While global space military infrastructure seems to be extremely
limited, with China having some ground-based lasers and India destroying
its own satellite in a way that raised environmental concerns, the
Pentagon, and the Air Force in particular, see this as a vital excuse to
spend billions of dollars on shows of force.
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson in particular was keen to see the US demonstrating their capability to use force in space, saying it would prove to the world that they cannot deny America’s use of space “without consequences.”
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein also said the US needed to
prove it could react if “space assets are threatened,” saying that the
US needs to rapidly develop the ability to hit anyone “at the time,
place, and manner of our choosing.”
Gen. Goldfein added that the US must be “always the predator, never the
prey.” While this is mostly just typical Pentagon bravado about the US
needing more offensive capabilities, it is broadly uncertain what it
even means in the context of space, beyond it being far more expensive
than terrestrial warfare.
They both need lobotomies.
“Power absolutely corrupts.”
The debris from such activities will quickly render all satellites inoperable. There will be a trillion dollar titanium shroud, a monument for stupid ideas surrounding the planet, giving us a occasional flash of light at sunset.
The General Curtis Lemay-eque bluster from the Pentagon is pure Dr. Strangelove level crazy. It’s 60 years behind the times. You don’t need to physically destroy a satellite to disable it. They can be jammed electronically, from the ground, with radio waves.
If only I had a freakin moon base…