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Military Seeks Approval to Develop Space Weapons
ranson writes "The New York Times is reporting that U.S. Air Force officials are seeking Bush's Approval to begin researching and developing space arms. While analysts feel this move will be unwelcome in the international community, military officials believe that "Space superiority ... is our destiny, ... our vision for the future.""
It's to enable them to legally deploy them. From TFA:
With little public debate, the Pentagon has already spent billions of dollars developing space weapons and preparing plans to deploy them.
I'm wondering if perhaps this isn't also the military wanting to show off a little and provide the public a glimpse of yesterday's technology, similar to what happened with the F-117 circa 1990. Maybe they want to show us what the Aurora really looks like.
You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
DefenceTech.org Times' shaky spacewar story:
"[Global Strike] -- which we first looked at back in November 2003 -- is legit, with a hefty $91 million invested into it over the last two years. But, by making so little distinction between this effort and more pie-in-the-sky plans, the Times does its readers a bit of a disservice."
Irene KHAAAAAAN!
Here Bush goes will go breaking international laws again...
a sp
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans the stationing of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in outer space, prohibits military activities on celestial bodies, and details legally binding rules governing the peaceful exploration and use of space.
The treaty's key arms control provisions are in Article IV. States-parties commit not to:
* Place in orbit around the Earth or other celestial bodies any nuclear weapons or objects carrying WMD.
* Install WMD on celestial bodies or station WMD in outer space in any other manner.
* Establish military bases or installations, test "any type of weapons," or conduct military exercises on the moon and other celestial bodies.
The USA fully signed and ratified the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
http://www.peaceinspace.com/sp_faq.shtml
http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/outerspace.
(among others)
This is not to say I support Mr. Bush, but as parent clearly indicates in the rest of his post, the 1967 treaty concerns WMD -- not all weapons. Quoth TFA: "no treaty or law bans Washington from putting weapons in space, barring weapons of mass destruction."
Moreover, the pentagon isn't stupid. Using (or threatening to use) nuclear weapons is not a central aspect of US security at the moment. The main threats come either from dictatorships (think N. Korea) or terrorism. Neither kind of enemy can be deterred with nuclear weapons. They are probably trying to revive SDI (i.e. place energy/kinetic antimissile weapons in space), but they may have plans for space-to-ground weapons that are not WMD.
The old USSR already did deploy weapons in space.t icles/sovtion3.htm
The USSR deployed a network of anti Satellite weapons.
The USSR deployed a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System.
One of the Some of the Soviet manned missions where military missions.
The Soviets tried to launch a space battle station it failed to make it to orbit.
http://www.friends-partners.org/partners/mwade/ar
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
How do you figure that when you consider this treaty from the UN general assembly stating "States shall not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or station them in outer space in any other manner"? And to correct both your short and long answers, refer to the status of the treaty and note that the United States is listed as having ratified it.
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Yes, you did.
nuke 'em from orbit...that sure sounds like us.Hell yeah it sounds like us.America fights to win.
+4 insightful???!!!Too bad I don't have any mod points left and I can't mod you down enough.
These weapons, like the "rods of god" are offensive weapons of mass destruction. The international community works hard to reduce the numbers of weapons of mass destruction and what does the US do? They want more!
The current US administration snobbs the united nations, have opted out of several international treaties(currently US citizens and military personnel cannot be brought to justice by an international court for war crimes, because of that), invaded two countries in middle east, included several countries in their target list and said so publicly by naming them an axis of evil, maintain a concentration camp in cuba while not reckognising any rights to prisoners, introduced the "preemptive strike" (as in attack for no reason at all any country which their "experts" think it might pose a minimal threat in the future), and degraded diplomacy to a "either you're with us or against us" level (as in our way or else).
Now, do you feel safe with the US acquiring more weapons of mass destruction? If this administration goes war crazy, which I think they already have, do you applaud the idea of a world war?
As about the nickname "Rods of God", it could be just that, a nickname. But having heard some infamous speaches about good, axis of evil and so on, I'm not so sure...
VStrider.
The only one that I'm aware of is the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. It prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons in orbit, such as the fractional orbit bombardment systems (FOBS) that were viewed as the next step beyond the ICBM back in the 1960s.
There are a lot of people who are quick to claim that the United States ignores its treaty obligations. Would it be too much to ask for them to back up their assertions with some facts?
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
That's ((7200*5280/3600)^2 * 100 / 2) ft lbs * 1.356 joules/ft lb = 7560622080 joules
A megaton bomb releases 4.185 x 10^15 joules I'm not sure why they would use the comparison of a nuclear weapon for this unless they're using a really big rod. When one compares a weapon to a nuclear bomb, most people think of a substantial weapon, at least a kiloton yield. For comparison, a 20 lb rod travelling at 7200 mph delivers about the explosive force of a substantial carbomb.