Short Takes – 8-1-24

Following new authorities, Cybercom says it’s making progress on correcting readiness. DefenseScoop.com article. Pull quote: ““As we look at Cyber Command 2.0, it’s really to take us to the next step. We’ve existed as a combatant command for six years. We really built this force 10 years ago. We’re really built off of the challenges that we faced between 2014 and 2018,” Haugh said. “What does Cyber Command need to look like in 10 years going forward and how to structure that force and how to regenerate that force?””

Glimpses of Hera’s target asteroids inspire new science. ESA.int article. Pull quote: “Patrick Michel comments: “Hera will document fully all required characteristics of the binary system as well as the DART impact outcome. So Hera and DART together will deliver the first fully documented asteroid deflection test. This is fundamental for the validation of numerical impact models at actual asteroid scale and their application to other scenarios as well as for the assessment of the efficiency of the kinetic impactor technique.””

Acting Secret Service head suggests that better tech could have thwarted would-be Trump assassin. GovExec.com article. Pull quote: “Improvements include directing the Secret Service CIO to shore up bandwidth at campaign events with "redundancies as far as cellular on the ground or additional repeaters," Rowe said. He added that counter-drone technology was not deployed and that the Secret Service declined an offer from a state or local agency to operate a surveillance drone at the site. Crooks himself flew a drone on the periphery of the site hours ahead of the shooting, and, had this shown up on a DHS counter-drone system, he would have been singled out for special attention by Secret Service agents.”

Parasocial Relationships Can Tell Us a Lot about the Social Brain. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “It could. Some of our other work with fictional characters has more to do with how attached you are or how close you feel to them. If you feel close to someone, are they more persuasive, for example? Does it make you more susceptible to misinformation? Think about influencers. They are real people, but they’re not really friends or acquaintances. They fall into this category called parasocial relationships.”

Robots Are Coming, and They’re on a Mission: Install Solar Panels. NYTimes.com article (free). Pull quote: “Currently, it takes 12 to 18 months to build a large solar farm. But with the United States experiencing a frenzy of data center construction and many businesses looking to quickly secure energy supplies, AES wants to cut construction times significantly.”

Organic nanozymes have broad applications from food and agriculture to biomedicine. D.NewsWise.com article. Pull quote: “In the paper [link added], the researchers identify four main types of organic nanozymes [engineered enzymes] based on the organic materials that are used in creating them, including polymers, biomacromolecules (primarily cellulose), organic compounds, and biological materials such as DNA and peptides. They outline chemical structure, components, functionality, and catalytic activity for each of these types, providing fundamental information for other scientists. They also illustrate the corresponding applications from agriculture, food, and environment to biomedicine.” I do so love articles about review articles….

Notice of Availability, Notice of Public Comment Period, Notice of Public Meetings, and Request for Comment on the Draft Tiered Environmental Assessment for SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy Vehicle Increased Cadence at the Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas. Federal Register FAA Starship Notices. Summary: “In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), Council on Environmental Quality NEPA-implementing regulations, and FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, the FAA is announcing the availability of and requesting comment on the draft Tiered Environmental Assessment for SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy Vehicle Increased Cadence at the Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas (Draft EA). The Draft EA will analyze SpaceX's proposal to increase the cadence of operations up to 25 annual Starship/Super Heavy orbital launches, up to 25 annual landings of Starship, up to 25 annual landings of Super Heavy, and addresses vehicle upgrades.” Comments due August 29^th, 2024.

SpaceX’s historic Polaris Dawn mission faces delay. DigitalTrends.com article. Pull quote: “The delay to the launch of Polaris Dawn appears to be due to a decision by SpaceX to focus on the Crew-9 launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), a mission that is currently targeting August 18.”