Short Takes – 5-15-24

How fast is bird flu spreading in US cows? ‘We have no idea’. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““This is new for them [dairy industry]; they’re more edgy and concerned,” Schaffner said. “All these diplomatic overtures and discussions are going on and are being led at the local level, because that’s where personnel are more comfortable. COVID developed a political veneer, and that impeded public health. That legacy still exists, and that may influence some of the caution in the dairy industry.””

Spaceplanes: why we need them, why they have failed, and how they can succeed. TheSpaceReview.com article. Pull quote: “In practical terms the ultimate problem is that, because space has no oxygen, rockets have to carry up about 2.4 tons of it for every ton of fuel they carry. Not surprisingly, given this constraint, rockets which reduce their mass to orbit by dropping off empty sections on the way up—staging—is the system that has been universally adopted to maximise the non-propellant mass (another Tsiolokovsky insight). A further drawback of SSTO’s [Single State to Orbit] is that they must haul along a pair of wings that are useful only for a very small part of the flight path, which further limits the thin weight margin available for the payload.”

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)-“Shoreside and Shipboard Open-Source Software Defined Radio (SDR) Technology”. Federal Register CG notice. Summary: “The Coast Guard is announcing its intent to enter into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) to evaluate the suitability of implementing open-source-based SDR technologies on shore-side and shipboard environments. The effort would include evaluating the utility of a P25 Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)-compliant interface for software defined radios (SDRs). This CRADA would leverage Coast Guard network infrastructure and shipboard IT communications systems to evaluate open-source SDR technologies and determine how they can be implemented to support multiple Coast Guard core mission areas for shore-side and shipboard use under a variety of scenarios. Technology researched, tested, and prototyped will adhere to all active Coast Guard, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) standards and regulations. While the Coast Guard is currently considering partnering with GDMS, we are soliciting public comment on the possible nature of and participation of other parties in the proposed CRADA.” Comments due June 14^th, 2024. No mention of SDR cybersecurity concerns.