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Space-based weapons are destabilizing because they lack survivability

 

Space-based weapons, like all space systems, are predictable and fragile, but they represent significant combat power if used before they are destroyed -- leading to a strong incentive to use these weapons preemptively, to "use them or lose them." ( More ... )

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Hardesty, David C. "Space-Based Weapons: Long-Term Strategic Implications and Alternatives." Naval War College Review. Vol. 58, No. 2 (Spring 2005): 45-68. [ 2 quotes ]

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Space mines would be difficult to defend against

 

In a fully weaponized space environment, U.S. space-based lasers and mirrors, each capable of attacking satellites thousands of kilometers away, threaten distant satellites as much as would a space mine in close proximity. In any case, until space mines actually damaged or interfered with their victims, it would be difficult to challenge their legitimacy. To attack or disable them as a potential threat would set a precedent for preemptive strikes against U.S. space-based weapons, if not all its satellites. ( More ... )

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Hardesty, David C. "Space-Based Weapons: Long-Term Strategic Implications and Alternatives." Naval War College Review. Vol. 58, No. 2 (Spring 2005): 45-68. [ 2 quotes ]

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