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
 |
Russians Think US Is Weaponizing Asteroids
This summer, honorary member of the Tsiolkovsky Cosmonautics Academy, CEO of the Planetary Protection Center non-profit partnership Anatoly Zaitsev told TASS:
There are two methods to use asteroids as weapons, he pointed out.
The first method is to conceal information on a dangerous celestial body and the second option is to deliberately alter the asteroid flight path to make it crash onto Russian territory, the expert explained.
"The first option is potentially plausible, even if hardly probable because we detect less than 0.1% of about 2,500 Earth-approaching asteroids annually discovered in the world. The second scenario is real because over 30 years the United States and other countries have organized 12 expeditions to 14 asteroids and six comets, in which the methods and means of controlling their flight paths were tested," he said.
As far as I know, the first suggestion of using a celestial body as a weapon came in Buck Rogers, 2430 A.D., a comic from 1929-1931, created by Philip Nowlan and D. Calkins.
"It is necessary to point out that an opportunity emerges to test kinetic, laser and even asteroid weapons under the guise of creating tools of protection from dangerous celestial bodies. These weapons can, for example, become a component of the space forces set up by the United States with the aim of its dominance in outer space," the expert said on the occasion of International Asteroid Day annually celebrated on June 30.
BY PUSHING AGAINST THE
LITTLE MARTIAN MOON WITH OUR
ROCKET SHIP, WE HAD LESSENED
THE CENTRIFUGAL SPEED THAT
HELD IT BALANCED IN THE SKY.
IT WAS FALLING AS IT CIRCLED
THE RED PLANET. FASTER AND
FASTER IT SPIRALLED DOWN,
UNTIL AT LAST BOB BYRON
SNAPPED OUT AN ORDER.
(Buck Rogers: the rocket ship gets in position)
(Buck Rogers: the rocket ship pushes a moon)
(Buck Rogers: the moon spirals in)
(The moon becomes incandescent as it hits Mars' atmosphere)
(Then, with a crash that shook the entire planet, it struck!)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/29/2023)
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 ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Weapon ")
Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier?
'The border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.' - Neal Stephenson, 1995.
Has Turkey Been Stealing Rain From Iran?
Can one country take another's rain?
We Need To Build Anti-Drone Systems For Civilian Spaces
'the real border was defended by ...a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats...' - Neal Stephenson, 1995.
Bullet Steers Itself! The Advanced Low-Cost Munitions Ordnance ALaMO
'You've heard of a bullet that has your name on it.' - Michael Crichton, 1985.
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
Chaffeur Robot Musashi Will Drive Your Regular Car
'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
Space Exporers! Now, You Can Drink Your Own Urine
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
SpaceX EVA Spacesuit Tested By Polaris Dawn Crew
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
Automatic Bot Traffic Is 38 Percent Of HTTP Requests
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
Shanghai Guidelines For Humanoid Robots
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
Desktop TARS Robot From Interstellar
What's YOUR sarcasm setting?
Robots Can Now Have Smiling Faces With Human Skin
'I am a cybernetic organism...'
Virtual Rat Predicts Actual Rat Neural Activity
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
GoSun EV Solar Charger Drapes Onto Your Car
'...six square yards of sunpower screens.'
Rizon 4 Ironing Robot
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
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...'
