While the development of an integrated space-based strike vehicle may be possible within years rather than decades, building a militarily effective strike system with global coverage remains a significant challenge. A truly global system would require hundreds or even thousands of vehicles in orbit, and thus a launch capacity about five to 10 times greater than the current US launch capacity. An examination of the technical feasibility of such a system for missile defense, conducted by the American Physical Society, estimated that launch costs alone for a system covering latitudes that include Iran, Iraq, and North Korea would likely exceed $44-billion. The US Congressional Budget Office estimated the full cost of a system with a similar coverage of the globe, but with the capability to intercept only liquid-fueled ballistic missiles with longer launch timelines, at between $27-billion and $40-billion. Such a system presumed considerable advances in kill vehicle components. Without these advances, coverage would cost between $56-billion and $78-billion.

In summary, there have been no space-based strike systems tested or deployed to date, although Cold War-era programs did support considerable development and testing of key technologies. Prohibitive costs and reduced perceived needs led Russia and, to a lesser degree, the US to drastically cut funding for space-based strike programs, particularly the energy-to- target types. More recently, the US has pursued the development of SBI in the context of its ballistic missile defense program, although challenges to its completion remain.

---

Graham, Thomas and William Marshall. Space Security 2007. Waterlo, Ontario: Project Ploughshares, August 2007. [ 20 quotes ] [ page 141 ]