Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Leaked USAF Report Targets European GPS Satellites
Update Nov-04-2004: The baseline article for this story has been disputed; John Sheldon of Astropolitics, a space power and policy journal, states that there was no confrontation between US and Europeans on the issue of the Gallileo satellite system being used for military purposes. See his comments here.
Galileo is a set of thirty satellites and associated groundstations that is due to go into operations in 2008, providing a rival to the US Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) network. Galileo is a product of the European Union and the European Space Agency aimed at the lucrative GPS service market.
China became a partner in the Galileo program; peaceful uses include communications for the 2008 Olympics. Military applications are also possible.
According to a leaked US Air Force document written in August, Peter Teets, under-secretary of the USAF wrote:
"What will we do 10 years from now when American lives are put at risk because an adversary chooses to leverage the global positioning system of perhaps the Galileo constellation to attack American forces with precision?"
(From Global Positioning System Satellite Array)
The paper also reported that a disagreement between the US and the EU regarding Galileo at a London conference resulted in a threat to blow up the planned satellites. The European delegates reportedly said that they would not turn off or jam signals from their satellites, even if they were used in a war with the US.
The US has long expressed concerns about the system, which also numbers Russia and Israel as supporters. US and NATO operations that rely on GPS could be compromised; the Galileo system may also interfere with a classified Pentagon positioning system known as M-Code.
Galileo is expected to provide as many as 150,000 jobs throughout Europe. However, it could force countries into a pro-US (GPS) position or an anti-US (Galileo) position.
In his 1976 novel Shockwave Rider, John Brunner refers directly to the capability of destroying satellites in orbit. In the novel, this capability has filtered down from the military (who paid for development) to corporations, who could search for and destroy ("sand") the satellites of rival corporations.
Anti-satellite programs in the United States date from 1963, which saw the deployment of Program 437, which consisted of a Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile with a nuclear warhead. The basic idea was that this missile would be launched in the direction of an enemy satellite and then detonated. Anti-satellite programs in the former Soviet Union started in 1959 with the "Istrebitel Sputnikov" ("satellite destroyer") and resulted in the Polet spacecraft equipped with radar and heat-seeking homing systems in 1964.
See the original story at SpaceDaily.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/26/2004)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 9 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
ESA To Build Moon Bases Brick By Printed LEGO Brick
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.' - John W. Campbell, 1950.
FLOAT Levitating Train On The Moon ala Clarke
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1955.
SpaceX Intros Extravehicular Activity Suit
'Provision had been made to meet the terrific cold which we knew would be encountered the moment we had passed beyond the atmosphere.' - Garrett P. Serviss, 1898.
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.' - L. Ron Hubbard, 1948.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Cognify - A Prison Of The Mind We've Seen Before In SF
'So I serve a hundred years in one day...'
Robot With Human Brain Organoid - 'A Thrilling Story Of Mechanistic Progress'
'A human brain snugly encased in a transparent skull-shaped receptacle.'
Goodness Gracious Me! Google Tries Face Recognition Security
'The actuating mechanism that should have operated by the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell...'
With Mycotecture, We'll Just Grow The Space Habitats We Need
'The only real cost was in the plastic balloon that guided the growth of the coral and enclosed the coral's special air-borne food.'
Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier?
'The border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
WiFi and AI Team Up To See Through Walls
'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...'
Climate Engineering In California Could Make Europe's Heat Waves Worse
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
Optimus Robot Will Be A Good Nanny, Says Musk
'Nanny is different,' Tom Fields murmured... 'she's not like a machine. She's like a person.'
ESA To Build Moon Bases Brick By Printed LEGO Brick
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.'
Does The Shortage Of Human Inputs Limit AI Development?
'...we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
Textiles That Harvest Energy And Store It
'The clothes and jewelery drew their tiny power requirements from her movements.'
LORIS Passive-Gripper Climbing Robot
'At the end of each appendage's eight fingers there are tinier appendages...'
Neuroplatform Human Brain Organoid Bioprocessor Uses Less Electricity
'Cultured brains on a slab.'
Drug To Regenerate Teeth In Humans
'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.
Coin-Sized Nuclear Battery Good For 100 Years
'...power pack the size of a pea.'
Live Stream With Meta-Ban Multimodal Smart Glasses
'...the bug-eyed, opaque gape of her True-Vu lenses.'
