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Theresa Hitchens

@thitch.bsky.social

Currently Senior Space Reporter at Breaking Defense. Space geek; former peace & security think-tanker; voracious reader of fiction esp. sci-fi/fantasy/alt-history; interested in cooking, archaeology/anthropology, poetry and scientific discovery.

269 Followers  |  109 Following  |  60 Posts  |  Joined: 15.11.2024  |  1.8238

Latest posts by thitch.bsky.social on Bluesky

Wow. That is awful

01.08.2025 17:55 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Corporation for Public Broadcasting to begin shutting down its operations CPB said it would cut a majority of its jobs by the end of September.

Sad Day: abcnews.go.com/Politics/cor...

01.08.2025 17:53 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Pete Buttigieg warns Democrats can't go back to status quo after President Trump Steve Inskeep speaks with former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg about distrust in government and the status of the Democratic Party.

If you haven't heard this NPR interview with Pete Buttigieg, take a listen. He's soooo good in this. www.npr.org/2025/07/28/n...

28.07.2025 23:00 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Chinese sats appear to be attempting first-ever on-orbit refueling, sat tracking firms say - Breaking Defense "While this type of close approach activity does not automatically signify a military mission, it obviously could provide a co-orbital counterspace capability," expert Victoria Samson told Breaking De...

Catching up with Chineses shenanigans on orbit. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/chin...

19.06.2025 16:55 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Space Force is contracting with SpaceX for new, secretive MILNET SATCOM network - Breaking Defense The MILNET contract with SpaceX is being paid for by the Space Force but managed by the National Reconnaissance Office, sources said.

Space Force's MILNET revealed. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/spac...

18.06.2025 21:48 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Senate Republicans 'very close' to deal to protect key DoD spectrum in reconciliation language - Breaking Defense Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, where Boeing is headquartered, continues to raise concerns about potential interference with civil and military aviation.

The latest skirmish in the long-running DoD war with the telecoms industry over spectrum access. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/sena...

13.06.2025 20:12 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon's RDT&E budget revealed - Which next-gen systems get a cash influx in FY26? - Breaking Defense Breaking Defense obtained a copy of the Defense Department's FY26 budget request for RDT&E Programs. Here's what you should know.

Breaking Defense got the scoop on the admin's DoD RTD&E budget, both FY26 base and reconciliation. Surprise (not): Space Force is a big winner in the reconciliation stakes for Golden Dome related programs. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/excl...

10.06.2025 16:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Amid Trump, Musk blowup, canceling SpaceX contracts could cripple DoD launch program - Breaking Defense Elon Musk's SpaceX is already expected to conduct more than two dozen national security-related space launches over the next few years.

While the Trump-Musk social media trashfire may be great theater (🍿) if SpaceX contracts with DoD actually were canceled, it would be super problematic. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/amid...

05.06.2025 22:10 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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DoD S-band needed for Golden Dome, border defense threatened by spectrum auction plans: CSIS - Breaking Defense Selling off the low S-band "is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea," Tom Karako, director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project, told Breaking Defense today.

Long-running DoD 'Spectrum Wars' with telecoms creeps into reconciliation debate, now with Golden Dome concerns added. breakingdefense.com/2025/06/dod-...

05.06.2025 21:22 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Russia's new Cosmos satellite orbiting near US sat; piques ASAT fears - Breaking Defense Based on its orbital pattern, independent astronomer Marco Langbroek said he suspected the new satellite is joining other Russian "sleeping interceptors."

New Russian Cosmos shadowing a US spy sat -- third time is a pattern. breakingdefense.com/2025/05/russ...

30.05.2025 21:36 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Space Force testing space-based sensors to track airborne targets - Breaking Defense Space-based capabilities could put current aerial tracking platforms in question, but top military brass have argued for options "from whatever domain or platform or system that comes [in]."

The Space Force is testing AMTI sats. breakingdefense.com/2025/05/spac...

15.05.2025 21:08 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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EXCLUSIVE: US loosens some rules for offensive counterspace ops, wargaming - Breaking Defense Some decision-making authorities, previously closely held by the president or secretary of defense, have been delegated to US SPACECOM, according to sources, but military space leaders want more freed...

Gradual changes largely made in secret have made it easier for the US military to wage war in space. breakingdefense.com/2025/05/excl...

12.05.2025 15:45 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Space Force eyeing international launch sites to increase 'resilience' - Breaking Defense While not necessarily a near-term possibility, Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen said the Space Force is "looking at increasing the resiliency, increasing the ways that we have to get assured access to s...

Hmm. This could be an interesting challenge given tariffs and all. breakingdefense.com/2025/05/spac...

09.05.2025 23:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Space RCO head sees potential 'product line' for orbital warfare satellites - Breaking Defense Space RCO Director Kelly Hammett envisions that his shop will feed tech into the Space Force's new effort to contract commercial firms to replace the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program...

Another subtle, but clear, indication that the Space Force and Space Command are moving out on satellite attack weapons and plans. breakingdefense.com/2025/05/spac...

09.05.2025 23:03 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Latest DoD IG report clears a hurdle for SPACECOM move to Alabama - Breaking Defense Following the release of the report today, Alabama politicians began touting the new OIG report as justifying a Trump move to reverse Biden's basing decision.

The Never Ending Story of SPACECOM HQ basing. breakingdefense.com/2025/04/late...

16.04.2025 00:42 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The US's 2,000-year-old mystery mounds Constructed by a mysterious civilisation that left no written records, the massive site is now open to the public for the first time in more than a century.

All the Way To Go Ohio. (I'm from close to Newark, pronounced Nerk, Ohio.)
www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

16.04.2025 00:41 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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5 Chinese satellites practiced 'dogfighting' in space, Space Force says - Breaking Defense Space Force leaders are sharpening their rhetorical swords regarding the service's need to build space warfighting chops.

Dogfightin in space? breakingdefense.com/2025/03/5-ch...

18.03.2025 23:39 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump considering major NATO policy shift The president has discussed possibly favoring members of the alliance that spend a set percentage of their GDP on defense, sources told NBC News.

I'm pretty sure the US would have to withdraw from the NATO treaty to do this, but I'm not a lawyer. www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

07.03.2025 23:14 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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β€˜5 bullet points’ email now a weekly task for Pentagon civilians A short explanation of recent achievements is due every Tuesday, SecDef says in additional guidance.

5 Things homework now a weekly task for DoD civvies, Defense One was first to report. www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/...

07.03.2025 21:47 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@chenryspace.bsky.social I sent you an email....

07.03.2025 18:42 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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NGA suspends Ukraine's access to commercial satellite imagery - Breaking Defense However, several industry sources said that their companies have not been blocked by NRO from taking pictures over Ukraine.

Not a surprise: breakingdefense.com/2025/03/nga-...

07.03.2025 18:18 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Jeff Bezos on X: "I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning: I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages. We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too" / X I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning: I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages. We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too

x.com/JeffBezos/st...

26.02.2025 18:00 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The firing of all the JAGs tho is most consequential. They determine the legality of military actionsβ€” such as domestic deployment and legitimate targets.

22.02.2025 01:52 β€” πŸ‘ 102    πŸ” 38    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 5
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Trump fires CQ Brown, nominates retired Air Force 3 star as replacement - Breaking Defense Trump announced he would nominate retired three-star Air Force general John Caine as his chairman of the joint chiefs.

Let the beheadings begin. (Someone needs to create a guillotine emoji). breakingdefense.com/2025/02/trum...

22.02.2025 01:09 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Saltzman bars Space Force staff from Mitchell Institute events - Breaking Defense The order follows a Mitchell report criticizing Saltzman's overarching theory of space power, dubbed "Competitive Endurance," as too focused on defensive operations rather than offensive actions.

Well that escalated quickly. @space.bsky.social @breakingdefense.com breakingdefense.com/2025/02/salt...

21.02.2025 18:27 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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EXCLUSIVE: DoD memo seeks review of Space Development Agency’s independent status, plans The memo calls into question whether the Space Development Agency's approach to its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture is meeting warfighter needs.

Bureaucratic shenanigans at DoD: OSD acquisition shop has guns out for the Space Development Agency and its semi-independent status within the Space Force. @space.bsky.social breakingdefense.com/2025/02/excl...

07.02.2025 18:23 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I'd be interested to hear your take on all this. Seems to me to be awfully "ambitious." Now, no doubt, someone had this scheme in their back pocket ahead of time, but still... way amount of work for a currently understaffed P-gon.

06.02.2025 21:28 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

That should have read has BEEN drafted, he's not signed it yet.

06.02.2025 19:24 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Exclusive: Here’s who Hegseth is tasking to put together Trump’s Iron Dome plan Under the draft, by Feb. 28 the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, DoD components, military departments, combatant commands and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) are to put together three "scalable...

Hegseth has drafted a plan to craft a plan for Trump's "Iron Dome" missile shield. breakingdefense.com/2025/02/excl...

06.02.2025 19:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 1
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How Trump’s β€˜Iron Dome for America’ upends four decades of nuclear doctrine The inclusion of space-based interceptors is a particularly hard nut for Moscow to swallow, given long-standing Russian belief that such weapons are aimed at undercutting the country’s nuclear retalia...

@space.bsky.social It took us a while, but we got there in the end. A little analysis piece on Iron Dome for America plan. breakingdefense.com/2025/02/how-...

04.02.2025 18:19 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

@thitch is following 19 prominent accounts