SPACE-LAUNCHED DARTS THAT STRIKE LIKE METEORS
This technology is very far out--in miles and years. A pair of
satellites orbiting several hundred miles above the Earth would
serve as a weapons system. One functions as the targeting and
communications platform while the other carries numerous tungsten
rods--up to 20 feet in length and a foot in diameter--that it can
drop on targets with less than 15 minutes' notice. When instructed
from the ground, the targeting satellite commands its partner to
drop one of its darts. The guided rods enter the atmosphere,
protected by a thermal coating, traveling at 36,000 feet per
second--comparable to the speed of a meteor. The result: complete
devastation of the target, even if it's buried deep underground.
(The two-platform configuration permits the weapon to be "reloaded"
by just launching a new set of rods, rather than replacing the
entire system.)
The concept of kinetic-energy weapons has been around ever since
the RAND Corporation proposed placing rods on the tips of ICBMs in
the 1950s; the satellite twist was popularized by sci-fi writer
Jerry Pournelle. Though the Pentagon won't say how far along the
research is, or even confirm that any efforts are underway, the
concept persists. The "U.S. Air Force Transformation Flight Plan,"
published by the Air Force in November 2003, references
"hypervelocity rod bundles" in its outline of future space-based
weapons, and in 2002, another report from RAND, "Space Weapons,
Earth Wars," dedicated entire sections to the technology's
usefulness.
If so-called "Rods from God"--an informal nickname of untraceable
origin--ever do materialize, it won't be for at least 15 years.
Launching heavy tungsten rods into space will require substantially
cheaper rocket technology than we have today. But there are
numerous other obstacles to making such a system work. Pike, of
GlobalSecurity.org, argues that the rods' speed would be so high
that they would vaporize on impact, before the rods could penetrate
the surface. Furthermore, the "absentee ratio"--the fact that
orbiting satellites circle the Earth every 100 minutes and so at
any given time might be far from the desired target--would be
prohibitive. A better solution, Pike argues, is to pursue the
original concept: Place the rods atop intercontinental ballistic
missiles, which would slow down enough during the downward part of
their trajectory to avoid vaporizing on impact. ICBMs would also be
less expensive and, since they're stationed on Earth, would take
less time to reach their targets. "The space-basing people seem to
understand the downside of space weapons," Pike says--among them,
high costs and the difficulty of maintaining weapon platforms in
orbit. "But I'll still bet you there's a lot of classified work on
this going on right now."
