During the 1980s, Soviet authors frequently listed space mines as potential counters to space-based elements of a strategic defense system. For example, in the 1986 book "Weaponry in Space: The Dilemma of Security," the authors note: "Another good way of simultaneously putting out of action several stations would be to use the so-called 'space mines,' which are essentially satellites with high-yield explosives placed into orbits close to the opponents' battle stations, which explode on command from the ground. The mines could be supplied with all sorts of fuses, in particular mechanical- or thermal-actuated ones."

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Wilson, Tom. Threats to United States Space Capabilities. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Space Commission, 2001. [ 8 quotes ]