Space Weapons, Earth Wars

by Preston, Bob; Johnson, Dana J.; Edwards, Sean; Gross, Jennifer; Miller, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780833029379
• ISBN10: 0833029371
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-04-01
• Publisher: RAND Corporation

Summary

This overview aims to inform the public discussion of space-based weapons by examining their characteristics, potential attributes, limitations, legality, and utility. The authors do not argue for or against space weapons, nor do they estimate the potential costs and performance of specific programs, but instead sort through the realities and myths surrounding space weapons in order to ensure that debates and discussions are based on fact.

Table of Contents

Preface	iii
Figures	ix
Tables	xiii
Summary	xv
Acknowledgments	xxv
Abbreviations	xxvii
Introduction	1	(4)
Purpose	1	(1)
Scope	2	(1)
Organization	3	(2)
Background	5	(18)
History	5	(10)
Early Rocketry	5	(1)
Satellite Feasibility Studies	6	(2)
Dawn of the Space Age	8	(1)
Bombardment Satellites	9	(3)
Defenses	12	(1)
ABM Treaty	13	(1)
The Strategic Defense Initiative	14	(1)
Post-Cold War	15	(2)
Current U.S. Policy and Plans	15	(2)
Legal Considerations	17	(1)
Space Treaties	18	(2)
Arms Control Treaties	20	(1)
Other Treaties	21	(2)
Space Weapons Kinds and Capabilities	23	(28)
Types of Space Weapons	23	(1)
Directed-Energy Weapons	24	(12)
General Characteristics	24	(2)
Targets	26	(1)
Medium	27	(1)
Weapon	28	(3)
Basing	31	(1)
Example: Laser for Missile Targets	31	(5)
Mass-to-Target Weapons	36	(15)
General Characteristics	36	(1)
Kinetic-Energy Weapons Above the Atmosphere	37	(3)
Kinetic-Energy Weapons Against Terrestrial Targets	40	(5)
Conventional Weapons Against Terrestrial Targets	45	(6)
Employment	51	(16)
Employment	53	(7)
Functions and Tasks	53	(4)
Component and Sequence	57	(3)
Command	60	(7)
What Is Commanded	61	(2)
How They Are Commanded	63	(2)
Who Commands Them	65	(2)
How Might the United States Acquire Space Weapons?	67	(18)
How Might the United States Decide?	67	(10)
Deliberate Decisions to Acquire	68	(7)
Incidental Decisions to Acquire	75	(2)
Assuming a Decision to Acquire, How Might Transition Occur?	77	(8)
Incremental Decision	77	(2)
Monolithic Decision	79	(1)
Scope, Sequence, and Visibility of Implementation	80	(1)
Consequences	81	(4)
How Might Others Acquire Space Weapons?	85	(16)
Peer Competitor	86	(4)
Definition	87	(1)
Decision	88	(1)
Transition	89	(1)
Friend or Ally	90	(4)
Definition	91	(1)
Capability	91	(1)
Decision	92	(1)
Transition	93	(1)
Neither Ally nor Adversary	94	(2)
Definition	94	(1)
Capability	94	(1)
Decision	95	(2)
Transition	97
Nonpeer Adversary	96	(2)
Nonstate Coalition	98	(1)
Summary	98	(3)
Conclusion	101	(8)
Advantages	101	(2)
Access and Reach	101	(1)
Responsiveness	102	(1)
Distance	103	(1)
Difficulty of Defending Against Them	103	(1)
Limitations	103	(3)
Static Defense	104	(1)
Stable, Observable, Predictable Orbits	104	(1)
Logistic Expense	104	(1)
Large Numbers	105	(1)
Legal Consequences	106	(1)
Uses and Implications	106	(3)
Appendix A Space-Based Directed-Energy Weapons	109	(22)
Appendix B Kinetic-Energy Space Weapons	131	(42)
Appendix C Natural Meteoroides as Weapons	173	(12)
Appendix D Ballistic Missile Defense Countermeasures	185	(4)
Bibliography	189