How far off do you think that is? Do you think it is exists already? Pretty interesting to read about it, and kind of scary too. The first nation to perfect space based weaponry would have a very critical advantage over everyone else. http://blogs.reuters.com/great-deba...military-is-preparing-for-the-real-star-wars/ Quietly and without most people noticing, the world’s leading space powers — the United States, China and Russia — have been deploying new and more sophisticated weaponry in space. Earth’s orbit is looking more and more like the planet’s surface — heavily armed and primed for war. A growing number of “inspection” satellites lurk in orbit, possibly awaiting commands to sneak up on and disable or destroy other satellites. Down on the surface, more and more warships and ground installations pack powerful rockets that, with accurate guidance, could reach into orbit to destroy enemy spacecraft. A war in orbit could wreck the delicate satellite constellations that the world relies on for navigation, communication, scientific research and military surveillance. Widespread orbital destruction could send humanity through a technological time warp. “You go back to World War Two,” Air Force General John Hyten, in charge of U.S. Space Command, told 60 Minutes. “You go back to the Industrial Age.” It’s hard to say exactly how many weapons are in orbit. That’s because many spacecraft are “dual use.” They have peaceful functions and potential military applications. With the proverbial flip of a switch, an inspection satellite, ostensibly configured for orbital repair work, could become a robotic assassin capable of taking out other satellites with lasers, explosives or mechanical claws. Until the moment it attacks, however, the assassin spacecraft might appear to be harmless. And its dual use gives its operators political cover. The United States possesses more space weaponry than any other country, yet denies that any of its satellites warrant the term. When 60 Minutes asked the Air Force secretary whether the United States has weapons in space, Secretary Deborah Lee James answered simply: “No, we do not.” Still, it’s possible to count at least some of the systems that could disable or destroy other satellites. Some of the surface-based weaponry is far less ambiguous and so easier to tally. Even taking into account the difficulty of accurately counting space weaponry, one thing is clear: The United States is, by far, the world’s most heavily armed space power. But not for a lack of trying on the part of other countries. New Cold War in space Earth’s orbit wasn’t always such a dangerous place. The Soviet Union destroyed a satellite for the last time in an experiment in 1982. The United States tested its last Cold War anti-satellite missile, launched by a vertically flying F-15 fighter, in 1985. An anti-satellite missile launched from a highly modified F-15A over Edwards Air Force Base, California, September 18,1985. U.S. Air Force photo illustration For the next three decades, both countries refrained from deploying weapons in space. The “unofficial moratorium,” as Laura Grego, a space expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists, described it, put the brakes on the militarization of space. Then in 2002, President George W. Bush withdrew the United States from a treaty with Russia prohibiting the development of antiballistic-missile weapons. The move cleared the way for Bush to deploy interceptor missiles that administration officials claimed would protect the United States from nuclear attack by “rogue” states such as North Korea. But withdrawing from the treaty also undermined the consensus on the strictly peaceful use of space. Five years later, in January 2007, China struck one of its own old satellites with a ground-launched rocket as part of a test of a rudimentary anti-satellite system. This scattered thousands of potentially dangerous pieces of debris across low orbit. Beijing’s anti-satellite test accelerated the militarization of space. The United States, in particular, seized the opportunity to greatly expand its orbital arsenal. U.S. companies and government agencies have at least 500 satellites — roughly as many as the rest of the world combined. At least 100 of them are primarily military in nature. Most are for communication or surveillance. In other words, they’re oriented downward, toward Earth.
Technically satellites that are part of weapons systems already are space based weapons. I think the more appropriate phrase would be space-based ordinance. We probably have something out there somewhere testing it I imagine.
We could have all kinds of secret weapons that we don't about. I'm sure they have been looking into this and studying it for many years now.
We do have all kinds of secret weapons we don't know about. There is no could to it. A great many of them aren't out in the field though. They are in some building somewhere hoping for a multi-billion purchase agreement or being fine-tuned or whatever. It is the nature of military research.
Well, I just hope the US is really ahead in the development of these weapons. It wouldn't be too good for us if another nation developed these types of weapons first. They would have some huge advantages.
What about these kinds of space weapons. Lacking the Space Shuttle is an impediment to Marines In Space Moi r > g Across an immense, unguarded, ethereal border, Canadians, cool and unsympathetic, regard our America with envious eyes and slowly and surely draw their plans against us.
Actually the best place is to be in the United States if a nuclear war broke out because we really do.. have the secret technology .
We don't really spend $100,000 on a hammer.. So many skunk works and dark programs. Makes me proud to be an American.. .:.
2 types of weapons are best for space, EMP, and anti satellite. If it ever comes to work with Russia or China we will desperately need to destroy their recon satellites.
I would sure like to see the video of someone shooting a 38 or 45 revolver in space. Watching the space suited guy get pushed the opposite direction would be a hoot. The first person to discharge a firearm in space would be as memorable almost, as the first man to set foot on the Moon. y'think.
We didn't even know about the black bird till many decades later , the B1, the Aurora.. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...nd-blamed-mysterious-booms-heard-weekend.html
More than 1 type of hacking. To steal info I don't see as an act of war. An attack on infrastructure is different. I'm always amazed at how weak our cyber security is.
Did you ever notice how we can have drones and no one can figure out how to take over command of them when some guy in Nevada is flying them over 12,000 miles away ? .
It isn't only an issue of having advantage against everybody across the spectrum buy having a bigger better weapon. A lot of the things being developed overseas are things the US have played around with and never went crazy on and that technology has since been stolen. For instance, supercavitating torpedoes are something we still play around with but others have spent mints pursuing them. We have lots of other ways to sink carriers and subs so it isn't as huge a priority for us to have the cutting edge in them, but it is a priority in being able to detect and defend against them so we spend more money on that technology than the torpedo development.
Encryption. You pair a drone with it's controller and you select the encryption key to use for that mission. Pick a reasonably strong one and it'll take months to brute force the key. When the mission is done, the drone is disconnected from the control station for maintenance, refueling, and rearming. Then it'll pair up with another station or it'll pair up again to the same station and in either case will get a new encryption key.
Thanks for the information, I always wondered how they did it, now tell me how they control underwater drone subs? .
I, at least, assume the air force's secret space shuttle that spent forever in space wasn't growing sunflowers or that they forgot it was up there.
There is always a movement for something or the other by the have nots, so probably. The have's, however, generally don't care.
One of the many reasons every possible means to block Trump on detente' with Russia to maintain and ramp up the Cold War is to justify the trillions and trillions of dollars in profits and jobs defense and intelligence industries is to build an entire new collect of space based weapons. There was little fanfare to it, but recently the U.S. Air Force created a new "Space" division. Space base weapons systems will be primarily by the Air Force, although it likely the Navy will want part of that act. The amount of potential profits is astronomical.
