Space warfare
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Space warfare is combat that takes place in outer space. Technically as a distinct classification, it refers to battles where the targets themselves are in space. Space warfare therefore includes ground-to-space warfare, such as attacking satellites from the Earth, as well as space-to-space warfare, such as satellites attacking satellites. It does not include space-to-ground warfare, where orbital objects attack ground, sea or air targets directly, or the use of satellites for espionage, surveillance, or military communications.
Only a few incidents of space warfare have occurred in world history, and all were training missions, as opposed to actions against real opposing forces. In the mid-1980s a USAF pilot in an F-15 successfully shot down a retired communications satellite in a 345 mile (555 km) orbit. In 2007 the People's Republic of China used a missile system to destroy one of their obsolete satellites.
International treaties governing space limit or regulate conflicts in space and limit the installation of weapon systems, especially nuclear weapons.
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[edit] History
Early efforts to conduct space warfare were directed at space-to-space warfare, as ground-to-space systems were considered to be too slow and too isolated by Earth's atmosphere to be effective. The history of active space warfare development goes back to the 1960s when the Soviet Union began the Almaz project, a project designed to give them the ability to do on-orbit inspections of satellites and destroy them if needed. Similar planning in the United States took the form of the Blue Gemini project, which consisted of modified Gemini capsules that would be able to deploy weapons and perform surveillance.
One early test of electronic space warfare took place in 1963 when the United States exploded a ground-launched nuclear weapon in space to test the effects of an electromagnetic pulse. The result was a deactivation of many then-orbiting satellites, both American and Soviet. The deleterious and unfocused effects of the EMP test led to the banning of nuclear weapons in space in the Outer Space Treaty of 1968. (See High altitude nuclear explosion.)
Through the 1970s, the Soviet Union continued their project and test-fired a cannon to test space station defense. This was considered too dangerous to do with a crew on board, however, so the test was conducted after the crew had returned to Earth.
Space warfare strongly influenced the final design of the United States Space Shuttle. The distinctive delta wing shape was needed if the shuttle were to launch a military payload towards the Soviet Union and perform an immediate de-orbit after one rotation to avoid being shot down.[1]
Both the Soviets and the United States developed anti-satellite weaponry designed to shoot down satellites. While early efforts paralleled other space-to-space warfare concepts, the United States was able in the 1980s to develop ground-to-space laser anti-satellite weapons. None of these systems is known to be active today; however, a less powerful civilian version of the ground-to-space laser system is commonly used in the astronomical technique of adaptive optics. China successfully tested a ballistic missile-launched anti-satellite weapon on January 11, 2007 (see: 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test). This resulted in harsh criticism from the United States of America, Britain, and Japan.
[edit] Theoretical space weaponry
In the late 1970s and through the 1980s the Soviet Union and the United States theorized, designed and in some cases even tested an astonishing variety of bizarre and exotic weaponry designed for warfare in outer space. Space warfare was seen primarily as an extension of nuclear warfare, and so theoretical systems were based around the destruction or defense of ground and sea-based missiles. Space-based missiles were not a target due to the Outer Space Treaty, which banned the use, testing of or storage of nuclear weapons outside the Earth's atmosphere. Systems proposed ranged from measures as simple as ground and space-based anti-missiles to railguns, space based lasers, orbital mines and other such futuristic weaponry. Deployment of these systems was seriously considered in the mid-1980s under the banner of the Strategic Defense Initiative (popularly known as Star Wars). If the Cold War had continued, then many of these systems could have seen deployment: the United States got as far as developing working railguns, and a laser that could destroy missiles at range, though the power requirements of both were phenomenal, and the ranges and firing cycles utterly impractical.
Currently, military operations in space primarily concern the vast tactical advantages of surveillance, communications, and GPS satellites. Accordingly, most proposed space borne weapons are designed to jam, sabotage, and outright destroy enemy satellites, and conversely to protect friendly satellites against such attacks. To this end, the US (and presumably other countries) are researching groups of small, highly mobile satellites called "microsats" (about the size of a refrigerator) and "picosats" (approximately 1 cubic foot (≈30 cm^2) in volume) nimble enough to maneuver around and interact with other orbiting objects (for repairs/sabotage, or simply to crash into them).
Kinetic bombardment entails a pair of satellites- a 'spotter' targets an enemy 'hard target' (such as a bunker) from orbit with high-power sensors, then directs a nearby 'magazine' to de-orbit a long, needle-like tungsten dart onto it with a small rocket motor. Despite the lack of an explosive payload, the kinetic energy of such a collision would obliterate just about anything far more effectively than any other armor-piercing munition.
[edit] Practical considerations
Space warfare that involves humans being deployed in space to fight each other is not currently practical. No infrastructure or economic interests exist at the moment to warrant the occupation of terrain on other terrestrial bodies within the Solar system, or to occupy orbital trajectories in outer space. The difficulty and cost of sustaining human life in space, especially over long periods of time, may also be a factor (especially as human adaptation to space is difficult).
However, most of the world communications systems rely heavily on the presence of satellites in orbit around Earth. Warfare in space might become a serious consideration to protect these assets, especially in conflicts involving advanced countries with access to space.
[edit] Space warfare in fiction
Space Warfare is a topic often touched upon in science fiction, with a wide range of realism and plausibility, from stories based on anticipated future technology and tactics, to fantasy or historically based scenarios that happen to take place in a science-fiction background. Both kinetic energy and directed energy weapons are often portrayed, along with various military space vessels. The Lensman series by E. E. Smith is an early example, which also inspired the term Space Opera due to the grandiose scales of the stories. The Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card is a notable example in that it makes conjecture as to what sort of tactics and training would be required for war in outer space.
In Star Trek, for example, there are many planets and races fighting against each other, using "phaser" weapons and both large and small spacecraft.
Other popular examples come from movies like Star Wars, television series such as Babylon 5 or Battlestar Galactica, and anime such as the Gundam and Macross series. Also, there are many video games involving space combat, like Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest or Empire Earth.
[edit] References
- Hobbes, D (1986) "An Illustrated Guide to Space Warfare" Salamander Books Ltd. ISBN 0-86101-204-6
- ^ Draper, Alfred C.; Buck, Melvin L.; and Goesch, William H. "A Delta Shuttle Orbiter." Astronautics & Aeronautics. 9 (January 1971): 26-35.
[edit] Further reading
- Macvey, John W. Space Weapons, Space War New York:1979 Stein and Day (written by a professional astronomer)
[edit] See also
- Joint Functional Component Command for Space and Global Strike (US Strategic Command)
- National Missile Defense
- Orbital bombardment
- Orbital weaponry
- Space weapon
[edit] External links
- Encyclopedia Astronautica's article on the Almaz
- "The Next Battlefield May Be in Outer Space," New York Times Magazine: August 5, 2001
- Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Spacehe:לוחמת חלל
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