Locator: 44839SPACE.
Wow, I'm in a great mood.
Briefly.
Soccer game this morning. Sophia played an outstanding game. We won, 2 - 0.
Black Sheep: new coffee shop six minutes by bike from our humble abode.
Standing room only. As I noted yesterday, much, much better than Starbucks. In fact, it's the "old Starbucks" business model but much, much better. We'll see how it looks in a year, but I'm ready to start blogging on a regular basis at this coffee shop. Really, really well-designed. Great atmosphere.
American economy: the worst thing I can do is get distracted by headlines over at Fox News and The New York Times.
The American economy is most fascinating to watch. Had Trump started his plan to bring back manufacturing to the US in his fourth year, "everyone" would have simply waited him out. Had he started in his penultimate year (the third of his four years), most companies would have struggled whether to choose to wait him out -- it would have been a risky gamble. If he had started in his second year, next year, most companies would not have been able to wait him out.
But in his first hundred days, with almost the full first year yet to go, companies can't afford to try to wait him out.
Deep pockets: I can't get my head around trillion-dollar companies expanding in the US. Nvidia's supercomputer projects in Houston and Dallas alone are game changers. And that's just a start.
US military: I don't think folks realize how wide the gap is between:
- the US military and the Chinese military
- the US military of 2005 and the US military of 2025
AI: is an energy story.
But it's also an American "blade" story. Quick! Name a "chip" company in Europe. Yes, there is one, and it's huge.
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US Space Program
Hard To Keep Up
But, Being The Best Bakken Blog On The Net, We'll Try
Never more robust:
- NASA: Florida, Texas (Houston).
- NASA Ames: Moffett Federal Airfield; northern California.
- Planetary Ventures: Moffett Federal Airfield; subsidiary of Google, Inc. Link here.
- Space Command (DOD): Alabama (coming); Vandenberg (California). [As of April 16, 2025, still no decision. Decision will likely be determined by last individual to visit Trump on this issue. So far, not scheduled. Unbiased view suggests Space Command will stay in Colorado but animosity between Biden / Trump so great that it's very possibly Trump will reverse Biden's decision to keep Space Command HQ in Denver. It's all political no matter what anyone says.]
- Space X (Musk): Texas
- Blue Origin (Bezos/Amazon): Texas
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Which Leads Us To This
ICBMs:
- initially part of the Air Force Space Command, but ...
- in 2010, the ICBM mission and the 20th Air Force (which operates ICBMs) were transferred to the new Air Force Global Strike Command
- AFGSC: solely dedicated to the nuclear deterrence mission
- US Space Force: provides the capabilities for US Space Command
- twenty years from now, Elon Musk's fourteen children will run US Space Command
20th Air Force:
Twentieth Air Force headquarters is unique in that it has dual responsibilities to Air Force Global Strike Command and United States Strategic Command.
As the missile Numbered Air Force for AFGSC, 20th Air Force is responsible for maintaining and operating the Air Force's ICBM force. Designated as STRATCOM's Task Force 214, 20th Air Force provides on-alert, combat ready ICBMs to the president. Combined with the other two legs of the Triad, bombers and submarines, STRATCOM forces protect the United States with an umbrella of deterrence.
Chain of command:
- AFGSC (was SAC; Barksdale AFB, LA)
- 20th Air Force: F.E. Warren AFB, MT -- ICBMs
- 91st Missile Wing (Minot AFB, ND)
- 90th Missile Wing (F. E. Warren AFB, WY)
- 341st Missile Wing (Malmstrom AFB, MT)
- 8th Air Force: Barksdale AFB, LA -- heavy bomber force
- B-52
- B-1 Lancer
- B-2 Spirit
- USSTRATCOM (Offutt AFB, NE): two components
- Joint Force Air Component Command (Barksdale AFB, LA)
- 20th Air Force: Task Force 214
- ICBMs (Wyoming, Montana, ND)
- UH-1N Huey helicopters --> Boeing MH-139 Grey Wolf
- Grey Wolf: at $2.4 billion, 2018, this was the largest acquisition for 20 AFGSC in its ten-year history;
- numerous setbacks and delays (Boeing again); unknown exactly how many of these helicopters have been delivered (Malmstrom AFB and Maxwell AFB)
- Joint Force Naval Component Command (Naval Station Norfolk, VA)
- 2nd Fleet --> Expeditionary Strike Group 2 --> Carrier Strike Group 4
The nuclear triad:
- land-based ICBMs; LGM-30 Minuteman --> LGM-35 Sentinel (2030)
- submarine SLBMs: UGM-27 Polaris --> evolving
- air-launched cruise missiles: ALCMs
On the drawing board:
- US Solar System Command (USSSC)
- xLunarAF: Musk 1
- xMarsAF: Musk II
- xSpace Recruiting Command: Bezos 1
The tech dynasties are starting to look like the Egyptian Pharaoh dynasties.
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The Sports Page
Has Scottie Scheffler peaked?
