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Tim Cash
Thank you, Tim. And Mark. A veritable response to the possibilities.
Rather than just a doom and gloom pronouncements from some! That the world is ending, the humanity is going to be extinct etc etc. It is not.
Yes, a planet killing asteroid could do that and your suggestions are curiously interesting and closer to being possible (notwithstanding the movie “Armageddon”! (J)) . Of course Starship 10 was highly successful and V3 (at 308 ft) and V4 (at 366 ft) would offer more capacities if successful.
I think refueling is still a large issue for that many refuelings. IN SITU production of LH, CH4 and LOX is still far enough away.
Just finished listening to a webinar by SpaceNews with Bhavya and two other people on nuclear propulsion. It would cut down the time of travel by about 50% (but would still be more problematic for refueling now with LH2)(and boiloff which has been apparently solved by BO though for shorter time like 30 days).
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Dr. Ajay P. Kothari
President
Astrox Corporation
AIAA Associate Fellow
Ph: 301-935-5868
Web: www.astrox.com
Email: a.p.k...@astrox.com
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Response to Paul Werbos on X-37B, quantum sensing, and “seeing the sky”
Paul, thank you for sharing this. Your reminder about the “small nails” that shape big outcomes is very apt. The X-37B demo of laser communications and quantum navigation may look like just another SpaceX story, but as you point out, it could mark a turning point.
You’ve been consistent in stressing two things: first, that quantum sensing and advanced GNC are not optional luxuries but essential to survival in an age of drones and strategic instability. And second, that we have technical pathways—your work with David Hyland on NRPR + ICI, and the potential of tQuA quantum technology—that could make global “see the sky” capabilities real rather than rhetorical.
The challenge now is follow-up. A few steps seem urgent:
Your note is a timely reminder that hope comes not from policy statements alone but from sustained attention to enabling “nails.” I agree that this is one of them, and I hope we can help drive the follow-up it deserves.
Vid Beldavs
No: power-satell...@googlegroups.com <power-satell...@googlegroups.com> Kā vārdā Paul Werbos
Nosūtīts: ceturtdiena, 2025. gada 28. augusts 16:33
Kam: Millennium Project Discussion List <MILL...@hermes.gwu.edu>; Biological Physics and Meaning <Biological-Phys...@googlegroups.com>; Scientific Council of the Alt Planetary Futures Institute (Ap-Fi) <scientific-council-of-the-alt-p...@googlegroups.com>; 'Keith Horne' via Models of particles <models-of...@googlegroups.com>; Power Satellite Economics <power-satell...@googlegroups.com>
Tēma: Major event offering hope but demanding more attention
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Response to Paul Werbos and Amalie Sinclair
Paul, thank you for raising again the importance of “small nails” that shape the arc of world history. The X-37B tests may seem like just another step in the long chain of space technology demonstrations, but—as you stress—they could be decisive in enabling truly global “see the sky” capabilities.
Amalie, your reminder of the geopolitical context is equally urgent. Trump’s call to rename the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” together with Putin’s war on Ukraine, both strike at the fragile rules-based world order that has underpinned stability since 1945. The Global South above all depends on that order for security, trade, and development, yet it is the first to suffer when the major powers revert to zero-sum competition.
A credible response must have two layers:
In this way, “small nails” like X-37B technology demonstrations can be joined with the larger nails of institutional reform and renewed global partnerships. Only then can we hope to avoid the collapse into nationalistic confrontation that both Trump and Putin seem to welcome.
—Vid Beldavs
No: Amalie Sinclair <ana...@yahoo.com>
Nosūtīts: sestdiena, 2025. gada 30. augusts 23:50
Kam: 'Paul Werbos' <paul....@gmail.com>; 'Power Satellite Economics' <power-satell...@googlegroups.com>; vid.b...@fotonika-lv.eu
Tēma: Re: Atb.: Major event offering hope but demanding more attention
Some other " small nail" ..
Trump says he wants a 'Department of War' not a 'Department of Defense' – video
In this way, “small nails” like X-37B technology demonstrations can be joined with the larger nails of institutional reform and renewed global partnerships. Only then can we hope to avoid the collapse into nationalistic confrontation that both Trump and Putin seem to welcome.
On Aug 31, 2025, at 5:09 AM, vid.b...@fotonika-lv.eu wrote:
External Message: Use Caution
Response to Paul Werbos and Amalie SinclairPaul, thank you for raising again the importance of “small nails” that shape the arc of world history. The X-37B tests may seem like just another step in the long chain of space technology demonstrations, but—as you stress—they could be decisive in enabling truly global “see the sky” capabilities.Amalie, your reminder of the geopolitical context is equally urgent. Trump’s call to rename the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” together with Putin’s war on Ukraine, both strike at the fragile rules-based world order that has underpinned stability since 1945. The Global South above all depends on that order for security, trade, and development, yet it is the first to suffer when the major powers revert to zero-sum competition.A credible response must have two layers:
- Technological follow-up: moving quickly to show that quantum sensing, QuATh + ICI, and related “see the sky” platforms are feasible, open, and collaborative—not just speculative. This could anchor the UN Security Council’s 2023 call for a global warning platform in demonstrable hardware and data sharing.
- Political renewal of multilateralism: Europe, working in partnership with the Global South, can help stabilize the rules-based order. One necessary step is to revisit Russia’s privileged Security Council status, granted in the Alma Ata Declaration of 1991 on the condition that it would respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors—a commitment Russia has since violated. Another is to counter the transactional, dominance-driven vision of U.S. policy now being voiced, by re-committing to institutions and coalitions that prioritize the common good.
In this way, “small nails” like X-37B technology demonstrations can be joined with the larger nails of institutional reform and renewed global partnerships. Only then can we hope to avoid the collapse into nationalistic confrontation that both Trump and Putin seem to welcome.—Vid BeldavsNo: Amalie Sinclair <ana...@yahoo.com>
Nosūtīts: sestdiena, 2025. gada 30. augusts 23:50
Kam: 'Paul Werbos' <paul....@gmail.com>; 'Power Satellite Economics' <power-satell...@googlegroups.com>; vid.b...@fotonika-lv.eu
Tēma: Re: Atb.: Major event offering hope but demanding more attention
Some other " small nail" ..
Trump says he wants a 'Department of War' not a 'Department of Defense' – video
<image002.png>
<image004.png>
This above all is why I urge an open international effort for all of these aspects.Since these require new experiments modeling and sensing nuclear forces, beyond the limits of the old EWT+QCD model, as summarized in the links I have cited here, they tell me not to continue the level of comfidentiality which Teller and Schwinger urged me to maintain in the past when circumstances were different. (Again, see the links.)
Best of luck to us all. We all need it, as we all face a
"minefield" kind of strategic decision and game challenge.
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Dear Claudio,
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I greatly value your long experience in quantitative and institutional approaches to international relations. You are right that analyses of deterrence, compellence, and alliance dynamics have deep historical and theoretical roots, and these remain vital to understanding our present multipolar nuclear environment.
At the same time, I believe the specific case of Russia’s position in the UN Security Council is not simply a matter of “raw politics” but of institutional design and legal commitments. When Russia was granted the USSR’s permanent seat in December 1991, this was done under the Alma Ata Declaration and related CIS agreements. Those documents contained explicit assurances that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the newly independent states would be respected, and that force would not be used against them. In other words, Russia’s privileged status at the UN was not unconditional—it was contingent on behavior.
Given Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, those conditions have clearly been violated. The General Assembly therefore has the authority, under precedent and the UN Charter framework, to suspend Russia’s exercise of privileges until the original conditions are restored. This is not about idealism versus realism; it is about ensuring that institutional commitments carry weight in practice. The General Assembly in fact has the duty not just the authority to suspend Russia’s privileged status to protect the UN as an institution.
As you point out, multipolar nuclear dynamics are extremely complex and fragile. Precisely for that reason, even small institutional guardrails that reinforce norms of sovereignty and non-aggression are worth preserving. If those are eroded, deterrence itself becomes less predictable and more dangerous.
I would also argue that this is not just a “Western” concern. Putin has attempted to cloak Russia’s war in anti-colonial language aimed at the Global South, but the reality is that a rules-based international system, grounded in sovereignty and sustainable development, is equally in the interest of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The UN SDGs and the Paris climate process are examples of the kind of cooperative frameworks that can provide common ground across blocs.
You are absolutely right that humanity has survived perilous systemic moments before, but the current one feels particularly dangerous because mechanisms to dampen escalation appear weaker than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis. A suspension of Russia’s Security Council privileges, grounded in the Alma Ata commitments, could serve as one concrete step to reinforce institutional credibility at a time when it is badly needed.
In the longer term, I agree completely with you and Paul that space science and technology can help us think beyond immediate rivalries—toward building the kind of sustainable, even multi-planetary, civilization that might finally stabilize these cycles. But to get there, we must first prevent the collapse of the rules-based framework here on Earth.
With respect and appreciation,
Vidvuds Beldavs
No: Claudio Cioffi <cci...@gmu.edu>
Nosūtīts: svētdiena, 2025. gada 31. augusts 14:33
Kam: vid.b...@fotonika-lv.eu; Paul J. Werbos <paul....@gmail.com>
Kopija: Amalie Sinclair <ana...@yahoo.com>; Power Satellite Economics <power-satell...@googlegroups.com>
Tēma: Re: Major event offering hope but demanding more attention
Greetings Paul, et al.
I rarely chie in, since I am interested in but not an expert in space S&T.
However, as I have seen sometimes in the past, these claims are not well informed by contemporary political science and scientific IR (international relations theory):
In this way, “small nails” like X-37B technology demonstrations can be joined with the larger nails of institutional reform and renewed global partnerships. Only then can we hope to avoid the collapse into nationalistic confrontation that both Trump and Putin seem to welcome.
This is just raw partisan, opinionated politics, in my view unhelpful for space S&T policy because it is actually part of the problem. Global powers do what they do. It’s the natural law of great power dynamics, governed by principles of deterrence, compellence, other forms of power, as well institutional evolutionary dynamics; going back thousands of years. Today these analyses are formalized by quantitative, mathematical, and computational theories that operate at a much more scientific, sophisticated level than these raw political discussions.
The truly scientific problems in these areas today have to do with missing complex institutional (mis)developments, and very challenging combinatorics, caused by a 9-nuclear horizontal prioliferated system where alliances (the stabilizing mechanism of multipolar systems) have become very challenging to calculate. But these difficulties have arisen before and somehow we are still around to write the history.
USSTRATCOM and DOD/OSD/SMA know all about this. But they are digesting this problem and its solutions while Iran has been harnessed, for now at least, the Russo-Ukrainian war continues, and China persists with its own policies (and domestic dynamics).
Paul: I miss our lunches at the Cosmos Club, but still remember them. Too few of them. I also miss chatting with Howard at the Krasnow Institute and discussions with Harold Morowitz.
All best wishes,
Claudio
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Claudio Cioffi-Revilla, Ph.D., D.Sc.Pol.
University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, George Mason University
Jefferson Science Fellow of the U.S.A. National Academy of Sciences
Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science AAAS