Tiberius Posted December 7 Posted December 7 https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/12/07/musk-mars-technology-us-national-security/ By Eva Dou and Aaron Gregg Amused observers have long dismissed Elon Musk’s dream to colonize Mars as unserious science fiction. But in his pursuit of the Red Planet, Musk has managed to build a deadly serious business with vast military consequences. Security experts say SpaceX has leapfrogged so far ahead in several critical technologies that it could deter major rivals like China from engaging in a war with the United States — or tip the balance if one breaks out. Others worry that it could provoke an untimely response. Musk is in the first camp. In recent days he has remarked on X that his ambition to send crews to Mars as soon as 2028 would result in “alien-level technology that is crushingly better than competitors,” along with making an oblique reference to averting a war against China. That prospect may not be imminent, but it has become the focus of U.S. defense preparations as China rises. Technological prowess is one reason SpaceX’s value has jumped to around $350 billion from $210 billion earlier this year, according to a recent Bloomberg report, pegging it as the world’s most valuable private company and most valuable defense contractor. Another likely reason: investors’ belief that Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, could find it easier to further enrich his business empire after aiding the campaign of President-elect Donald Trump. Musk has said he founded SpaceX to get to Mars. His advanced satellite system Starlink — which he has said he set up partly to fund Mars expeditions — has proved to be a killer app on battlefields for steering next-generation drone swarms and coordinating troops. No other nation is anywhere close to matching the capability. The company’s massive Starship, the most powerful rocket in history and the first reusable heavy-duty one, is likewise in a class of its own. Even as Musk has touted its potential to help humanity explore the cosmos, the Pentagon is eyeing its 165-ton carrying capacity for rapid transport of troops and gear to Asia in case of war. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Space Force chief of space operations, traveled to Texas last month to watch the latest Starship launch and review the company’s operations. “The Department of the Air Force and the U.S. Space Force are monitoring Starship’s progress and look forward to potentially leveraging its capabilities in the future,” the Space Force said in a statement. At an investor gathering last month, one of SpaceX’s early investors, Ron Baron, recalled SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell once telling him that “one of the only things that’s preventing my grandchildren from speaking Mandarin is SpaceX.” Shotwell backpedaled the remark on camera — “No, that was very bold of me” — but confirmed she believed SpaceX is “very important” for U.S. national security. SpaceX, Shotwell and Musk did not respond to requests for comment for this article. Todd Harrison, a space policy analyst with the American Enterprise Institute, said it would probably take China 10 years to develop a rocket with carrying capacity like Starship’s, giving the U.S. military a window of exclusivity. Gary Henry, former SpaceX senior director of national security space solutions, said he believed the next-generation military applications that can be built from Starlink and Starship will serve as deterrents that may prevent China from risking a war against the United States. SpaceX has constructed Starlink, the world’s largest satellite network with about 6,400 satellites, in just five years, unlocking new capabilities for the U.S. government in encrypted communications, surveillance and next-generation drone warfare. The recent revelations of the “Salt Typhoon” hacks, in which Chinese government hackers deeply compromised major U.S. phone and internet networks, has underscored Starlink’s value as a new airborne network circumventing traditional data “pipes.” The U.S. government has already shifted some communications to Starlink’s encrypted government service, Starshield. Although satellites are not immune to hacking either, Starlink’s equipment is manufactured in the United States, a rarity in the globalized telecommunications industry, providing less opportunity for a foreign hacker to intercept and tamper with gear. Aside from its consumer internet service, Starlink is building out a next-generation network of surveillance satellites for government use, jostling with more established players like Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs. Industry experts say the company is on track to build the world’s first system able to monitor all spots on Earth continuously in near real-time, revolutionizing reconnaissance. This is so true: “Future wars are all about drones & hypersonic missiles,” Musk posted last week on X. “Fighter jets piloted by humans will be destroyed very quickly.” ---- Some ideas about these capabilities run counter to hard-won historical insights into the logistics of land-based warfare. Earlier this year, Maj. Brian E. Hamel wrote in Army Sustainment, a U.S. Army periodical, that satellites could even be potentially loaded with cargo needed by soldiers in a war against China, ranging from weapons to food to blood transfusions. The supplies could be released at the right point in orbit, he wrote, surmounting the “tyranny of distance” and challenging the conventional wisdom that the United States could never sustain an occupation of the Chinese mainland. “The entire satellite could fall back to Earth or just eject the desired payload,” Hamel wrote. Beijing has expressed displeasure at the U.S. satellite advances as it races to build a similar system. China Military Online, a media outlet run by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, has fretted that Starshield may be able to conduct detailed reconnaissance of other nations and intercept foreign communications: “The entire Earth will be wrapped in a large web.” 1
Tiberius Posted December 7 Author Posted December 7 ---- In October, SpaceX successfully “caught” Starship’s first stage, Super Heavy, proving the massive system can be reusable. That suggests a dramatic drop in launch costs and could make Musk’s dream of a Mars colony a reality. “Big step towards making life multiplanetary was made today,” Musk celebrated on X. It was a big step as well toward the Pentagon realizing its plan to build a rocket transport system that can shuttle troops and weapons to Asia within 90 minutes if a war breaks out with China. The Air Force awarded SpaceX a $102 million five-year contract in 2022 to develop such a system. Bingen, the former Pentagon undersecretary, said it can take two to three weeks to resupply forces in the Western Pacific through traditional methods. This delay has figured into Washington’s concerns that Beijing could invade Taiwan, a geopolitical flash point, so quickly that the United States would not have time to come to its defense. “How do you deliver supplies to a heavily denied environment? One way to do that is launch a rocket with the equipment and munitions you need, and have it land in a contested operating environment,” she said. One dilemma there, however, is how to ensure a rocket cargo shipment flying downward is not mistaken for something else — say, a nuclear ballistic missile. “We would not want to create confusion,” Bingen said. “These would be space launch vehicles, launched from very different locations from where we launch our nuclear missiles.” Starship rockets could also potentially enable the U.S. military to head off a brewing war by rapidly assembling a show of force overhead, Henry said: “I can show a potential adversary … do you really want to go to the next level? Hopefully, they take their toys home, and we bring ours home.” Peter Klupar, former director of engineering of the NASA Ames Research Center, said executives and officials are still getting their heads around how the Starship breakthrough will change technologies as we know them. “People are behaving like it’s 1999, and the cost of lift is $100,000 a kilo,” he said. “We’re headed to a place where the cost of lift is going to be $100 a kilo.” 1
Tommy Callahan Posted December 7 Posted December 7 One would have to choose to be ignorant to accept any wa-po article as actual journalism. This election killed any integrity they claimed to have. Like the ones that parrot it. It's just partisan fear mongering. 3
Tiberius Posted December 8 Author Posted December 8 On 12/7/2024 at 10:10 AM, Tommy Callahan said: One would have to choose to be ignorant to accept any wa-po article as actual journalism. This election killed any integrity they claimed to have. Like the ones that parrot it. It's just partisan fear mongering. This was made for a clown like you: 1
Buffarukus Posted December 8 Posted December 8 15 minutes ago, Tiberius said: This was made for a clown like you: Your confusing starting a company, employing 1000's of people, and paying taxes with being a career politician that magically became wealthy as the "system". 2
sherpa Posted December 8 Posted December 8 There is nothing inherently evil about billionaires. They got there becasue they were game changers and infinitely more effective than our current Congress. There are some issues I would take with Musk's view as quoted, but he gets a bit out of his lane. Administrative note: It would be nice if when someone quotes something, they put quote marks around it and acknowledge the source. If not, it's simple plagiarism. 1
Tiberius Posted December 8 Author Posted December 8 39 minutes ago, Buffarukus said: Your confusing starting a company, employing 1000's of people, and paying taxes with being a career politician that magically became wealthy as the "system". Who? Trump or Musk? I give Musk a lot of credit for what he has accomplished. Truly a person of importance in our time. That article I posted was not negative about him, it was more descriptive of his companies incredibly game changing technology. Trump just inherited wealth and lost it, several times. 37 minutes ago, sherpa said: There is nothing inherently evil about billionaires. They got there becasue they were game changers and infinitely more effective than our current Congress. There are some issues I would take with Musk's view as quoted, but he gets a bit out of his lane. Administrative note: It would be nice if when someone quotes something, they put quote marks around it and acknowledge the source. If not, it's simple plagiarism. I don't disagree. This was aimed at Tommy who acts like Trump is a true populist and is in there for the regular guy. 2
sherpa Posted December 8 Posted December 8 1 hour ago, Tiberius said: This was aimed at Tommy who acts like Trump is a true populist and is in there for the regular guy. I think Trump and the group are much better prepared this go around. The fact is that there are people who really care about this country and unlike some others, you can really influence things. Money means nothing to them, as they have that box checked. We are lucky to be in this position. We are not lucky to have the Congress we have had over the past decade. We shall see how this plays out.
Buffarukus Posted December 8 Posted December 8 3 hours ago, Tiberius said: Who? Trump or Musk? I give Musk a lot of credit for what he has accomplished. Truly a person of importance in our time. That article I posted was not negative about him, it was more descriptive of his companies incredibly game changing technology. Trump just inherited wealth and lost it, several times. You tell me. Either one acomplished a successful buisness and did not need politics to become wealthy, regardless of how many times they lost and earned it back. In the meantime your career politicians accomplish nothing but garnering votes and rely on the power of their elected position to create the wealth they get. 2
Tiberius Posted December 12 Author Posted December 12 New York CNN — The richest person in the world just hit an even higher milestone. Elon Musk’s net worth has reached $400 billion, according to Bloomberg, making him the first person ever to cross that mark. Behind his nearly $20 billion jump in wealth was a deal that shot up Musk’s rocket company SpaceX’s valuation to roughly $350 billion, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. SpaceX and its investors agreed to purchase as much as $1.25 billion of insider shares. Since the aftermath of the 2024 US presidential election, Musk has enjoyed a huge surge in his personal wealth. An alliance with President-elect Donald Trump has pushed his ventures to the forefront. Musk is the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as the owner of X and CEO of other ventures, including Neuralink, xAI and the Boring Company. Now, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, he will oversee a new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), named after a memecoin. Tesla shares closed at a record high on Wednesday, hitting $424.77 at market close. Musk, who is Tesla’s largest individual shareholder, has also enjoyed the stock propelling higher in part due to the broader market — NASDAQ topped 20,000 for the first time ever Wednesday. Since Election Day, the EV maker’s stock has rallied roughly 65% on investors’ belief that Musk’s influence in the Trump administration will usher in an era of deregulation that will benefit the company. The world’s wealthiest man is now roughly $136 billion richer since November 5, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. While the top spots on the billionaires index typically switch around, Musk is racing past his wealthy peers. As of December 10, before his wealth skyrocketed to $400 billion, he was already $140 billion richer than the second-richest man on Earth, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Musk’s record-breaking Tesla-shareholder-approved pay package, which was worth $101 billion, was rejected by a Delaware court last week. Bloomberg’s calculation still seems to include the pay package, which is now worth as much as $120 billion based on the current value of Tesla shares. But Musk will still enjoy his riches, with numerous ways to gain significantly more wealth in the coming years.
Doc Posted December 14 Posted December 14 I've been saying to myself that Musk is quite possibly the most powerful man in the World given the technology to which he has access. Glad he's on our side.
Tiberius Posted December 14 Author Posted December 14 9 minutes ago, Doc said: I've been saying to myself that Musk is quite possibly the most powerful man in the World given the technology to which he has access. Glad he's on our side. All this talk about his government spending cut stuff if kind of a distraction. I'm reading a book about the creation of SpaceX now and its really interesting. NASA is great and all, but it is a dinosaur. His approach in building new, more powerful rockets is inspiring I have to admit and he is not just a powerful person now but a real historical figure in space flight. He wants to go to Mars and I'm sure that is a big reason he jumped on MAGA bandwagon to try and get ahold of NASA and shake it up, but we will see 1
Doc Posted December 14 Posted December 14 22 minutes ago, Tiberius said: All this talk about his government spending cut stuff if kind of a distraction. I'm reading a book about the creation of SpaceX now and its really interesting. NASA is great and all, but it is a dinosaur. His approach in building new, more powerful rockets is inspiring I have to admit and he is not just a powerful person now but a real historical figure in space flight. He wants to go to Mars and I'm sure that is a big reason he jumped on MAGA bandwagon to try and get ahold of NASA and shake it up, but we will see I was a huge Musk skeptic...until they landed that rocket back on the platform in the middle of the ocean. I decided to get a Tesla and best of all, buy the stock. As for the Mars stuff, I don't agree with it. He's said that the only way for humans to survive is off-world, but we're not even close to being able to travel to distant planets, much less ones that can sustain human life. The money would be better spent improving conditions here. But hey, he's the genius. 1
Tiberius Posted December 14 Author Posted December 14 18 minutes ago, Doc said: I was a huge Musk skeptic...until they landed that rocket back on the platform in the middle of the ocean. I decided to get a Tesla and best of all, buy the stock. As for the Mars stuff, I don't agree with it. He's said that the only way for humans to survive is off-world, but we're not even close to being able to travel to distant planets, much less ones that can sustain human life. The money would be better spent improving conditions here. But hey, he's the genius. Good call on the stock. I'm not buying it, just don't know enough about the company and right now there are so many things to invest in with the AI revolution unfolding
Doc Posted December 14 Posted December 14 Just now, Tiberius said: Good call on the stock. I'm not buying it, just don't know enough about the company and right now there are so many things to invest in with the AI revolution unfolding The time to buy it has passed.
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