Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ssc-vax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!houxz!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!eder From: eder@ssc-vax.UUCP (Dani Eder) Newsgroups: net.space Subject: Space Weapons and the Kzinti Lesson Message-ID: <179@ssc-vax.UUCP> Date: Wed, 6-Jun-84 12:50:55 EDT Article-I.D.: ssc-vax.179 Posted: Wed Jun 6 12:50:55 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 7-Jun-84 19:10:46 EDT References: <300@ames-lm.UUCP> Organization: Boeing Aerospace, Seattle Lines: 20 6 June 1984 There is no way to avoid having weapons in space if you are in space at all. Whenever you have lots of energy available, and space travel requires energy, you have the makings of a weapon. For a simple example, imagine the Space Shuttle approaching a Soviet spacecraft, perhaps a reconnaisance bird. The Shuttle turns its aft end to face the spacecraft and proceeds to blast the spacecraft with 6000 lbs of thrust from an OMS engine. This will destroy almost any spacecraft built by either side. In the future, mass-driver reaction engines can be used for machine guns, solar power satellites can fry electronics, asteroid miners can throw rocks, and fusion drives are unhealthy to merely turn on in the vicinity of unshielded poeple. For some references, I recommend reading "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein, and the 'Known Space' books by Larry Niven. Dani Eder / Boeing Aerospace Company / ssc-vx!eder