Word: smarted
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
According to advocates of an SDI speedup, it might be possible in the mid- 1990s to orbit a space-based system of hundreds of satellites, called "garages," each capable of launching a dozen or so smart rocks that could strike Soviet missiles as they are launched. The system would also include ground-based smart rocks capable of striking warheads as they re-enter the atmosphere. Gerold Yonas, until recently the chief SDI scientist, says "even a modest deployment of this sort would run over $100 billion." By contrast, a full-fledged Star Wars system involving lasers and other futuristic technology...
Supporters of what has come to be called "phased deployment" -- meaning putting in place a simple system of smart rocks as a prelude to a more advanced system -- base their optimism on the success of last year's Delta 180 demonstration; in this experiment, a space vehicle launched on a Delta rocket tracked and targeted another rocket and then maneuvered to collide with a satellite. The demonstration, however, was somewhat rigged: the rocket orbits were preprogrammed, and a reflector on the target rocket magnified its image 1,000 times. Nevertheless, Air Force Lieut. General James Abrahamson, SDI's director, argues...
Opponents of changing the treaty interpretation argue that even the broad reading would not permit the testing of smart rocks in space, because they do not represent new or exotic physical principles. With the exception of a long- wavelength infrared sensor, the SBKKVs involve no technical breakthroughs, says John Pike of the Federation of American Scientists, and the land-based interceptors are merely upgraded, nonnuclear versions of the ABM systems developed during the 1960s. Says Democratic Senator J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana: "The Delta 180 test demonstrated obsolete technology that is ineffective and vastly expensive...
...proposed system of smart rocks is a far cry from the original, exotic technologies. One plan was to use laser weapons in space, but the generators have proved too heavy to put into orbit. Researchers are now considering a more complicated plan to use ground-based lasers and bounce the beams off mirrors in space. Attempts to develop neutral particle beams or electromagnetic "rail guns" have likewise proved difficult...
...Even the smart-rock technology faces daunting obstacles. According to the most optimistic projections, such a system would require putting more than 6 million lbs. into orbit, the equivalent of 125 space-shuttle loads. Nor have scientists come up with a workable way to discriminate between thousands of incoming warheads and ten times as many decoys. Perhaps the major unresolved issue is survivability. "Satellites in orbit are sitting ducks," says one expert, "far easier to hit than ICBMs in ballistic trajectories...