Seasons Don't Fear The Reaper; Russian Doesn't Fear A Nuclear Iran

Well after hitting the missile defense reset button, it looks like Russia may be, er, reevaluating their position regarding Iranian sanctions.

Surprised?

Russia will do whatever it thinks it needs to do to improve its position in the region, and if possible, the world.  Glory days, brother, like when the Spetsnaz, was ten feet tall, bulletproof, and invisible. 

Unrest is good for fuel prices, and chaos is great.  And Russia sells fuel.  It seems to be a congenital weakness that Russia is unable to look beyond the present.

Russian Help Is On The Way!

Russia has responded to Iran’s short-range rocket tests by acknowledging that they are “causing concern.”

Likewise, Russia will boldly lead the way on the rogue Iranian nuclear program by encouraging Iran to cooperate with the IAEA.

More beneficial approaches are discussed at Wired here and here.

Also, what are the implications/parallels of the revelation of Iran’s secret nuclear facility with regard to their missile programs? Is it possible we don’t know what we don’t know?

Why Russia Won't Give On Iran

Russia has worked hard to present themselves as America’s indispensible partner in the attempt to reign in the Iranian nuclear program. While it seems Russia can influence Iran, a better question is will they choose to do so?

Russia is clearly nostalgic for a return to the days when everyone recognized their superpower bona fides. While that time has long past, Russia continues to bluster/take actions which are an attempt to hold it in as superior a position as possible.

These actions include Russia posturing itself as the decider regarding meaningful sanctions (and enforcement) against Iran, as well as toying with Israel. That is, if Russian air defenses are sold to Iran, an Israeli air attack against Iran’s nuclear sites might be much more difficult.

Accordingly, expect Russia to string the U.S., Iran, and Israel along as long as they possibly can.  And when Russia can't or won't go any further, expect China to assume the role.

World War II? Nothing to do with Stalin, says Russia's President

Perhaps you thought Ramses was the king of denial?

The sort of Russian "thinking" outlined in this article should be a serious caveat emptor for the administration as they work with the Russians on arms control and missile defense issues. If this is the sort of stuff they're selling, I'm hoping we're not buying.

South Korea Launches Satellite

UPDATE: The first report from the field is always wrong. Spaceflight Now (via the Korea Aerospace Research Institute) reports the orbital parameters were supposed to be perigee at 186 miles and apogee at 932 miles. CNN relayed perigee may have been missed by almost 35 miles. There may be some data mangling regarding miles and kilometers.

ORIGINAL FOLLOWS:

South Korea's Space Launch Vehicle-1, AKA Naro-1 (what, even rockets have street names?) has launched. The two-stage booster was jointly built with the Russians (at a reported cost of $400million) and the satellite was domestically produced in South Korean.

It was announced the launch failed to put its satellite into its desired orbit. The Times report says the satellite was an extra 36 kilometers farther from the earth than it should have been.

Since the announced mission of the satellite was to observe the atmosphere and ocean, and those sorts of missions are often polar orbits, it would seem likely the satellite may not be optimally positioned, but a plus 20-mile miss distance should be able to provide plenty of functionality.

However, if it is supposed to be a low-flier, and maybe even a spy satellite, this sort of miss distance may well prevent mission objectives being fulfilled.

Russia sees U.S. space threat, builds new rocket

Wow. I think the problem of lead-based paint contaminating the food and water supplies (and affecting brain function) in at least some parts of Russia may take years to solve.

Russian news agencies quoted the Commander of the Russian Air Force, General Alexander Zelin, as saying the U.S. will have space-based offensive weapons by 2030 that will be able to hit any target in Russia.

Of course, the Russian Defense Ministry had said in June that President Bush had a plan to deploy weapons in space. However, the Russians ignore one critical fact: because there is no funding for a space-weapons program, there is not a space-weapons program.

Zelin points out that Russia is now developing the S-500, a fifth-generation surface to air missile system. I don't doubt that the Russians desire such a system, but given the non-success of their Bulava SLBM, I'll take a wait and see approach.

Russian subs near US coast pose no threat: Pentagon

Have you ever wondered how we square the presence of Russian subs with the Monroe Doctrine? Nuclear weapons on land in Cuba are not acceptable, but those in the water are waived off.

Just one of those things...