Why Is America Getting a New $100 Billion Nuclear Weapon?

“America is building a new weapon of mass destruction, a nuclear missile the length of a bowling lane,” writes the contributing editor for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (in an article shared by Slashdot reader DanDrollette): It will be able to travel some 6,000 miles, carrying a warhead more than 20 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on…

In Historic Test, US Navy Shoots Down an Intercontinental Ballastic Missile

“In a historic test, a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer shot down an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) warhead aimed at a patch of ocean off the Hawaiian Islands,” reports Popular Mechanics: Once the missile launched, a network of sensors picked it up. The data was then handed off to the guided missile destroyer USS John Finn, which launched a SM-3 Block…

SpaceX’s First Military Contracts: One-Hour Cargo Deliveries By Rocket and Missile-Tracking Satellites

“The Pentagon is contracting Elon Musk’s SpaceX to develop rockets that can deliver packages anywhere on the planet in under an hour,” reports Vice: One of the things that makes the U.S. military a dominant global fighting force is its ability to move troops, weapons, and supplies quickly to where they’re needed. C-17 transport planes soar across the globe delivering troops…

Today in science: Launch of Sputnik

Sputnik’s unassuming beep ushered in the Space Age. Hear it here. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/this-date-in-science-launch-of-sputnik-october-4-1957…