Space has a bigger role in military operations than ever before.
China’s Shelong shuttle, which delivers and collects strange objects from the orbiter, causes worries. There is a possibility. This small shuttle has similar missions. With. The Soviet-era “Polyus” rocket. That rocket could deliver space mines and other things. Wikipedia tells. That Polyus could carry a 1 megawatt laser system. Those kinds of systems are also dangerous against high-flying targets. There is also the possibility that Polyus could cause fires. But the system. It was dangerous to other satellites. Similar structures. That look like space stations. They can involve this kind of laser system. And megawatt-class lasers are dangerous.
In the same way, things like power satellites. They can be weaponized. The power satellite. That uses its power transmitter to other satellites. It could destroy them immediately. And those electromagnetic signals can also damage electric systems on Earth. Or those satellites. They can also jam command lines. And disturb radars.
The space mine is a satellite. It involves nuclear- or conventional explosives. That system waits for targeted satellites. And detonates near them. Many people forget the neutron bomb. It is created for anti-satellite (ASAT) and anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. The neutron bomb. Or, an enhanced radiation weapon (ERW) gives gamma radiation. And a neutron radiation burst. And that burst is hoped to create an EMP pulse.
That range is smaller. Than in the cases where a full-scale nuclear weapon is detonated. The solution would be to detonate that neutron bomb in the air tank. That makes it possible to create the EMP. The EMP formation happens. When gamma rays hit the atmosphere. The satellites are safe against the low-power EMP. If they fly high enough. But if the neutron bomb detonates in the air tank. That launches a similar effect as the normal EMP weapon.
China’s next-generation satellite engine provides 14 hours of operational time. That time seems very long. And the 14 hours of operational time allow the satellite to change its trajectory. These types of maneuvers. They are interesting. But at the same time, those abilities cause suspicion about the purpose of those engines and satellites. These types of engine systems are also suitable for reconnaissance satellites. That requires fast and unpredictable overflight capacity. But killer satellites and FOBS (Fractional Orbital Bombardment Systems) require the same abilities. One version of FOBS is kinetic bombardment.
This type of technology is a tool that can make killer satellites more deadly than before. A killer satellite is a space fighter. It can attack other satellites. The killer can use rockets, railguns, centrifugal railguns, and laser systems to destroy its targets. The centrifugal railgun is the system. It uses a centrifugal platform. To throw ammunition. Into the magnetic accelerators. Those magnetic accelerators are the Gauss accelerators. They accelerate ammunition by using magnets. That ammunition requires something. There is the magnet. It can touch. Another version is the plasma solutions. Their plasma is used to accelerate ammunition.
And the electric arc expands the gas. That pushes the ammunition into the tube. But the centrifugal-gauss accelerator combination. Gives the most powerful speed. To the ammunition. Things like Project Thor were the orbital bombardment project. The goal was to research a spaceborne railgun. The system should accelerate metal flechettes. To a speed of Mach 24. The Pentagon abandoned that project. The problem was that the system was not accurate enough. The kinetic bombardment could be an effective tool against single houses and things like tanks and ships. The big problem was in the aiming system. Another thing that those kinetic bombardment systems could do. They could do. Is to offer defense against high-flying hypersonic missiles.
Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) compared to a traditional ICBM (Wikipedia, FOBS)
"The T-shaped structure of the China Space Station. /China Manned Space Agency" (CGTN)
“China leads in satellite navigation despite launch challenges.” (IE)
“The same microwave beams meant to send energy from space could also control signals on Earth.” (IE)
“Polyus on the Energia rocket”. (Wikipedia, Polyus)
W9 280mm Artillery Fired Atomic Projectile. (Wikipedia, Upshot–Knothole Grable)
Above: One of the smallest nuclear weapons. Davy Crockett at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, 1961. The yield of that weapon. It was about 20 tons of TNT. That is twice as much as the 10-ton MOP bombs that were used against Iranian nuclear laboratories. In the so-called subcritical nuclear weapons, the remarkable power of the explosion comes from the conventional explosion. The system is the weaponized version of the subcritical nuclear reactor.
“A subcritical reactor is a nuclear fission reactor concept that produces fission without achieving criticality. Instead of sustaining a chain reaction, a subcritical reactor uses additional neutrons from an outside source. There are two general classes of such devices. One uses neutrons provided by a nuclear fusion machine, a concept known as a fusion–fission hybrid. The other uses neutrons created through spallation of heavy nuclei. By charged particles such as protons accelerated by a particle accelerator, a concept known as an accelerator-driven system (ADS) or accelerator-driven subcritical reactor.” (Wikipedia, Subcritical reactor)
For work right. The reaction must be very fast.
There is a possibility that this kind of small nuke will be put at the bottom of the GPU 57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). And then detonate in that bomb. The system will give a very big boost. For a conventional anti-bunker bomb. The anti-bunker bomb that could be delivered using ballistic missiles. It can detonate ballistic missiles at their launching sites. And the nuclear-powered anti-bunker bombs. They can be very effective. The Davy Crockett-type micro nukes cause criticism. They are claimed to remove the line between conventional and nuclear warheads. And decrease the line. To use nuclear weapons.
The kinetic bombardment will not be effective at ruining cities. The FOBS systems. The spaceborne nuclear weapons. That could be installed. Into the satellites. The EMP bomb that lurks in the satellite. That could detonate without warning. And those systems are dangerous for all types of electronics. The EMP pulse. It can shut down the communication antennas. And cause critical damage. To avionic systems and other electric components. The smart weapons. They can also turn ineffective.
That is another thing that causes worries. People sometimes think that FOBS is some kind of big nuclear weapon. The FOBS system. It can use nuclear grenades. The 280mm nuclear grenade. It is not a very big thing. Same way as the neutron bomb. It could be quite a small thing. Neutron bomb. It can also detonate targets like ships. If they get direct hits from those weapons.
The FOBS doesn’t necessarily mean nuclear weapons. The FOBS system. It can deliver glide bombs that are equipped with a heat shield. Or the orbital bombardment system. It can deliver drones. In the atmosphere. Kinetic systems can also be rockets. That satellite shoots into its targets. The kinetic attack system. It can be regular aerial rockets. Equipped. With a ceramic core. Those systems can drop or launch those rockets just above the target. There is also the possibility. That the concrete bombs. They can be dropped from space.
In scenarios, the FOBS weapon mimics space junk. Sometimes. Satellites whose operational time is over. Will be launched on a high-altitude trajectory. Those FOBS satellites can lurk in that satellite graveyard. When they get their orders. They fall to a lower trajectory. Or straight to the target. Same way as a satellite fighter. That mission is to demosh other satellites. It can hide in that region. The system. It can launch miniature satellites that push other satellites away from their trajectories. In some other scenarios, the system. It could shoot small soft ammunition at the targeted satellites.
That system can involve an electric shock system. That jams the satellite. The soft structure. It helps to keep targeted satellites in one piece. And the ammunition just pushes them into the atmosphere. This kind of system can be effective against low-orbiting photo reconnaissance satellites. Another version could be a neutron bomb. That detonates in the air tank. This can create a destructive EMP pulse with a limited area effect. Another version is the hydro-oxygen tank. That detonates in water. This kind of system. They can create a material wall. That pushes satellites. Out of their trajectory.
https://interestingengineering.com/space/china-satellite-engine-continuous-operation
https://interestingengineering.com/space/chinas-space-solar-power-station-hints-military-use
https://interestingengineering.com/space/china-surpasses-us-in-satellite-navigation
https://www.slashgear.com/1370302/america-cold-war-space-weapon-rods-from-god-explained/
https://sociable.co/technology/beijing-moscow-weaponized-space-through-killer-satellites-directed-energy-weapons-defense-sec/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_reusable_experimental_spacecraft
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_bomb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_Orbital_Bombardment_System
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_bombardment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyus_(spacecraft)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenlong_(spacecraft)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subcritical_reactor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upshot%E2%80%93Knothole_Grable