The Air Force has opened a new dormitory for entry-level enlisted airmen at Shaw AFB, S.C., that features an innovative, energy-saving geothermal climate-control system. The Associated Press reported March 9 (via Columbia’s WIS TV 10 news station) that the $17 million three-story dorm uses a system of 174 wells to circulate water underground to heat and cool the building, which will house 144 airmen in private rooms that share kitchenettes. A second such dorm is planned for Shaw.
China is expanding the arsenal of counter-space weapons it could use in a potential conflict with the U.S., to include on-orbit systems, according to a new report from the Defense Intelligence Agency.