Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site oddjob.UChicago.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!gargoyle!oddjob!matt From: matt@oddjob.UChicago.UUCP (Matt Crawford) Newsgroups: net.followup Subject: Re: Star Wars Defense Plan Message-ID: <410@oddjob.UChicago.UUCP> Date: Wed, 22-Aug-84 12:30:47 EDT Article-I.D.: oddjob.410 Posted: Wed Aug 22 12:30:47 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 23-Aug-84 01:27:22 EDT References: <3400025@ea.UUCP> Organization: U. Chicago: Astronomy & Astrophysics Lines: 22 Let me address the suggestion that we would have greatly improved security if both the US and USSR had a space-based ballistic missile defense. Such a defense consists of some apparatus capable of destroying perhaps 5000 targets in a short period of time, either while the targets are in the atmosphere or just above it. No matter what the exact technology involved, such a system would seem to be capable of destroying other satellites as well as missiles. While satellites do not emit as much heat as a missile in the boost phase, they are available to sight at for a longer time and possibly easier to verify as "killed". An attack by either country, whether all-out or "surgical", would logically begin by destroying all satellites which might be part of the enemy's defense. Creating a single defense system and putting it international hands would be an alternative, but if that were politically possible, why could we not do the same with the nuclear weapons themselves? Does anyone believe that that could ever happen? ___________________________________________________________ Matt University ARPA: crawford@anl-mcs.arpa Crawford of Chicago UUCP: ihnp4!oddjob!matt