If Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) gets his way the Pentagon will set up a Cold War-style hotline to provide direct communication with its Chinese counterpart agency. Kirk, who recently returned from a China trip, told the Washington Times that the idea was one of several that were discussed with Chinese officials during the visit. Kirk’s delegation also visited the Jiuquan Space Launch Center in Inner Mongolia—becoming the first foreign delegation to visit the Chinese site where the country launched its first two manned spaceflights.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
