Short Takes – 10-21-23

Owner of California biolab that fueled bio-weapons rumors charged with mislabeling, lacking permits. ABCNews.go.com article. Pull quote: “The criminal case alleges that the two companies involved, Universal Meditech Inc. and Prestige Biotech Inc., did not obtain authorizations to manufacture and distribute the kits and mislabeled some of them. It also alleges that Zhu made false statements to the FDA about his identity, ownership and control of the companies and their activities.”

The TSA is found to have some serious cybersecurity deficiencies. FederalNewsNetwok.com article. Pull quote: “Supply chain risk management, access controls, planning awareness and training, assessment authorization and monitoring, and contingency planning all had deficiencies.”

Gaza Tunnels Give Hamas an Advantage in Fight Against Israel. SSPIStategist.org article. Pull quote: “She [Daphne Richemond-Barak at Reichman University] noted: ‘The tunnels inside Gaza are different because Hamas is using them on a regular basis. They are probably more comfortable to be in for longer periods of time. They are definitely equipped for a longer, sustained presence. The leaders are hiding there, they have command-and-control centres, they use them for transport and lines of communication. They are equipped with electricity, lighting and rail tracks.’”

SpaceX fires up Starship prototype in deorbit burn test (video). Space.com article. Pull quote: “SpaceX is gearing up for the second-ever Starship test flight, which will involve a Super Heavy known as Booster 9 and the Ship 25 upper stage. The company has conducted static fires with both of these vehicles and says the duo are ready to fly from a technical standpoint.”

Could Neptune's largest moon swing a spacecraft into the planet's orbit? Space.com article. Pull quote: “The researchers proposed to aim a future Neptune orbiter at Triton and use a LOFTID-like apparatus, known as an aeroshell, to slow the spacecraft. They found that the atmosphere of Triton, despite having less than 1/70,000 the air pressure of Earth's atmosphere, could sufficiently slow a spacecraft and allow it to enter into a captured orbit around Neptune. Additionally, they could change the angle of the aeroshell to tweak the orbiter's alignment and fine-tune the course to get it into the perfect orbit.”