# Jedis fly in, walk home



## QC (Feb 26, 2009)

Pentagon space warfare planners want to work with the nascent private space-joyride industry, according to reports. Ambitious US Marine plans to fire a few good men round the world on the same timescale as nuclear warheads have been scaled back, and might instead involve shorter one-way trips using variant Virgin Galactic rocketplanes.

The revelations come from Flight International, which has interviewed US Marine colonel Paul Damphousse of the US National Security Space Office (NSSO). Word on the private spaceflight involvement is sure to satisfy at least one person, the maker of this quietly splendid YouTube vid depicting Virgin Galactic style ships deploying spaceborne US Marines:

According to the colonel, the former USMC "SUSTAIN" plan - where a squad-sized unit of marines would be fired to any point on the globe by a quick-reacting, ICBM style rocket stack and parachute or glide in to land - has been unsurprisingly sidelined for the immediate future.

"They set the bar very, very high," Damphousse told Flight. "In this latest iteration we said: 'Well, do we necessarily need that near-instantaneous crisis response? Do we need to attain orbit? Or is this something that can be shorter range? Let's look at the suborbital band'."

Now, the NSSO has allied with the US Air Force security forces - who are also working on a net-throwing rifle designed to bring down hang-glider or paramotor borne intruders at US airbases. Needless to say, the supertroopers of US Special Operations Command (Navy SEALs, Rangers, Green Berets et al) are also interested.

The various Pentagon spaceborne-warfare enthusiasts have convened a conference, starting today, at which the new wave of private space companies will attend. Flight names beardy biz kingpin Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin and XCOR Aerospace are also invited.

In rough outline, the Pentagon planners are interested in "quick reaction" capability - sending small units of troops, or perhaps unmanned air or ground vehicles, far and fast. (Notwithstanding the vid above, main battle tanks weighing 60 tonnes wouldn't be on the cards). The ability to go outside the atmosphere is useful here, as current aeroplane type in-atmos technology is limited to cruise speeds in the Mach 1 to 2 range.

Hence the fondness in some military circles for going outside the atmosphere, as the new fatcat-joyride craft will be able to. They won't be able to achieve proper orbit, but will be able to soar briefly into space.

Unfortunately, in most cases the proposed designs would not be able to then dip down to drop off their passengers or payloads and then zoom back up and away to America. The journey would be one-way only, for the ship as well as any crew.

However, there is one crazytech tactic being worked on by XCOR which might be of use to the Pentagon. XCOR have a deal with spacesuit company Orbital Outfitters: and Orbital Outfitters are working to develop individual re-entry parachute kits and/or podules which would allow a spacesuited individual to re-enter the atmosphere and land safely without benefit of any ship. Such plans are also being developed by Italian firm Aero Sekur, renowned for its all-female parachute display team.

This opens up the possibility of a Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo style space transport boosting up from its piggyback plane to arc high over a hostile nation far above any possible anti-aircraft response. At the appropriate juncture, supertroopers in Orbital Outfitters or Aero Sekur individual re-entry pods would bail out, blazing down as their mother craft soared onward to re-enter within range of a friendly runway elsewhere.

Once the re-entry was over, the podule troopers would deploy their parachutes - or perhaps their strap-on jetwings - and zero in on their target. (If it was a particularly good day for us here at the Reg, the re entry podule strapon-jetwing paratroopers or their adversaries might for unexplained reasons all turn out to be Italian spacesuit models armed with the proposed USAF net-flinger bondage rifles, but that's probably too much to hope for.)

This plan would also work with the originally proposed fully-orbital craft too, of course. Or indeed with the existing space shuttles, or any other astronaut-carrying space launcher for that matter - though you would tend to lose any genuine quickness of reaction in the latter cases.

Getting home again afterwards would still be a serious issue, unless perhaps America chose to invest in the mooted X-Men stealth transport (with the Reg-suggested addition of blown flap rough-landing tech). This could land on a handy bit of road after the mission and pick them up. You might still choose to have the rocket podule troopers for extra speed in arrival, not wishing to wait hours while the probably subsonic pickup plane crawled around the globe.

It's all a bit thin and wacky really, though. The great difficulty is not the technical achievements required - it's finding jobs for the rocket podule troopers (or robots) to do which can't be done better already.

No great need to watch this particular space too closely, we're speculating. The Flight report is here. ®

Click on the link for the vid. 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/24/i_wanna_be_a_spaceborne_ranger/


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## TLDR20 (Feb 26, 2009)

I see a new badge in the future. SPALO wings anyone.


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## QC (Feb 26, 2009)

I was thinking more of crossed light sabres.


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## 8'Duece (Feb 26, 2009)

The "walking home" part I'd not be interested in .  :uhh:


Just sayin.


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## QC (Feb 26, 2009)

No...1,000 mile exfil isn't appealing. :uhh:


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## AWP (Feb 26, 2009)

Um, seriously, WTF? This idea has traction, at any level, for any length of time?

Wow, it sounds about as smart as the old mission profiles for the SADM teams.


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## QC (Feb 27, 2009)

Maybe someone's been at the crack pipe again.


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## x SF med (Feb 27, 2009)

Freefalling said:


> Um, seriously, WTF? This idea has traction, at any level, for any length of time?
> 
> Wow, it sounds about as smart as the old mission profiles for the SADM teams.


 
Umm, the name of the program 'Jedi' was stolen from another program that stole it from a movie.
And don't dis the heavy ruck teams.
I know whereof I speak in both cases.:doh:

I did always want my Space Shuttle door gunner badge and Space Shuttle Jump wings, before they killed those programs.


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## amlove21 (Mar 1, 2009)

so..... let me get this straight. Long range squad size teams parachute in and walk out 1,000 miles? This shit sucks. Know why? The all knowing Air Force is gonna run with this idea, and guess whose ass they're going to strap to the freaking rocket? Your friendly neighborhood PJ, thats who. I mean, this mission screams "rescue". 

I can not WAIT. Ill let you guys know how "cool" it is.

(just in case it doesnt come across, this was all sarcasm. Terrible idea that is wasting time and or money somewhere)


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## RackMaster (Mar 1, 2009)

To any one you "lucky" bastards that get this "wonderful" opportunity, don't forget extra batteries; that's a long call home for a taxi.


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## car (Mar 2, 2009)

Is "The Register" something akin to "The Onion?" The Marine Corps isn't big enough to do something like this - it shouldn't be one of their priorities. Hell, my command is just now helping them stand up a nascent Info Ops capability (no OPSEC violation), but like I said, "NASCENT."

I'm throwing the BS flag. Not at you, QC, but at the story.


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## QC (Mar 2, 2009)

Thanks bro, no offence taken. Agreed, it's a long bow that's being drawn. But as the troll say...:cool:


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## Paddlefoot (Mar 2, 2009)

Queens Cadet said:


> Ambitious US Marine plans to fire a few good men round the world on the same timescale as nuclear warheads have been scaled back, and might instead involve shorter one-way trips using variant Virgin Galactic rocketplanes.



Been tried. One of the Marines had a meltdown on the first mission and they had to scrap the program. 

*That's it man, game over man, game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do? *


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## QC (Mar 3, 2009)

LMAO!! Call in Ripley...


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## AWP (Mar 3, 2009)

amlove21 said:


> so..... let me get this straight. Long range squad size teams parachute in and walk out 1,000 miles? This shit sucks. Know why? The all knowing Air Force is gonna run with this idea, and guess whose ass they're going to strap to the freaking rocket? Your friendly neighborhood PJ, thats who. I mean, this mission screams "rescue".
> 
> I can not WAIT. Ill let you guys know how "cool" it is.
> 
> (just in case it doesnt come across, this was all sarcasm. Terrible idea that is wasting time and or money somewhere)



With them looking to kill CSAR-X this may be the only shot you have at ever picking up a pilot.


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## dusty (Mar 6, 2009)

Fuck yea, for a ride like that? I'd walk a thousand miles back.
Who knows? Might be able to catch a ride on a sand worm or some shit.

Damn! Shit has changed, boys and girls!


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## 08steeda (Mar 6, 2009)

BEAM ME THE FUCK UP, SCOTTY!!!!

If you build it, they will come!!!


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## P. Beck (Mar 24, 2009)

Heh.

HOLO = High Orbit, Low Open
HOHO = High Orbit, High Open
LOHO = Low Orbit, High Open
LOLO = Low Orbit, Low Open
OSLO = Outer Space, Low Open
IPLO = Inter-Planetary, Low Open
IGLO = Inter-Galactic, Low Open (For all the Star Trek fans out there.  Oh, c'mon.  I've wanted to jump off the ramp of the USS Enterprise ever since the first time I saw them open the hangar bay doors.)

This is gonna be about as much fun as the plan to LAPES teams in connex's.


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## QC (Mar 25, 2009)

Paddlefoot said:


> Been tried. One of the Marines had a meltdown on the first mission and they had to scrap the program.
> 
> *That's it man, game over man, game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do? *



Off topic: *QUIT YA SNIVLIN' N' GEDONWIDDIT!
* :cool:


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## HeloMedic1171 (Jun 21, 2009)

P. Beck said:


> (For all the Star Trek fans out there.  Oh, c'mon.  I've wanted to jump off the ramp of the USS Enterprise ever since the first time I saw them open the hangar bay doors.)



x2

I thought that was one of the best parts of the new Star Trek movie, m'self.


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## JimMCpog (Jul 21, 2009)

cback0220 said:


> I see a new badge in the future. SPALO wings anyone.



Imagine the Badge says "Virgin" or "Master Virgin" seeing that they're inserting via Virgin Galactic:doh:


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