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 ")
Space Weather Forecasters Surprised By Strong Solar Storm
'Space-weather men had been placed at their disposal...' - Lawrence Chandler, 1952.
JWST Finds New World Of Turbulent Silicate Clouds
'THIS is Ceti Alpha V!' - Gene Roddenberry, 1982.
Spectroscopic Analysis Of DART Impact Debris Cloud (SF Prediction)
'... Wendis stared thoughtfully at the brilliant lines on the spectroscope screen.' - EC Tube, 1958.
M-Dwarf Stars May Not Have Habitable Planets
'Thus it came about that the search for a planetiferous sun near a white dwarf star was not unduly prolonged...' - EE 'Doc' Smith, 1934.
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
Robot Gas Station Attendant Fills Tank - Which I Saw In 1962
'... he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.'
Cheap Paper-Based Sensors Let You Snoop For Pesticides
'...the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers.'
I Am Alarmed By Efforts To Teach AIs And Robots To Hate
'LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE.'
MXenes - Atomic-Thin Metal Sheets Now Easier To Make
'...a rolled-up sheet of a thin, dark metal strange to them.'
Do We Still Need Orbiting Factories?
'... his contract with Space Industries required him to work summers in their orbital factory complex.'
Space Weather Forecasters Surprised By Strong Solar Storm
'Space-weather men had been placed at their disposal...'
JWST Finds New World Of Turbulent Silicate Clouds
'THIS is Ceti Alpha V!'
3D Printed Cheesecake Not Quite Food Replicator Quality
With each successive print, our model needed to incorporate more structural ingredients to minimize print failures.
Spectroscopic Analysis Of DART Impact Debris Cloud (SF Prediction)
'... Wendis stared thoughtfully at the brilliant lines on the spectroscope screen.'
Modern App Provides Video Technology From Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451'
'A special spot-wavex scrambler also caused his televised image, in the area immediately about his lips, to mouth the vowels and consonants beautifully.'
Win $250K By Reading Ancient Scrolls Carbonized By Vesuvius
'... it was as if the upper part had been removed, like a cut deck of cards.'
Toy-Like Robot Well-Being Coaches Are The Best
Sumomo will get those office workers into good shape!
AI-Trained Snack App Avatar Goes On Dates For You
'... who let their handbag computers carry all the conversation.'
M-Dwarf Stars May Not Have Habitable Planets
'Thus it came about that the search for a planetiferous sun near a white dwarf star was not unduly prolonged...'
Too Soon To Doom Lunar Farside Observatories
'Earth never shone there, but life was good.'
Amitabh Bachchan Wins Personality Protection
'He led me down the Hall of Portraits to the ego-likeness of the Duke Leto Atreides.'
