SpaceX Launches Secret Govt. Satellite

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the Internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

SpaceX launched a secret US government payload called Zuma on Sunday and landed its rocket back on Earth, in the company’s first mission of 2018, CNBC reports. The spacecraft was attached to one of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets. It was launched into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. View the launch here.

Arstechica is reporting what currently amount to rumors that the Zuma payload failed to make orbit and has fallen back to earth.

China is building its third aircraft carrier, with a high-tech launch system, reports South China Morning Post. China wants a navy that can operate globally and support its maritime security, but it so far has only one aircraft carrier.

South Korea might turn its amphibious assault ships into aircraft carriers, reports The National Interest. In a December report, Yonhap News Agency claimed that South Korean military officials are considering a plan to reconfigure its Dokdo-class amphibious assault ships to carry the F-35B fighter jet.

The US Navy has joined the search for 32 crew members missing from an Iranian oil tanker that caught fire Saturday after colliding with a bulk freighter off China’s east coast, reports Stars and Stripes.

A US Marine Corps UH-1 helicopters made an emergency landing in Okinawa after an instrument reading indicated the main rotor was “moving at too high a speed,” reports Japan Times. None of the four crew members aboard was injured.

North Korea’s state media is calling for inter-Korean cooperation as the two Koreas are set to hold their first formal talks today, Jan. 9, reports Yonhap News Agency. The talks have raised hopes for a thaw in the cross-border ties that have been strained by North Korea’s  provocations, including nuclear and long-range missile tests last year. DefSec James Mattis said it’s too early to say if North Korea’s offer to talk to South Korea is a genuine olive branch, but said it was clearly the result of international pressure, reports Reuters. The Associated Press reports President Donald Trump had said over the weekend that he was open to talking to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. It appeared to be a softening of rhetoric, given that the president lectured Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last year that it would be a waste of time to try to negotiate.

ExecutiveGov.com report the Government Accountability Office has found that the DoD awarded approximately 444,500 contracts valued at more than $230 billion to women- and minority-owned businesses between fiscal years 2010 and 2016.

Legislation is being proposed to limit President Trump’s ability to launch a nuclear first strike after he heckled North Korea’s leader about the comparative size of his “nuclear button,” reports Army Times. The legislation would require the president to get congressional approval before initiating a first-use nuclear strike from the US.

The US Navy’s Blue Angels will perform at NAS Pax River’s 75th Anniversary Air Expo on June 2 and 3. The team also is scheduled to do a flyover at the Naval Academy’s graduation May 25. Find the 2018 schedule here.

Clean energy advocates in Maryland are releasing a poll that shows strong support for renewable energy, reports Maryland Matters, to build momentum for their push to mandate a 50 percent renewable energy portfolio in the state by 2030, up from the current renewable portfolio standard, which mandates 25 percent use of renewables by 2020. The issue could be especially hotly debated on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where two controversial offshore wind energy projects have been proposed off the coast of Ocean City.