US military satellite to get attack-warning equipment A US military satellite is to be fitted with equipment which will enable it to detect hostile action and inform ground controllers what's going on, according to reports. US military graphic showing catalogued objects in Earth orbit In space, nobody can hear your victim scream ... yet Lieutenant General Ellen Pawlikowski of …
What is to stop Uncle Sam giving one of their end-of-life satellites the self-destruct command and then claiming it was <insert bogeyman of the moment> who attacked it?
Sounds like a great excuse to invade^H^H^H^H^H^H liberate somewhere without spilling too much oil^H^H^H blood!
> to establish clearly who is behind them
and if the threat is found to be extraterrestrial (either in reality, or due to faulty software/sensors) we'll no doubt have our first interplanetary war. I expect the people behind the pork are just itching for an enemy that will let them open up such a lucrative source of everlasting FUD. Especially if the only evidence of the "threat" comes from their own systems.
"it is usually only worth doing if one can be sure that nobody will be sure who did it (or even sure that any action took place, perhaps)."
Ideally is it so.... and most probably certainly is somewhere for someone.:-) Spying and nobbling satellites has moved on leaps and bounds in the very recent past and shows no signs of abating.
In fact, it is an extremely lucrative and sophisticated business.
I think it's the real reason there's been no recent manned missions anywhere - would take too long to find a gap between the satellites and spacejunk to actually get outside the geostationary orbit zone without undue risk of collisions. A bit like trying to fight for the last parking space on a Saturday evening.
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