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U.S. eyes space as possible battleground
Reuters ^
| 01/18/04
| Jim Wolf
Posted on 01/18/2004 10:35:58 AM PST by nypokerface
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's plan to expand the exploration of space parallels U.S. efforts to control the heavens for military, economic and strategic gain.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld long has pushed for technology that could be used to attack or defend orbiting satellites as well as a costly programme, heavily reliant on space-based sensors, to thwart incoming warheads.
Under a 1996 space policy adopted by then-President Bill Clinton that remains in effect, the United States is committed to the exploration and use of outer space "by all nations for peaceful purposes for the benefit of all humanity".
"Peaceful purposes allow defence and intelligence-related activities in pursuit of national security and other goals," according to this policy. "Consistent with treaty obligations, the United States will develop, operate and maintain space control capabilities to ensure freedom of action in space, and if directed, deny such freedom of action to adversaries."
No country depends on space and satellites as its eyes and ears more than the United States, which accounted for as much as 95 percent of global military space spending in 1999, according to the French space agency CNES.
"Yet the threat to the U.S. and its allies in and from space does not command the attention it merits from the departments and agencies of the U.S. government charged with national security responsibilities," a congressionally chartered task force headed by Rumsfeld reported 10 days before Bush and he took office in 2001.
Theresa Hitchens of the private Center for Defense Information said the capabilities to conduct space warfare would move out of the realm of science fiction and into reality over the next 20 years or so.
"At the end of the day it will be political choices by governments, not technology, that determines if the nearly 50- year taboo against arming the heavens remains in place," she concluded in a recent study.
Outlining his election-year vision for space exploration last week, Bush called for a permanent base on the moon by 2020 as a launch pad for piloted missions to Mars and beyond.
One unspoken motivation may have been China's milestone launch in October of its first piloted spaceflight in earth orbit and its announced plan to go to the moon.
"I think the new initiative is driven by a desire to beat the Chinese to the moon," said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense and space policy research group.
Among companies that could cash in on Bush's space plans are Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp., which do big business with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as well as with the Pentagon.
The moon, scientists have said, is a source of potentially unlimited energy in the form of the helium 3 isotope -- a near perfect fuel source: potent, non-polluting and causing virtually no radioactive by-product in a fusion reactor.
"And if we could get a monopoly on that, we wouldn't have to worry about the Saudis and we could basically tell everybody what the price of energy was going to be," said Pike.
Gerald Kulcinski of the Fusion Technology Institute at the University of Wisconsin at Madison estimated the moon's helium 3 would have a cash value of perhaps $4 billion (2.23 billion pounds) a ton in terms of its energy equivalent in oil.
Scientists reckon there are about one million tons of helium 3 on the moon, enough to power the earth for thousands of years. The equivalent of a single space shuttle load or roughly 30 tons could meet all U.S. electric power needs for a year, Kulcinski said by e-mail.
Bush's schedule for a U.S. return to the moon matches what experts say may be a dramatic militarisation of space over the next two decades, even if the current ban on weapons holds.
Among other things, the Pentagon expects to spend at least $50 billion over the next five years to develop and field a multi-layered shield against incoming missiles that could deliver nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.
Ultimately, this shield -- first proposed by President Ronald Reagan and dubbed "Star Wars" by critics -- may include space-based interceptors, the first weapons in space, as opposed to sensors that guide weapons.
Last year, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency obtained $14 million for research on basing three or more missile interceptors in space by the end of the decade for tests.
The plan would field satellites armed with multiple "hit-to-kill" interceptors capable of destroying a ballistic missile through a high-speed collision shortly after its launch, according to Wade Boese, research director of the private Arms Control Association. Such a system could also function as an anti-satellite weapon.
No decision has been made yet to deploy space-based interceptors as part of the U.S. missile defense programme "although we are conducting research and development activities in that area", a Defense Department official said Friday.
TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: boeing; homelandsecurity; lockheedmartin; militaryspace; missiledefense; northropgrumman; pentagon; space
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To: nypokerface
Ah. We want the moon for Halliburton. That explains everything.
To: nypokerface
BUMP
3
posted on
01/18/2004 10:38:54 AM PST
by
kitkat
To: nypokerface
Oh yeah, and of course China has no intentions of putting weapons in space.
4
posted on
01/18/2004 10:41:31 AM PST
by
OpusatFR
(Hillary's health care means culling the herd to keep down costs.)
To: OpusatFR
NO BLOOD FOR CHESSE.
5
posted on
01/18/2004 10:43:36 AM PST
by
John Will
To: nypokerface
Hey, all we want is to be able to reliably nuke France from orbit, really.
6
posted on
01/18/2004 10:47:50 AM PST
by
thoughtomator
("I will do whatever the Americans want because I saw what happened in Iraq, and I was afraid"-Qadafi)
To: nypokerface
Among other things, the Pentagon expects to spend at least $50 billion over the next five years to develop and field a multi-layered shield against incoming missiles that could deliver nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. I wonder if they could develop a shield against incoming illegal mexicans?
To: nypokerface
8
posted on
01/18/2004 10:53:05 AM PST
by
Momaw Nadon
(Goals for 2004: Re-elect President Bush, over 60 Republicans in the Senate, and a Republican House.)
To: nypokerface
Hummmm. Will the interceptor's be:
1. X-Wing
2. Ti-Fighters
3. Vipers
4. Space 1999 (Moon base interceptor's)
9
posted on
01/18/2004 10:55:14 AM PST
by
usnret99
(I served! Have You?)
To: nypokerface
I for one am disappointed by the fact that we don't have space fighters already.
10
posted on
01/18/2004 10:58:15 AM PST
by
ryanjb2
To: thoughtomator
Toss a projectile far enough out and you won't need any explosive, even an atomic explosive, to enhance the result.
11
posted on
01/18/2004 11:01:16 AM PST
by
eno_
(Freedom Lite - it's almost worth defending)
To: ryanjb2
The perfect missile defense system, eh? An orbiting Battlestar with Vipers that can intercept and shoot down any missiles?
12
posted on
01/18/2004 11:02:09 AM PST
by
bolobaby
To: glockmeister40
"I wonder if they could develop a shield against incoming illegal mexicans?"
Mexicans aren't the "only" illegal group that manages to get here. Mexicans for the most part are here to support their families. They don't come here to blow us up. And they have a high percentage of volunteering for the military compared to other illegal groups.
13
posted on
01/18/2004 11:05:05 AM PST
by
Bringbackthedraft
(I saved my "JEB" signs for 08. I'll use them in 04 if Hillary runs.)
To: eno_
Heck, against the French, we don't even need an actual projectile
14
posted on
01/18/2004 11:07:21 AM PST
by
thoughtomator
("I will do whatever the Americans want because I saw what happened in Iraq, and I was afraid"-Qadafi)
To: Bringbackthedraft
Mexicans aren't the "only" illegal group that manages to get here. Mexicans for the most part are here to support their families. They don't come here to blow us up. And they have a high percentage of volunteering for the military compared to other illegal groups.They are a much worse threat than ANYTHING else out there.
They don't support their families - we support their families.
Illegal mexicans volunteering for the military? Right after 9/11 millions of them came forward and signed up. Wrong. Right after 9/11, millions of them hightailed it (temporatily) south of the border. A ton of patriotism there.
To: glockmeister40
Worse than Al Queda bombers? I'm against illegal immigration. Totally. But the reaction to Mexican illegal immigrants is at the level of fanaticism for some.
16
posted on
01/18/2004 11:23:44 AM PST
by
Williams
To: nypokerface
Mars BOT Wars 2020(c)
Bring it on !
17
posted on
01/18/2004 11:25:44 AM PST
by
ChadGore
(George W. Bush has done more to earn my vote than any other American alive today.)
To: ryanjb2
>I for one am disappointed by the fact that
we don't have space fighters already Well, you never know.
It will always be odd that
the space shuttle crashed
into Texas when
Bush is president. Space might
be in the fight now...
To: glockmeister40
Here is a list of only the KIAs from California, wounded not included. No Mexicans there Huh? 1/4 of the list, "25%" of the casuaties are latino.
Army Spc. Genaro Acosta, 26, Fair Oaks, Calif., Nov. 11
Army Pfc. Steven Acosta, 19, Calexico, Calif., Oct. 26
Navy Lt. Thomas Mullen Adams, 27, La Mesa, Calif., March 22
Army Cpl. Evan Asa Ashcraft, 24, West Hills, Calif., July 24
Army Staff Sgt. Stephen A. Bertolino, 40, Orange, Calif., Nov. 29
Marines Sgt. Michael E. Bitz, 31, Ventura, Calif., March 23
Army Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Bolor, 37, Whittier, Calif., Nov. 15
Army Staff Sgt. Steven H. Bridges, 33, Tracy, Calif., Dec. 8
Army 2nd Lt. Todd J. Bryant, 23, Riverside, Calif., Oct. 31
Army Staff Sgt. Richard A. Burdick, 24, National City, Calif., Dec. 10
Army Pfc. Jose Casanova, 23, El Monte, Calif., Oct. 13
Army Spc. Andrew F. Chris, 25, San Diego, Calif., June 25
Army Spc. Arron R. Clark, 20, Chico, Calif., Dec. 5
Army Spc. Michael A. Diraimondo, 22, Simi Valley, Calif., Jan. 8
Marines Cpl. Jose A. Garibay, 21, Costa Mesa, Calif., March 23
Marines Lance Cpl. Cory Ryan Geurin, 18, Santee, Calif., July 15
Marines Cpl. Jesus A. Gonzalez, 22, Indio, Calif., April 12
Marines Cpl. Jorge A. Gonzalez, 20, Los Angeles, Calif., March 23
Army Cpl. Sean R. Grilley, 24, San Bernardino, Calif., Oct. 16
Marines Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, 28, Los Angeles, Calif., March 21
Army Sgt. Michael S. Hancock, 29, Yreka, Calif., Oct. 24
Army Sgt. Keicia M. Hines, 27, of Citrus Heights, Calif., Jan. 14
Army Sgt. Troy Jenkins, 25, Ridgecrest, Calif., April 24
Army Pvt. Devon D. Jones, 19, San Diego, Calif., April 4
Marines Capt. Andrew David La Mont, 31, Eureka, Calif., May 19
Army Pfc. Karina S. Lau, 20, Livingston, Calif., Nov. 2
Army Pfc. Pablo Manzano, 19, Heber, Calif., Aug. 25
Marines Cpl. Douglas Jose Marencoreyes, 28, Chino, Calif., May 18
Army Sgt. Atanacio Haro Marin Jr., 27, Baldwin Park, Calif., June 3
Army Sgt. 1st Class John W. Marshall, 50, Sacramento, Calif., April 8
Marines Pfc. Francisco A. Martinez Flores, 21, Los Angeles, Calif., March 25
Marines Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa, 33, Tracy, Calif., March 27
Army Staff Sgt. Eddie E. Menyweather, 35, Los Angeles, Calif., Nov. 23
Army Spc. Michael G. Mihalakis, 18, San Jose, Calif., Dec. 26
Army Pfc. Jesse D. Mizener, 24, Auburn, Calif., Jan. 7
Marines Lance Cpl. Jason William Moore, 21, San Marcos, Calif., May 19
Army Spc. Jose L. Mora, 26, Bell Gardens, Calif., Oct. 24
Army Spc. Paul T. Nakamura, 21, Sante Fe Springs, Calif., June 19
Army CWO2 Christopher G. Nason, 39, Los Angeles, Calif., Nov. 23
Marines Lance Cpl. Patrick T. O'Day, 20, Santa Rosa, Calif., March 25
Army 1st Lt. Osbaldo Orozco, 26, Delano, Calif., April 25
Army Pfc. Daniel R. Parker, 18, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Aug. 12
Army Staff Sgt. David S. Perry, 36, Bakersfield, Calif., Aug. 10
Army Spc. Justin W. Pollard, 21, Foothill Ranch, Calif., Dec. 30
Army Spc. Rel A. Ravago IV, 21, Glendale, Calif., Nov. 23
Marines Pfc. Jose Franci Gonzalez Rodriguez, 19, Norwalk, Calif., May 12
Marines Cpl. Randal Kent Rosacker, 21, San Diego, Calif., March 23
Army Pvt. Sean A. Silva, 23, Rosemont, Calif., Oct. 9
Marines Cpl. Erik H. Silva, 22, Holtville, Calif., April 3
Marines 1st Sgt. Edward Smith, 38, Vista, Calif., April 5
Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric A. Smith, 42, Calif. hometown not available, April 2
Marines Lance Cpl. Jesus A. Suarez del Solar, 20, Escondido, Calif., March 29
Marines Lance Cpl. Jason Andrew Tetrault, 20, Moreno Valley, Calif., July 9
Army Staff Sgt. Paul A. Velazquez, 29, San Diego, Calif., Nov. 2
Army Sgt. Ryan C. Young, 21, Corona, Calif., Dec. 2
19
posted on
01/18/2004 11:35:59 AM PST
by
Bringbackthedraft
(I saved my "JEB" signs for 08. I'll use them in 04 if Hillary runs.)
To: Bringbackthedraft
Are all these people illegal aliens who joined the military?
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