Prof. of International Relations & National Security. Space. Also nukes, civil-military, cats. Personal tweets only.
Rhode Island, USA
Joined January 2009
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Like other civil servants, I took an oath of loyalty to our _Constitution_, not to any man. Our Republic, if we can keep it. youtube.com/watch?time_conti…
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
An incredible peek into just how complicated orbital dynamics are for RPO inspection/imaging, especially if the target is trying not to be imaged. Keep in mind this is relative motion - both satellites are still on Earth-centric orbital trajectories
Victus Haze Mission Reconstruction
What does a space-to-space imaging pursuit look like?
I used Orbital Engagement Lab to create an artist’s interpretation of Victus Haze, showing Jackal approaching Puma, Puma maneuvering away, and Jackal responding.
The animation follows a reference orbit based on Puma’s initial trajectory. This curvilinear view makes their relative motion easier to understand.
The amber cone points from Puma toward the Sun, highlighting geometries where Jackal could view Puma’s illuminated side. It disappears during eclipse and returns with sunlight. It illustrates favorable lighting, not a camera’s field of view or confirmation that an image was taken.
Public orbital data provide snapshots, leaving gaps between observations. To connect selected pre and post-maneuver orbits, I fitted two simulated impulsive burns for each orbital change, then propagated the trajectories with OEL. The sequence also follows the mission’s publicly described approach, evasion, and renewed inspection.
The orbital data anchor the reconstruction; the burn timing, maneuver details, and imaging opportunities are modeled assumptions. This is one plausible visualization of the mission, rather than a recovery of its exact flight history.
See the reply for additional information.
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
Meaning: Now it falls to Congress to be the adults and put a stop to this silliness.
President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had the conviction to call us the Department of War and say it plainly: America’s military exists to deter war through strength and, if necessary, fight and win.
The President has acted. Now Congress must finish the job and enshrine the Department of War name in law.
foxnews.com/opinion/trump-re…
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
A rare view of concerning activity in orbit.
From Oct. 16–18, a Russian satellite made several close approaches to a U.S. commercial satellite. This image, collected by Vantor’s WorldView Space capability on Oct. 17, shows Russian Cosmos 2612 at an estimated distance of about 1 km from ICEYE-X36.
“This image captures a reality long recognized by our national security leaders—space is becoming increasingly contested. Seeing one spacecraft repeatedly maneuver close to another raises serious concerns about capability and intent.”—Dan Smoot, Vantor CEO.
With WorldView Space, Vantor’s non-Earth imaging capability lets us collect images of other spacecraft in orbit, helping us better understand how they’re operating and spot activity that warrants a closer look.
Read @axios's exclusive coverage: axios.com/2026/10/22/space-w…
Explore WorldView Space: vantor.com/product/worldview…
Simple answer: knowledge. Science. Same reason I'm glad we study distant galaxies, long vanished supercontinents, trilobites, the Earth's core, all the things we'll never touch or see in person. I want the story of our universe.
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
"A confused administration is conflating tactical dominance with strategic success."
theatlantic.com/internationa…
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
"McDowell has identified 17 small U.S. satellites as likely jammers; all of them were launched as secretive payloads over the past four years. These satellites are in geostationary Earth orbit" scientificamerican.com/artic…
Hey @grok
- create an image of what the world would look like if I were in charge, based on my tweets.
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
Losing @CASI_Research is going to deprive us of analysis like this piece, which ID'd Chinese military writing that thought Luch could have been carrying an attack payload (prob a jammer) and GSSAP had the potential to jam in orbit
warontherocks.com/is-militar…
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
Insane
A new Pentagon strategy aims to expand battlefield nuclear options and blur the line between conventional and nuclear warfare—bypassing public oversight while raising the risk of unintended global escalation.
buff.ly/Zgkmc5a
Correct , well after 9/11 much of the Bush team was still convinced nations were what mattered, to the point that some believed al qaida was merely a front for the Iraqi intelligence service, many of its leaders Iraqis under fake identities
This is touched upon in today's @monthly review of Peter Bergen's new book washingtonmonthly.com/2026/0… but there are striking examples of the partisan divide in the 48 hours before 9/11…
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
The size of the federal workforce is not a good measure of the size of the federal government, and cutting the federal workforce is not the same as cutting the federal government.
This quoted post is unavailable.
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
I think the plan is to get researchers to start using their AI with a limited compute budget, then once they have all the academic data, they’ll basically steal all their ideas from underneath them and run the research internally with their unlimited compute budget!
The Naval War College was fortunate to be visited today by astronaut Butch Willmore, commander of the Boeing Starliner test flight to ISS last year, that turned into an unexpected 9 month stay after multiple thruster failures
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
Unfortunate and unnecessary is how I would describe this too
Trying to make sense of what happened this week with the White House, France's Space Summit, and prominent US space companies.
arstechnica.com/space/2026/0…
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
“just wait for technological progress to progress before doing anything” is usually a fallacy. But if you’re sending a probe that’ll get there in 80,000 years… why not just wait 100 years until we figure out how to send a probe which’ll get there in 40,000 years?
Did you know that humanity has never launched a spacecraft to another star? That is about to change! I'm super excited to share that my cofounders, @AdiOltean, @EzraFeilden, and I, have created a non-profit to attempt to send humanity’s 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿… and we need your help!
We have formed a non-profit called The @FermiExplorer Mission with the goal of launching a minimum viable spacecraft to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system, leaving in 3 years and arriving in around 80,000 years. We hope it will be both the first spacecraft to leave Earth for another star, and the last to arrive, as per this concept video!
The mission is intended to make the idea of interstellar travel real, and to encourage more people to confront one of humanity’s biggest unanswered questions when we look beyond our planet: "Where is everybody?" (the Fermi Paradox)
The mission has four high-level objectives:
- Aim: To launch the first spacecraft to another star. It should get at least 99% of the way to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, within 80,000 years.
- Payload: It should have at least a 1kg, 10x10x10 cm payload.
- Schedule: It should launch before the end of 2029
- Cost: It should cost less than $15M to design, build, launch, and operate.
The mission was planned with the help of the folks at @astrodigitalgeo, @MattGialich and the folks at @AstroForge, and @alexwg+@matthew_pines physical AI lab PSI, who devised the final mission profile. The mission will be executed by full-time program manager @GarrettJameson, who joins us after 10 years as a US Air Force Officer, in collaboration with a US bus manufacturing partner that will be selected over the coming months.
We will need your help to complete the mission, so if the idea of the mission excites you, please check out the Fermi Explorer website in the comments to find out more about why we are doing the mission and how to get involved!
Thanks to London Studio @ZeroOneCreative and @ashkan01C for producing the concept video 🙏🙏
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
“This US citizen criticized my Internet besties, so I compiled a dossier on him”
Petty, mean girl shit on X, but now that we know DataRepublican is a government employee?
Illegal and inexcusable behavior.
Also 😂 at calling Dort a war college alumni
🧵 THREAD: Tom Nichols hates you more than you hate him, and here are the receipts.
Thread below. stwo weeks, military commentators across 𝕏 have been dogpiling @RadioFreeTom for his criticism of Hegseth and his insufferable debate style... bemoaning the lack of War College graduates in his feed while banning actual alumni like @CynicalPublius, @infantrydort, and As.
He's not sorry about it.
So I compiled a dossier on him. And it's worse than you think.
I have never encountered a public figure who carries this much contempt for his own country... not its government, not its politicians, but its people. The Americans he spent 25 years teaching at the Naval War College? He thinks they're the greatest threat to democracy.
That's a direct quote.
It raises a serious question: should someone who views American servicemen as a danger to the republic have any influence over how they are sent to war?
I think his material at the Naval War College should be retroactively reviewed. I'm serious.
As always, patience as I pull the thread together. 👇
David Burbach (also @dburbach Bluesky) retweeted
PS: No one ever tried to fire me for criticizing GW Bush, Obama (or during the election, Hillary Clinton about whom I said brutal stuff even while saying I was voting for her).
No one got fired for Bill Clinton or racist Obama jokes or in the hallway, either -which I saw happen.
