Posted on 08/11/2015 10:34:52 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Low- and high-Earth orbits have become hotbeds of scientific and commercial activity, filled with hundreds upon hundreds of satellites from about 60 different nations. Despite their largely peaceful purposes, each and every satellite is at risk, in part because not all members of the growing club of military space powers are willing to play by the same rules—and they don’t have to, because the rules remain as yet unwritten.
...Satellites race through space at very high velocities, so the quickest, dirtiest way to kill one is to simply launch something into space to get in its way. Even the impact of an object as small and low-tech as a marble can disable or entirely destroy a billion-dollar satellite. And if a nation uses such a “kinetic” method to destroy an adversary’s satellite, it can easily create even more dangerous debris, potentially cascading into a chain reaction that transforms Earth orbit into a demolition derby.
In 2007 the risks from debris skyrocketed when China launched a missile that destroyed one of its own weather satellites in low-Earth orbit. That test generated a swarm of long-lived shrapnel that constitutes nearly one-sixth of all the radar-trackable debris in orbit....
More recently, China has launched what many experts say are additional tests of ground-based anti-satellite kinetic weapons. None of these subsequent launches have destroyed satellites, but Krepon and other experts say this is because the Chinese are now merely testing to miss, rather than to hit, with the same hostile capability as an end result. The latest test occurred on July 23 of last year. Chinese officials insist the tests’ only purpose is peaceful missile defense and scientific experimentation. But one test in May 2013 sent a missile soaring as high as 30,000 kilometers above Earth, approaching the safe haven of strategic geosynchronous satellites.
(Excerpt) Read more at scientificamerican.com ...
That is only the final stage. Just prior to warhead separation, you have a fairly large spacecraft with glowing boosters to target.
And you’ll already be tracking it from the moment of ignition on the ground so there are several minutes to line up your shots.
Boost phase means being rather close to the launch source. Not so easy to do.
“The orbital phase makes ICBMs sitting ducks.”
Also there are decoys and countermeasures. LOTS of decoys and countermeasures. (prior life was space combat and those decoys and countermeasures)
“SM3 has whacked a bunch of satellites in orbit. “
A bunch? I think one so far and it was in a pretty low orbit.
I thought it had been done more than once, but I’m not sure. You may be right.
A laser type weapon would not be all that effective against satellites, you have to have a hell of a lot of power and the capability to keep it focused and aimed for a pretty long time.
Kinetic weapons would be much more efficient, something like a space grenade.
That ASAT missile was a test prototype and technology demonstrator, not a deployed system. A few years ago, US Navy shot down a malfunctioning satellite using a deployed SM-3 missile from a cruiser. I believe they made some minor software tweaks, to alter its range-gate.
Brilliant Peebles was the first of the kinetic space weapons programs as part of SDI.
Problem is a ship is darn near a fixed base, have to wait for that satellite to be in the right spot.
I would expect some of the high value satellites to have some maneuvering capability to avoid overflying known ASAT assets if the balloon goes up..
Correct, a decaying orbit at that. Rationale for zapping it was toxic fuel on board, but everyone knows that was a convenience.
“Brilliant Peebles was the first of the kinetic space weapons programs as part of SDI.”
But never launched. I was very disappointed by that. It was a good program. Unfortunately, it was superseded by a different program.
There was a fair amount published about Brilliant Pebbles in print media before the web. Lags in the flow of information were the state of affairs then. Guess I assumed the program went black as it developed and was implemented.
Damn but we spent so much time back then just track card indices, abstract compilations, ordering publications, and waiting for snail mail delivery. Yet we managed to produce some truly amazing things.
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