wolit (11/17/82)
Sorry, Tom, but I agree with Allan Schiffman. As reported a few weeks ago in Aviation Week, the High Frontier ABM interceptors are only one part of a comprehensive ABM proposal that DOES include fission-pumped laser weapons, exoatmospheric and low-altitude missiles (like Nike-X or LoADS), WOULD involve 1000+ interceptors, and WOULD end up costing well over $35 billion over the life of the project. (Besides, anyone who believes DoD cost estimates this early in a project probably also believes in the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Great Pumpkin as well.) And whether or not it ends up costing less than MAD over the same period of time is irrelevant, since not only are the generals not about to give up MAD for a pig-in-a-poke ABM system, but once we put up an ABM system like this, you can be damn sure the Rooskies are gonna do the same, and then you're gonna see an arms buildup in spades. The best way to protect our deterrent force (and population) from a 1st-strike attempt is to get our ICBMs out of those fixed targets and off the continental US.
CSvax:Physics:els (11/18/82)
What is this High Frontier proposal??? Have I missed something??
I thought that it just refered to O'Niell's space colonization ideas!
By the way, that ABM satellite system sounds pretty good, even more so
since the Soviets have one of those type satellites up there already.
Could someone please provide a specific citation on that? I believe
it was Cosmos 1276.
els[Eric Strobel]
pur-ee!pur-phy!els