Sourcebook on the Altay Optical Laser Research Center
A Russian satellite tracking facility in Siberia called the Altay Optical Laser Research Center is profiled in a newly updated document collection (pdf).
A proposed expansion of the facility calls for a high-resolution satellite imaging telescope with an aperture of 3.12 meters and angular resolution of 0.044 arc seconds.
“This is diffraction-limited performance, indicating serious adaptive optics,” observed Allan Thomson, the former CIA analyst who prepared the new sourcebook, which is in Russian and English.
The new alignment signals a clear shift in priorities: offices dedicated to clean energy and energy efficiency have been renamed, consolidated, or eliminated, while new divisions elevate hydrocarbons, fusion, and a combined Office of AI & Quantum.
We came out of the longest shutdown in history and we are all worse for it. Who won the shutdown fight? It doesn’t matter – Americans lost. And there is a chance we run it all back again in a few short months.
Promising examples of progress are emerging from the Boston metropolitan area that show the power of partnership between researchers, government officials, practitioners, and community-based organizations.
Americans trade stocks instantly, but spend 13 hours on tax forms. They send cash by text, but wait weeks for IRS responses. The nation’s revenue collector ranks dead last in citizen satisfaction. The problem isn’t just paperwork — it’s how the government builds.