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Wouldn't it make more sense to launch the shuttle with some kind of missile on board and take it out while in space then to wait for good weather and shoot it down from the surface?

So, a year or two to develop a space launched missle we don't currently have, months to get a shuttle prepped, hundreds of millions of dollars, or just wait a day or two for weather? If we sent of the shuttle we would just pick it up and bring it back or move it to a new orbit. The shuttle has done that several times. It is just not at all cost-effective. The REALY point of shooting it down is to show the chi-coms and the russians that we can.

I would imagine there is a system already made to immediately fit in the cargo bay of the shuttle similar to the patriot launcher, besides we have aircraft like the Aurora that can get up real close, the bottom line is we do not want to tip our hand with our best or latest technology. Save the good stuff for when we really really need it.