Quote:
|
Originally Posted by MW Turnage
NASA's official history of Blue Gemini
I've never come across a credible reference to an armed Blue Gemini, but I have seen things that suggested that some in the USAF were considering using them as a way to inspect or even sabotage Soviet satellites. There would've been one helluva row about the legal aspects of that, though....
Probably the scariest space weaponry concept I've come across was one was a paper that suggested the Soviets were considering a weapon that would essentially scour geosynchronous orbit of pretty much everything. Basically you'd put a large fragmentation bomb (say something the size of a Gemini or Mercury capsule filled with ball bearings) and put it in a reverse-geosynchronous orbit. The orbital mechanics involved are pretty dicey, and you'd essentially be making a moon shot to set it up (which would wipe out any surprise factor), but the end result would've cleared out most of the communication satellites and rendered the entire orbital band unusable for decades.
|
Thanks for the link. BTW, like the idea of taking out orbiting comm satellites in geosynchonous orbit, might make that a part of my games.
Chuck M.