Posted on 08/13/2007 5:43:09 PM PDT by KevinDavis
On January 11, 2007 the Chinese launched a missile from a mobile transporter-erector launcher (TEL) armed with a kinetic kill vehicle and destroyed the Fengyun-1C weather satellite. This satellite was orbiting the earth in a low, polar orbit. This missile was launched with no advanced warning from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and they didn’t respond to the test until much later. According to Air Force Space Command, 700 spacecraft in low Earth orbit are now at risk due to the debris cloud created. I would say in addition to the debris cloud, all of our satellites and manned spacecraft, within range of these weapons, are endangered and the Chinese ASAT interceptor program should be taken seriously.
While some people find the intentions of the Chinese ASAT test an “enigma”, I find it hard to understand what is so difficult for them to understand. Finding these answers are easier than some think. Any person who takes the time to read the open source materials alone can get a firm grasp of what Chinese military leaders and government officials are advocating through their ASAT and space weapons programs.
(Excerpt) Read more at thespacereview.com ...
What seems to have eluded this writer is the concept of the use of barrels of nails as anti-satellite weapons. All you need to do is launch large containers of small nails into orbits at different altitudes, and then blow them up. The resulting debris fields will quickly spread to make it exceedingly difficult (statistically) for any sort of rocket to make it through a field intact to a high orbit.
Low orbit ICBMs and IRBMs would thereby loose much of their utility.
Short of blowing up barrels of nails, you might just blow up a handful of low orbit satellites. Or, you could simply launch barrels of nails and wait until near the time of combat to actually blow them up, either by remote control or by means of a second ground launched rocket.
Eventually, given enough of this stuff, only the most advanced space-faring nations will be able to get their satellites into orbit past the range of the debris fields.
It's possible the Chinese were looking far into the future and trying out an idea on how to remove large debris chunks from the launch path.
Such a contingency is likely already planned by the USAF.
Great analysis.
That reminds me of a space book I read in grade school in the 1950’s. It described a minefield in space as being nothing more than a bunch of ball bearings spewed out into an orbit or region that needed a permanent barrier. Nothing man made could make it through the steel balls without being destroyed or seriously damaged.
That's why it's so vitally necessary to keep replenishing them with yet more nails and ballbearings ~ but why high tech stuff ~ nails should work just fine!
Yeah, something out of “Thunder Road” bootlegging country would work just fine! :o)
Bump! It is therefore also an economical antimissile defense. Instead of "smart pebbles" its more like an indiscriminate "sandstorm". Something we ourselves might have to do in a last-ditch effort to blunt a Chinese and Russian attack since we have no real NMD currently.
The only problem is that we have no deployed capability (despite its presumed ease of development) and the trick would be getting sufficient advance warning of its need for use. And to avoid its pre-emption...getting it up in time.
The need for a limited endurance of the field of debris is also critical. Too high, and its up there for decades. Too low, and it decays in days...when weeks or months are needed until the tyrannical Chicom-NeoSoviet threat is neutralized.
Uh, no chance. Even the as-yet-totally-undeveloped SCRAM jet cruise missiles could not catch a ballistic launcher deep inside China. The ballistic ASAT missile can easily be lofted straight up as it was here. Well outside of exterior intercept range envelopes not only for "hypervelocity" cruise missiles....but for the far-faster ballistic missile interceptors we should have had...but Xlinton killed (Aegis SM Mk IV flight IIa)...and Bush also killed (TBMD in Oct. 2001!).
The ASAT weapon they developing and likely soon to declare operational was not orbital. It just went straight up the hard way and smacked their satellite. No orbit needed.
And the fact that it is mobile will make it hard to locate and target if we were to try and pre-empt them. Which is obviously something they fear we might try. Why would they have such a fear? They are telegraphing their own malevolence by such a deployments posture. They are projecting what THEY would do to stop them. If they were in OUR SHOES, they would Pre-empt....
...in case you missed it...
Thanks SunkenCiv!
:’)
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