Short Takes – 3-11-24

Learn to Say No. SCADAMag.Infracritical.com article. Another practical security type from Jake Brodsky. Pull quote: “Tell them to pound sand and do it in such a way that they won’t come back until they’re willing to understand your concerns as well. And by the way, this especially goes for people who are pushing technological solutions to problems you don’t have. Start with No, and see if they have any answers. If they don’t, you have just saved your company more risks and wasted time.”

America’s Defense spending dragged into budget chaos. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““Not only are budgets dropping Monday without FY-24 closed, it’s that the House Armed Services Committee amendments to the [National Defense Authorization Act] were due last week,” Eaglen said. “I hear from staffers that the portal will reopen when they have the budget documents in case people want to amend their ideas with actual detail, but that just shows you the state of affairs.””

Russia and China announce plan to build shared nuclear reactor on the moon by 2035, 'without humans'. LiveScience.com article. Pull quote: “Roscosmos is also looking to use massive nuclear-powered rockets to transfer cargo to the moon to build this base, but the agency has not yet figured out how to build these spacecraft safely, Reuters reported.”

ISS schedule conflicts delay Starliner crewed test flight to May. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “SpaceX’s CRS-30 cargo mission is scheduled for launch in mid-March and will stay at the station for about a month. After it departs, the Crew-8 spacecraft will move from its current forward docking port on the Harmony module to the zenith port to allow Starliner to use the forward port. Those ports are the only two available on the station for both Starliner and Dragon spacecraft.”

Russia producing three times more artillery shells than US and Europe for Ukraine. CNN.com article. Pull quote: “Russia is producing about 250,000 artillery munitions per month, or about 3 million a year, according to NATO intelligence estimates of Russian defense production shared with CNN, as well as sources familiar with Western efforts to arm Ukraine. Collectively, the US and Europe have the capacity to generate only about 1.2 million munitions annually to send to Kyiv, a senior European intelligence official told CNN.”