From Foreign Policy Blog:In today's cover story, Mike Moore reflects on yesterday's satellite collision and describes one nightmare scenario for space conflict:
In a time of high tension, someone preemptively smashes spy satellites in low-earth orbits, creating tens of thousands of metal chunks and shards. Debris-tracking systems are overwhelmed, and low-earth orbits become so cluttered with metal that new satellites cannot be safely launched. Satellites already in orbit die of old age or are killed by debris strikes.
The global economy, which is greatly dependent on a variety of assets in space, collapses. The countries of the world head back to a 1950s-style
In a time of high tension, someone preemptively smashes spy satellites in low-earth orbits, creating tens of thousands of metal chunks and shards. Debris-tracking systems are overwhelmed, and low-earth orbits become so cluttered with metal that new satellites cannot be safely launched. Satellites already in orbit die of old age or are killed by debris strikes.
The global economy, which is greatly dependent on a variety of assets in space, collapses. The countries of the world head back to a 1950s-style
In a time of high tension, someone preemptively smashes spy satellites in low-earth orbits, creating tens of thousands of metal chunks and shards. Debris-tracking systems are overwhelmed, and low-earth orbits become so cluttered with metal that new satellites cannot be safely launched. Satellites already in orbit die of old age or are killed by debris strikes.
The global economy, which is greatly dependent on a variety of assets in space, collapses. The countries of the world head back to a 1950s-style way of life, but there are billions more people on the planet than in the 50s. That's a recipe for malnutrition, starvation, and wars for resources.
Read more ....
My Comment: There has been competition in space since the beginning. The fact that platforms in space are now used to direct missiles, enabling communications to act instantaneous with drones .... one can make the argument that war in space has been constant since the invasion of Iraq, and that American success is now breeding a new generation of systems.
The global economy, which is greatly dependent on a variety of assets in space, collapses. The countries of the world head back to a 1950s-style way of life, but there are billions more people on the planet than in the 50s. That's a recipe for malnutrition, starvation, and wars for resources.
Read more ....
My Comment: There has been competition in space since the beginning. The fact that platforms in space are now used to direct missiles, enabling communications to act instantaneous with drones .... one can make the argument that war in space has been constant since the invasion of Iraq, and that American success is now breeding a new generation of systems.