Looks like we'll know more tomorrow but looks like that's exactly what they've done.
Just what the world needs right now, a little bit more destabilisation.
Isn’t it that USA intelligence say that Russia “have plans” to put a nuclear missile into space?
From what I caught on ITV, that may have put one up yesterday or a few days ago. I didn't catch the full report though!
Silver lining... It might make more Americans twitchy on whether Putin is really the hard done by victim some GOP types seem to want to promote.
Looks like they are talking about it, but no launch. I’m going for propaganda not proper geordie brew.
damascus
Free Member
There’s already nukes in space. One more isn’t going to be much worse is it?
I genuinely thought there weren't?
Best to wait for some facts; unusual for STW, I know.
i think the maga crew have got hold of some very potent crack
https://twitter.com/realchasegeiser/status/1757873389669097714?t=0H8I7l60CQGdR6i6XOZwPA&s=19
Right, apologies, you are right guys. Looks like there is intelligence to show Russia intends to put nukes up there with the intent of being able to destroy other satellites. Sorry for the unintentional hyperbole!
Still, it might focus the minds of Americans on Russia and not in the way trump wants them to.
Looks like they are talking about it, but no launch. I’m going for propaganda not proper geordie brew.
The timing of a briefing about new Russian capabilities seems convenient, coming immediately after Trump is recorded saying that Russia should be allowed to 'do what the hell it wants' and threaten neighbouring NATO states.
Biden may well have been holding onto this for the right moment. Hey, perhaps he's not so senile after all!
But if it forces Congress' hand on Ukraine aid and leaves the Putin-loving MAGA loons looking even more foolish, that's a double win.
Nobody’s owned up to putting atomic wesponry in space previously. I’m sure they’ve had thoughts about it. They considered putting 10t tungsten projectiles in space that they could de-orbit at will, the idea that the impact alone would be more than powerful enough to wipe out a city. But this seems different.
The Russians have been playing around with new nuclear technology recently with alleged nuclear powered cruise missiles and autonomous nuclear torpedoes. Their engineers seem to have re-energised the batshit crazy line of research and innovation that was seen in the latter days of the soviet era. So anything is worryingly possible.
i think they put a small rector in space once and everyone has sent RTGs into space as they’re bloomin useful power sources.
I don't know what the Russians plan to put up into orbit but if its a chunk of Plutonium then what happens when it burns up on re-entry which it eventually will if never used.
Putting a nuke in space isn't easy, much less ensuring that it has useful directable propellant to slow it down and guide it to a target. The latter can be done with not much propellant, but with a course that would allow considerable time to interpret and respond to.
i think they put a small rector in space
I'm all for more of this ^
i think they put a small rector in space
You reckon that one on the end ?
Got dentist appointment tomorrow.
Just to prove STW truly is the fount of all knowledge, this thread shows we have rocketeers on board!
(Pun intended)
Star Wars Regan all over again.
Reds under the bed. Panic arrrrgggggg Alaska.
American interests isn't it.
Ronnie Raygun.
frankconway
Full Member
Just to prove STW truly is the fount of all knowledge, this thread shows we have rocketeers on board!(Pun intended)
Let's hope STWers waking up in the morning and logging in read my disclaimer further down the page before they take the doors off the hinges and place then up against the wall.
At least I made a mistake about a trifling little subject, not anything really important. 😁
damascus
Free Member
There’s already nukes in space. One more isn’t going to be much worse is it?
There aren't. There's a treaty against it. Technically, launching an ICBM would put a nuke into space briefly, but treaties wouldn't really matter if it came to that. The thing with putting them in orbit instead of using an ICBM is that there would be almost no warning time.
My guess on this is that the U.S. announced it publicly to show Russia that they have a security breach. It's a bit like before the Ukraine invasion started, the U.S. published detailed plans in order to show Russia that they had breached Russian security. Normally you would not do that so announcing it publicly is intended to send a message that security has been breached and they should back off.
How’s your old mate Ling? Still in contact?
Shudder, lord no. Last seen in Bulgaria or something when her visa expired during lockdown. Brexit means Brexit.
frankconway
Full Member
I’m sure you’re swapping DMs!
GIFs perhaps, not DMs. 😁
There’s a treaty against it.
That genuinely made me laugh. In an omg you aren't really that naive are you 😆
And before you say anything, thats not just the Russians, thats every country, ever, across all time.
Putting a nuke in space isn’t easy, much less ensuring that it has useful directable propellant to slow it down and guide it to a target. The latter can be done with not much propellant, but with a course that would allow considerable time to interpret and respond to.
What if the target is a satellite? Not sure there's much anyone could do about that.
Couldn't the same be achieved with a big frickin' laser anyway?
What if the target is a satellite?
…or many satellites. What if they created a load of junk in the orbital path of GPS? You wouldn’t have to directly hit anything immediately, just create a debris field and let probability take over. That would be pretty debilitating for the west. We’d be literally crippled. The Russians could continue to use GLONASS as they’ll use a different orbit. I’ll stop war gaming that in my head right now. Terrifying. I’ll fetch the verger.
What if the target is a satellite?
I think you would be better to use a ground launched weapon to target satellites. If the weapon is in orbit, it would be more difficult/take longer to put them on an intercept course than with a ground launch. Making two orbiting objects meet is generally harder than just launching something from earth to meet an orbiting object.
The Russians could continue to use GLONASS as they’ll use a different orbit.
I doubt it. The difference in the orbital height is about 1000 km. If an attack on GPS satellites was successful, it would scatter debris in random directions so a lot of that debris would drift into the GLONASS orbit. Any country launching anti-satellite attacks would have to do so on the assumption that your own satellites would also be taken out, it's a doomsday weapon
Anyone know which streaming service Space Cowboys is on? Need to prep for inevitable nuclear satellite doom.
PS: NASA / SpaceX, I have actually got a clear calendar for the next month or two if you need me to do something heroic. Already have required acting talent.
*glares at camera and mumbles*
Anyone remember Iron Sky. Where all the world powers had weaponsied space craft, apart from one nation, but they all lied about it.
Maybe there's a Nazi space base on the Moon we don't know about?
Elon's Starlink dishes have been spotted in Russian positions in Ukraine https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/12/ukraine-accuses-russia-forces-using-elon-musk-starlink
Their use of space nukes would put holes in Starlink's 6000 satellite coverage and shirley undermines the point of the exercise
US House Intelligence Committee chairman Michael Turner (Republican) is looking for another argument to divert funding from Ukraine because Republicans have already played the Border Control Trump-card
Making two orbiting objects meet is generally harder than just launching something from earth to meet an orbiting object.
Doesn't have to hit it, just needs to be close enough to EMP it. Bonus: no debris field so risk to GLONASS is minimised.
Whoa, I'm sorry, but WTF! Golden Eye? EMP blast? The picture is straight off James Bond's 90's classic GoldenEye. And no one says anything? This place has really gone to the dogs.
Whoa, I’m sorry, but WTF! Golden Eye? EMP blast? The picture is straight off James Bond’s 90’s classic GoldenEye. And no one says anything? This place has really gone to the dogs.
No one said anything because he said "N64 classic" and everyone got the reference/joke except you 😁
Doesn’t have to hit it, just needs to be close enough to EMP it
Getting it close enough for that would still be easier from Earth than an orbiting weapon. Satellites are already designed to withstand solar flares, which release EMPs. Nuclear weapons aren't actually very useful in space unless they are detonated very close to the target because there is no atmosphere to transmit a blast wave, they just release a burst of radiation. They won't release shrapnel like a conventional warhead because the entire warhead will be vapourized. You can't just fire a rocket at a target in space the way you can on earth, to make an orbiting warhead hit another orbiting body, you have to adjust the orbiting warhead's orbit very precisely so that the orbits of the two bodies intersect. That's actually going to be easier to do from a ground launch than using an orbiting warhead.
Orbiting warheads would be very effective against ground targets though - there would be very little warning of them and they would arrive at huge velocity.
No one said anything because he said “N64 classic” and everyone got the reference/joke except you 😁
TBF to @andy8442 I saw the picture and thought - that's Goldeneye, but I have no idea what N64 Classic means or refers to. 🤷♂️
@Thols2 - the starfish prime test showed that you could create an extra van Allen belt which would (did) screw up satellites. Now military satellites (e.g. GPS) are likely shielded but plenty won't be sufficiently.
Someone mentioned the tungensten telegraph poles above - my favourite cold war mad idea - 'Rods from God'. Not powerful to destroy city tho - more like a few tons of tnt. You certainly wouldn't want to be on the recieving end, but there are much easier and cheaper ways to achieving the same end result!
Since the US has said they're not worried the nuke that is / isn't in space is going to hurt anyone on earth (and nuclear RTGs have been in space for yonks) my money is on a anti satellite radiation weapon. Not hurting anyone on earth rules out a FOBS (FOOOOOBS - niche reference ACW fans).
I have no idea what N64 Classic means or refers to. 🤷♂️
Inconceivable !!
my money is on a anti satellite radiation weapon
Sure, but it won't be orbiting earth, it would be ground launched.
What's happened here is that a Republican who is on the intelligence committee asked that some classified information be declassified. That led to speculation about the contents, leading to theories that it relates to anti-satellite nukes. Even if that speculation is correct, it says nothing about them being placed in orbit. It's harder to destroy a satellite using an orbiting weapon than it is using a ground launched weapon so it would make no sense for Russia to take the risk of openly breaching a treaty in such a provocative way for zero benefit.
One way to use nukes against satellites is to blind the satellite's sensors - this would be directed against Western reconnaissance satellites, not GPS satellites. But, it's all just speculation, there's no public evidence that Russia is seriously planning this, let alone building such a system.
I have no idea what N64 Classic means or refers to. 🤷♂️
The Troll is strong in this one.
STW reflects real life 🙂
This story has used a day of debate in the House of Representatives on the aid bill. For the record USSR had nukes orbiting the earth in the 1960s, google Upravlyaemy Sputnik Aktivnyy (US-A will do it to)
The belief is that the nuke component in the modern version will power EW jammers that solar panels alone couldn't. It's all talk, the Russian space project is declining https://spacestatsonline.com/launches/country/
Another much-hyped wonder weapon is their invisible hypersonic missile tech. Well it was until a Patriot intercepted one
Does anyone else get the "Pigs in Space" song/skit from the Muppet show in their head whenever they see this thread title?
Just me then? Oh well, I'm strange.
