.
You're viewing a single comment thread. View all comments, or full comment thread.
Comments (75)
sorted by:
.
It was created so that they could take control of all the branches. I dug awhile ago, maybe someone has the loop hole created by a new branch of the military that allowed them control...
Don't get too enamored with fanciful speculations. I worked on the preliminary design of space weapons in the 1980s and space-based lasers were too challenging. They would have been useless to attack things on the Earth's surface because the beams could have been stopped easily by clouds. The global probability of a cloud-free line of sight is small. Much better against airborne or boosting targets above the tropopause. And better yet from the ground (or airborne) against space targets. Think YAL-1A airborne laser...canceled by Obama.
What about kinetic bombardment (tungsten rods dropped from satellites)?
The simplest answer is that it is more convenient, more timely, and more accurate to use ballistic missiles. Satellites would be spread all over the globe, as a consequence of orbital mechanics. (I worked on space weapon system constellation design.) The tungsten rods would simply penetrate the rock to a depth of kilometers, not vaporize into a nuclear-class explosion. Again, easier to use a nuclear warhead. Or just a ballasted re-entry vehicle, if you can home to a tight accuracy on target.
Here comes a bad guy. Do I need to drop a locomotive on him? No, a large pistol will do nicely. Or a hand grenade.
There are ways of getting the job done without hauling tons of tungsten into orbit.
Orbital ion cannons.
"We have weapons you wouldn't even believe" -GEOTUS