With the technology of the 1980s, SDI was not possible. And we knew it wasn’t. But we released fabricated test results that indicated we were close to making it work. And the Soviets, with their awe of Western technology that bordered on cargo cult status, were convinced that we were hiding our true capabilities that were beyond what we released. That was Reagan’s true genius with SDI. He goaded the USSR into bankrupting itself in trying to chase a fantasy.
Now the research done since then has yielded results. It’s just that in 1984, it was all an illusion.
I remember that and it was a risk the Russians couldn’t handle.