SPACE BASED WARFARE

It strikes me that what is lacking in a lot of sci-fi stories and games are an honest appreciation of what is entailed in a future war. Most writers seem to base their stories upon past naval warfare. This, upon close examination, does not seem to be the way in which future wars will develop. Using the past as a jump of point and then projecting it in to the future in seems that it will be the air breathing vehicles of the twentieth and the twenty -first century that will set the tone for future wars. There will be a land component, but only after the extra terrestrial space encompassing the contested planet and any thing else down to the surface has been won. If there is no space superiority, limited commando raids will be the order of the day aimed at the ground based laser and other military infrastructure. The methods of propulsion will differ from that of the air breathing terrestrial craft as will the structure, the streamlining not necessary, the weapons remaining the same.

The greatest impediment to speed for extra terrestrial craft is the weight of the fuel. In order to reach orbit a spacecraft has to carry nearly its own weight in fuel, witness the space shuttle and its external fuel tanks. It has been proposed by some scientists that ground based laser transmits a laser beam into space where is then directed at a receptor and is then deflected into a combustion chamber. The beam will be pulsed so as to interact with a port on the chamber, which then opens on the induction phase and closes on the power phase. For landing in places where the forces of gravity are involved the beam is put in continuous phase mode that does not flash off and on. This in turn will give a continuous thrust from the combustion chamber allowing for the craft to overcome gravity. However there is a penalty to pay due to the fact that the port is longer being viable. In order to maintain a sealed cylinder zircon ports and mirrors are used allowing for a continuous beam of light to pass through the transparent zircon and on into the port, thus maintaining a closed cylinder as the combustion occurs. As zircon is expensive and laser is strong there will eventually be a break down in the zircon ports and mirrors calling for a costly replacement.

Regarding the vehicle, scientists engineers and well known authors have proposed a circular structure containing a raised center cabin with laser engines situated on the outer skirt connected to receptors on the lower flat surface. Laser weapons taking light from GBL have been suggested. Personally I see no reason to develop a new weapon system when so many are available for air breathing vehicles which, when released from the hindrance of the atmosphere, will be doubly efficient. Besides, it is relatively easy to defend against a laser weapon using mirrors and such like.

Present day standoff missiles could easily be adapted to space age warfare, as could the various AMRAAM missiles used by current fighter jets. Space based mines are another possibility. They would contain a tracking computer, a servo, and a warhead, much the same way as in todays stand off missiles. However in addition, some type of sensing mechanism will be required in order to pick up such things as electrical emissions in the passive mode, or to emit electrical, infrared, laser etc in the active mode. The former will be used in a situation where the target has on-board detection equipment, the latter where the risk of detection is small or non-existent. These craft will be confined to a range of within few hundred miles of a GBL; which itself will be confined to a stable platform in order to achieve the accuracy of beam placement necessary, space based laser not accurate enough, the various calculations required for drift vibration etc beyond the capabilities of most computers. Even if computers are developed where it is possible to compensate for this the extra computing time required to get a fix on the target in a life and death situation will make them impracticable.

What then can be used in deep space? I relay upon the venerable Dean Ing for the solution. He has proposed a battle cruiser powered by-wait for it, an atomic detonation. Roughly it would consist of a forward section containing crew, life support systems, etc. At the rear of the front section would be a very large lead screen that would protect the crew from immediate radiation. Attached to the forward section via a gantry will be a combustion chamber. Very small atom bombs will be inserted in to the chamber, which will contain an electromagnetic system creating a force field directing the blast to the rear. An explosion occurs. Thrust is created. Harm-full back blast and residual radiation is directed backwards and away from the structure and from the crew. The lead shield will protect the crew from the immediate radiation. Heat radiating water passing through pipes in giant diamond shaped fins running from the rear structure out to the tips, using the freezing temperatures of space, will cool the engine and the surrounding structure.