Space Wars: US Plans for Dominance and Monopolization

[BobG]

Depending on the mass of the crowbars, the CO2 or N2 rockets may not have sufficient thrust.

KE weapons have to be pretty accurate - hundred meters doesn't seem very accurate.

One of the biggest downsides to kinetic energy weapons is the potential for debris. Adding more debris to LEO is counterproductive, and any misses just add to high velocity projectiles that one has to deal with later on.

Lasers have a better range, and more time for targeting. However, depositing sufficient energy is the key and the challenge, even without countermeasures.

It looks like kinetic energy weapons might be back on the table, considering the rumors that China just conducted an anti-satellite weapons test. James Oberg has a pretty good analysis on the chances of the rumors being true and their implication: Bold move escalates space war debate

Creating slowly spreading clouds of debris orbiting at over 16,000 mph isn't a good development. Space is still big enough compared to the number of objects in orbit that one test increases risk by an extremely small amount, but you never like the idea of self-reproducing weapons that damage spacecraft at random.

Here's a picture of the http://www.abc.se/~m235/shuhires.jpg. Notice how much nicer the external fuel tank looks when it's painted. They don't paint it anymore after a paint chip left a pretty deep 'ding' in the windshield of STS-59. 'Dings' that make it all the way through the Shuttle's surface raise even more alarm (Hole in radiator panel caused by debris impact during Atlantis’ flight. Even seemingly benign objects can do a lot of damage at orbital speeds.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

But then, the main reason to go on the moon is not the He-3, but the dilithium crystals, no ?

hehe, what the hell is dilithium anyway? I know Star Trek is hardly spot on with it's physics? But the idea of di lithium has always puzzled me.

 

[kleinjahr]

Astronuc,
Thor's hammer was originally conceived as a weapon against planet side targets, not orbital. Though pinpoint accuracy would be nice, it is not absolutely necessary. ie: carpet bombing.