ARMS-D-Request@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU (Moderator) (02/25/86)
Arms-Discussion Digest Tuesday, February 25, 1986 9:02AM
Volume 6, Issue 54
Today's Topics:
depressed-trajectory weapons
Galileo plutonium
Silly definition, depressed trajectory
Supermarket terrorism, suitable for ARMS-D discussion??
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Date: Mon, 24 Feb 86 21:05:05 EST
From: Herb Lin <LIN@MC.LCS.MIT.EDU>
Subject: depressed-trajectory weapons
From: ihnp4!utzoo!henry at seismo.CSS.GOV
...Gravity bombs and nuclear
artillery can be handled with existing defence technology ..
How does a defense handle nuclear artillery shells?
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Date: Mon 24 Feb 1986 21:44:54 EST
From: Paul Dietz <dietz%slb-doll.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA>
Subject: Galileo plutonium
Henry Spencer writes:
>Timothy Wright writes, in part:
>
>> I read in the latest issue of The Nation that one of the shuttle's
>> planned missions included the Galileo-Jupiter probe, which would have had on
>> board about 46 pounds of Plutonium. A Challenger-type explosion would have
>> either vaporized or finely distributed the stuff all over the greater Cape
>> Canaveral area...
>
>Why? It didn't vaporize or pulverize the rest of the Challenger, just broke
>it into small pieces for the most part. The interior of the cargo bay is
>probably the best-protected area on the shuttle, too.
The ET went off with the force of a small atomic bomb, but even an atom
bomb doesn't necessarily destroy everything nearby. Graphite
covered solid steel spheres have been suspended below A-bombs in
above-ground tests and have suffered only slight ablation of the
surface layer. The thermal pulse blows off a thin outer layer,
but the heat takes too long to diffuse into the body and most radiates
away. This phenomenon formed the basis for the Orion-style spaceship.
The radioisotope thermal generators sound somewhat more fragile than
solid steel spheres, though.
Galileo and Ulysses are attached to Centaur upper stages. These high
energy stages use a lot of LH/LOX fuel, and said fuel sits right next
to the probe in the cargo bay. A Challenger-type explosion would
certainly rupture and detonate the Centaur tanks.
An aside: 46 pounds of Pu-238 is a lot more dangerous than a similar
amount of Pu-239, since Pu-238 has a much shorter halflife (it has to
to get respectable decay heat). A solution to the radiation problem
might be to launch the radioisotope source separately and assemble in
orbit (probably not feasible for current probes) or to design probes
that use real nuclear reactors (certainly not possible for current
probes). The latter solution could allow really high power transmitters
(kilowatts at least) for high data rates from the outer solar system,
and could even power ion engines.
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Date: 24 Feb 1986 2217-PST
From: Rem@IMSSS
Subject: Silly definition, depressed trajectory
When somebody jumps off the Golden Gate bridge.
(terrible pun, huh? FOrgive me, this message is very short)
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Date: 1986 February 24 23:16:42 PST (=GMT-8hr)
From: Robert Elton Maas <REM@MIT-MC.ARPA>
SUBJECT:Supermarket terrorism, suitable for ARMS-D discussion??
Reply-to: REM%IMSSS@SU-SCORE.ARPA
There's a form of terrorism that has been going on in the United
States for several years. It doesn't involve thermonuclear weapons in
downtown Manhattan (NYC), nor even radioisotopes; merely cyanide in
Tylenol (TM) capsules or fishhooks in Hostess (TM) "snowball"
cupcakes. The funny thing is the public response to a single fishhook
in a single cupcake in southern California causes a greater public
response than 40,000 thermonuclear weapons on launch vehicles in silos
do, despite the incredibly small public risk of the fishhook compared
to the thermonuclear weapons. A massive recall of Tylenol, the company
discontinuing making not only that product but all similar products; a
massive recall of Hostess "snowball" cupcakes (story broke today,
maybe they'll go out of business too? Or maybe put "snowballs"
cupcakes in tamper-proof containers for 4 years until it happens again
then go out of business?) But for thermonuclear weapons, hardly
anybody gives a yawn except a tiny fraction of a percent of concerned
people such as you and I. Why all the fuss over tampered drug/food
products and so little over our doomsday machine? Also, will
drug/food tampering be the form of terrorism that replaces airplane
hijackings in the next two years??
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End of Arms-Discussion Digest
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