A lot of muscle flexing going on right now, especially regarding space/military supremacy. That is why China did their satellite shoot-down thing, Iran is launching satellites, India just launched a satellite for Israel, and that is probably how that satellite found it's way to earth in Peru most recently. The rest is just PR to get eyes and ears to focus skyward at our military prowess. It's the wild west up there and no sheriff.
The Star Wars program is alive and well:
Star Wars: Protecting Globalization From Aboveby Karl Grossman, Special to CorpWatch
January 18th, 2002
The United States is moving full-speed ahead on a missile defense program with events of September11th giving a big boost to the scheme. Missile defense, or "Star Wars," advocates maintain the terrorist attack demonstrated the kind of future assault -- the next time around with missiles -- that the U.S. must seek to offset. They also point to the need to protect "US interests and investments" around the globe. Opponents argue the most likely threat to the U.S. continues to be relatively low-tech terrorist attacks, not sophisticated missiles. Star Wars supporters are now riding high. Meanwhile the troubled aerospace industry is hoping to be shored up by big-ticket defense contracts.
Some $95 billion has been spent on missile defense since Ronald Reagan first advanced the program in 1983, according to the Center for Defense Information (CDI) in Washington. Despite the billions the program has never produced a successful missile system. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon and TRW have been the "Big Four" among aerospace corporations receiving program monies. Many billions more will be spent in coming years. All four companies aggressively lobby Capitol Hill on defense spending.
These companies have close ties to the Bush administration, as they did to the Democratic administration that proceeded it. The military machine is alive and well more than a decade after the end of the cold war. This time globalization is the rationale for arms build up -- and some of the same corporations that promoted and profited from the cold war are behind it.
cont'd
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=1333