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From: jbuck@epicen.UUCP (Joe Buck)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: ASAT test
Message-ID: <229@epicen.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 5-Oct-85 18:34:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: epicen.229
Posted: Sat Oct  5 18:34:57 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 7-Oct-85 04:25:28 EDT
References: <2258@ukma.UUCP>
Reply-To: jbuck@epicen.UUCP (Joe Buck)
Organization: Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, CA
Lines: 37
Summary: ASAT and SDI are entirely different things.

In article <2258@ukma.UUCP> sean@ukma.UUCP (Sean Casey) writes:
>
>I am completely for the ASAT tests.  Anything that can shoot down nuclear
>missiles before they can kill millions of people is OK by me.  Even if they
>only stop 10%, that's more people that will live.

Sean, you're confusing ASAT with SDI. They have very little to do with each
other. ASAT is a method of killing satellites; the weapons the Soviets and
the Americans have tested are useless against missiles. Trying to perfect
the ability to destroy enemy satellites is very bad (both when we do it and
when the Russians do it), because:

1) if several important spy satellites malfunction at about the same time,
   we (or the Russians) might assume that the other side has destroyed them
   in preparation for a nuclear attack (why else would you destroy enemy
   reconnaissance satellites?), and shoot "first";

2) testing ASAT creates large amounts of hazardous debris; a few more tests
   may make low earth orbit unusable for satellites and unsafe for manned
   missions (in practice, the orbits of the debris may decay rapidly, getting
   rid of most of the junk, but what about when we, or they, start going
   after satellites in higher orbits (like geosynchronous)?

I don't think SDI will work either, but that's a completely different debate.
One can think of ASAT as a means of destroying the enemy's defenses in space;
ASAT itself is NOT defensive at all.

It is in the strong interest of both sides to immediately agree to stop all
ASAT testing. Such a treaty is easily verifiable. If we don't do it, and
both sides accelerate testing, space will not be safe for large structures
or for manned missions.

My opinions only,
-- 
Joe Buck				|  Entropic Processing, Inc.
UUCP: {ucbvax,ihnp4}!dual!epicen!jbuck  |  10011 N. Foothill Blvd.
ARPA: dual!epicen!jbuck@BERKELEY.ARPA   |  Cupertino, CA 95014