Miller@YALE@sri-unix (06/03/82)
From: David Miller <Miller at YALE>
It would seem to me that any space launch vehicle is extremely
vulnerable to anybody who doesn't like it. The only thing that kept
all the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions from being attacked is
that they were not legal military targets, and had they been attacked
the attacker would have been looked upon with extreme disfavor from
all of the remaining international community. Now that the Shuttle
is being used for military missions, it is giving up that protection
...and it could therefore become vulnerable to attack. One does not
need a cruise missile or killer satellite to destroy the shuttle, a
person with a high power rifle can do an adequate job.
If the DoD is going to endanger the space program in this way, I am
curious what steps they are taking to add new protection; is it soon
going to be illegal to park outside the Cape and watch a launch?
--Dave
(miller@yale)
-------sjb (06/04/82)
This is not going to stop a well-trained saboteur, but in regards to security at KSC during a shuttle launch, I read several months ago that, during the critical stage (I am not sure when that begins), guards with rifles are ordered to ''shoot to kill'' any unauthorized person within three miles of the pad.