Orbital weaponry
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Orbital weaponry is any weapon that is in orbit around a large body such as a planet or moon. This can include space to ground, space to air, or space to space weaponry. Currently there are no orbital weapons systems in Earth orbit. There were two treaties that were signed during the Cold War which prohibit any weapons of mass destruction from being placed into space. These are the Outer Space Treaty and the SALT II treaty.
In the 1980s Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative which was to be an orbital anti-ICBM defense system in which a laser would intercept incoming ICBMs as they would approach high altitudes. This plan was abandoned and replaced with work on satellite-based mini-missiles to be used as interceptors. Finally in 1993 the entire SDI was abandoned for ground based missile defense systems.
Many countries and non-government organizations are proponents of a Space Preservation Treaty which would ban placing any weaponry into outer space. The United States is the only spacefaring power opposed, The Pentagon seems keen on developing space based weaponry. More recently, the concept of kinetic bombardment has been proposed by the United States government. This would be an orbital weapon that is not considered a weapon of mass destruction and therefore would not violate current treaties.
- "Rumi" - "Rumsfeld Unilateral Multi Orbiting Incinerator" - Sec DOD Donald
Science fiction
The concept of orbital weaponry is very popular in science fiction. Orbital kinetic weapons, orbital energy weapons like lasers, and orbital explosives are all popular. Some more noteworthy fictional orbital weapons include:
- SOL (Satellite in Orbit Laser canon) from Akira
- A laser satellite made of diamonds by Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever.
- "GoldenEye", an orbital EMP weapon from the James Bond film GoldenEye.
- Icarus, a satellite made of diamonds in the James Bond film Die Another Day which has the capability of harnessing the sun's power and directing it to any point on the globe.
- The SOLG (Strategic Orbital Linear Gun), a military attack satellite in Namco's videogame . The SOLG was designed to launch MIRVs to attack multiple targets on the planet of Strangereal, the world where the videogames take place.
- The MAC (Magnetic Accelerator Cannon) Orbital Defense Station [Halo 2]. These stations were set in geo-syncronous orbit around populated planets for protection against enemy starships. They fire depleted uranium shells in tungsten casings at supersonic velocites.
- Ion Cannon from the Command and Conquer series is a GDI orbital weapon used against NOD forces.
- "SOGCG" (Sub Oribital Giant Chicken Gun) was used in the Iranian cartoon "Dabah El Kaber" as the ultimate weapon of the series main antagonist (Dr. Farah)
- Numerous types of beam weaponry present in Peter F. Hamilton's science fiction novels, such as the X-Ray cannon in the Night's Dawn trilogy, and the particle lance and atom laser in Pandora's Star.
- The computer game Halo 2 begins on one of the 300 geosynch platforms orbiting the Earth. each one is armed with a MAC gun which can "put a round clean through a Covenant capital ship" according to Sergeant Johnson. They are also usable as docks for smaller ships. Named stations include the 'Cairo', the 'Malta' and the 'Athens', which make up a supposedly impenetrable battle cluster.
See also
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