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Anonymouse · 30-01-2013, 13:24

If you want to scare yourself, forget nukes and/or ICBMs; they're not needed - all you need is a launch platform above Earth's gravity well. I imagine Low Earth Orbit would do. Read Heinlein's The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress and/or a number of David Weber's Honor Harrington novels for accounts of what kinetic energy weapons can do...or ask the dinosaurs. Oh, wait, you can't - a naturally occurring KEW wiped them out!

They don't even need propulsion, aside from small steering jets...you can effectively just drop them from orbit, taking the Earth's rotation and various other things into account, and Earth's gravity will do the rest. And you get all the destructive power of a nuke without radioactivity or fallout. True, anyone unlucky enough to be looking in the direction of the blast at the moment of impact will still be permanently blinded by the flash, but...

Even a mass of a few tens of tons (a relatively small payload) can do major damage if it hits at several miles per second - which, falling from orbit, it would. This is one reason (of several) why there's been no serious research into asteroid deflection: because if you can deflect an asteroid away from Earth, you can equally well deflect one towards Earth...if you're a total nutter, that is. Certain nations on Earth have plenty of those.

Though it might start a war, the best thing SAC-NORAD could do on seeing an Iranian space station in orbit (if they have the facilities to build one) would be to equip an ICBM with an ion drive (I doubt a standard ICBM could make escape velocity) and blow the damn thing away!

Seriously, I think the other launch-capable nations need to keep a very careful eye on them. And let's not forget what the Chinese are up to. According to Wikipedia, Communist China did not sign the UN treaty forbidding use of the Moon for military purposes.

On the other hand, neither did the UK or the US...

Oh, dear. What are we heading towards...?

30-01-2013, 13:24	#7
Anonymouse RIP Tigger - 12 years?! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bolton Age: 59 Services: EE Superfast Broadband Posts: 1,566	Re: Iranian Space Program If you want to scare yourself, forget nukes and/or ICBMs; they're not needed - all you need is a launch platform above Earth's gravity well. I imagine Low Earth Orbit would do. Read Heinlein's The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress and/or a number of David Weber's Honor Harrington novels for accounts of what kinetic energy weapons can do...or ask the dinosaurs. Oh, wait, you can't - a naturally occurring KEW wiped them out! They don't even need propulsion, aside from small steering jets...you can effectively just drop them from orbit, taking the Earth's rotation and various other things into account, and Earth's gravity will do the rest. And you get all the destructive power of a nuke without radioactivity or fallout. True, anyone unlucky enough to be looking in the direction of the blast at the moment of impact will still be permanently blinded by the flash, but... Even a mass of a few tens of tons (a relatively small payload) can do major damage if it hits at several miles per second - which, falling from orbit, it would. This is one reason (of several) why there's been no serious research into asteroid deflection: because if you can deflect an asteroid away from Earth, you can equally well deflect one towards Earth...if you're a total nutter, that is. Certain nations on Earth have plenty of those. Though it might start a war, the best thing SAC-NORAD could do on seeing an Iranian space station in orbit (if they have the facilities to build one) would be to equip an ICBM with an ion drive (I doubt a standard ICBM could make escape velocity) and blow the damn thing away! Seriously, I think the other launch-capable nations need to keep a very careful eye on them. And let's not forget what the Chinese are up to. According to Wikipedia, Communist China did not sign the UN treaty forbidding use of the Moon for military purposes. On the other hand, neither did the UK or the US... Oh, dear. What are we heading towards...? __________________ "People tend to confuse the words 'new' and 'improved'." - Agent Phil Coulson, S.H.I.E.L.D. WINDOWS 11, ANYONE?!