuels.

Finally, this effort by the Pentagon could mean that electricity can be accessed even in locations where it's hard to get by such as in Iraq where fuels have to pass dangerous routes before it reaches military installations. Remote civilian areas in developing countries will see more hope at powering up in the foreseeable future.

Airplanes recently proved to be useful in seeding silver iodide in clouds so that snow and rain would be forced to fall. Planes have also been used to transport water to thirsty soldiers in Iraq, and now, the US government finds relief from using C-17 cargo planes, as it is now possible to create water out of thin air!

Aqua Sciences, one of several companies commissioned by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, finally found a solution to bringing water to soldiers in Iraq. This technology is believed to reduce the cost of logistical support for supplying water to the troops in Iraq by billions of dollars, since if one is to compute it, the usual $ 30 a gallon was reduced to a mere 30 cents.

How is this possible? There's nothing tricky about it, according to Aqua Sciences. All they did was mimic nature, using natural salt to extract water and act as a natural decontaminant. They were mum on how the machine actually works, but they say that it's like "rice used in saltshakers that acts as a magnet to extract water and keeps salt from clumping". The 20-foot machine can churn out 600 gallons of water a day without using or producing toxic materials and byproducts.

The technology proves to be superior than other systems that are currently on the market. Other systems use condensation and require high levels of humidity, where Aqua Sciences' machines, on the other hand, only require 14 percent of that humidity. Aqua Sciences has also found out that the atmosphere is a river full of water, even in the desert. The water-churning machine, according to them, won't work absolutely anywhere, but it works virtually everywhere.

Well, this proves that there's no such thing as a dry earth if we all have fertile enough minds to find ways to exploit it.

The people of the world may be starving, going without clean water, decent air and proper health care, and the planet's climate may be changing in ways that will make it ultimately uninhabitable - but you can always count on the world's governments and their private corporate masters to use technology in profitable - if destructive - ways.  After all, what's human life compared to a defense contractor's bottom line?

The latest toy (over which U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his British counterpart in the Ministry of Defence, Des Browne are already giddy about) is an "armed remote-controlled robot" manufactured by the Foster-Miller corporation of Waltham, Massachusetts. The machine-gun-equipped robot, called "Sword," was certified safe for use by the US forces last summer.

Robots have previously been used to detonating improvised bombs in the UK, Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan. The latest version has been developed from an earlier machine from the same company, called "Talon."  This one had a manipulator arm which has been replaced by a rotating machine gun carrier. According to Foster-Miller general manager Bob Quinn, "It's for urban combat and perimeter security and it's fully controlled by the soldier." Indeed, none of the robots currently under development will operate autonomously, except for a "return home" function pre-programmed into them.

Since the bellicose Bush is handing out defense contracts like the Easter Bunny throwing candy to eager little children, defense contractors are busily designing the next generation of "battlebots" that they believe will be "smart" enough to tell friend from foe.  There has been some outcry about this from the AI community, fortunately. "It is ethically problematic to use software that may work in lab conditions but not under a whole range of extreme conditions, such as when you suspect someone might be a suicide bomber," says Kirsten Dautenhahn, an AI expert at the University of Hertfordshire.

Lucy Suchman, a researcher at the University of Lancaster whose work involves studying interactions between humans and computers adds, "This plan is just ridiculous. It involves the worst kind of simplistic profiling. It's a fantasy on the part of technology enthusiasts within the Pentagon."

Since there is so much profit at stake, Bob Quinn - predictably - disagrees. "Recognition technology is progressing fast. I think it will separate the wheat from the chaff," he says, pointing out that the Pentagon's Office of Naval Research - through which the funding is being channeled - is "not known for wasting research dollars." By the way, anyone out there wanna buy a bridge in Tacoma...?

China isn't tagged as the Sleeping Giant of Asia for nothing...and this giant has begun waking up and flexing its muscles, which brings a worried atmosphere to the United States. According to a recent report issued by the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense entitled, Military Power of the People's Republic of China: A Report To Congress, the country's escalating expertise in space is also enhancing its competence as a global military force.

Along with the development of future radar, ocean surveillance, and high-resolution photoreconnaissance satellites, China’s rise as a space power also includes pursuit of an offensive anti-satellite system. The U.S. couldn't be more worried-- the country with the largest known army is beginning to be military experts.

The report addresses the current and future military strategy and activities of China. It focuses on China's possible military technological developments and strategies, improvement in organizational matters and operational concepts in the next 20 years. One of China's military modernization efforts is the development of advanced space-based C4ISR (which is short for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance).

The full article awaits after the jump!

Not content with terrestrial bloodshed and violence, mankind presses on boldy to continue its wars where no wars have been fought before.

In yet another multi-million dollar coup for defense contractors, the Pentagon has endorsed plans that may lead to U.S. missile "defense" systems in outer space. It light of recent history, it should come as no surprise that the governments of Russia and China are not pleased at the prospect.

The idea is to create what the Pentagon calls a "test bed." It would start with only one or two missiles designed to intercept ICBMs carrying nukes, or possibly chemical or biological weapons. Kenneth Trieg, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, states "I'm supportive of creating a test bed...then we'll see what we do with it afterwards."

At a time of huge tax breaks for weathy investors that have drained the U.S. public treasury into private corporate accounts, the Missile Defense Agency is seeking $45 million in seed money to begin development starting in October of 2007. Corporations standing to profit from the spread of warfare into outer space include Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.