#pulse railgun interaction

[starlit-ocs]

"Bone Mace, is it? You seem rather interesting. Pleasure to meet you, I am Pulse Railgun."

-@leading-inpherno [PULSE RAILGUN]

-> The man looks up from his paperwork, piercing blue eyes peering out from behind his skull mask and over his glasses. He clears his throat and stands up, going over to the woman as he holds out his clawed hand. "Good evening, Miss Railgun. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

[blackrockian-mercenary]

-> The mercenary took notice of the other woman and gave her a polite nod in greeting before looking back at Pulse, pulling out a folder with a couple papers in it. "Miss Pulse Railgun. I've been on the patrol since I've arrived here and I've discovered a couple things that I feel like you should be made aware of." "As I assume you're aware of the fact there are.... Multiple versions of us demons. And I've managed to document three different versions of Subspace. But there's one who concerns me because of how...." -> The mercenary trails off slightly before recollecting himself, adjusting his tie. "There's one version who concerns me because of his unpredictability, Miss Pulse Railgun. I can't get a read on him and I've witnessed something about his miasma that differs heavily from Subspace's."

"Miss Pulse Rifle, do you have a moment?" - @blackrockian-mercenary

"Ah, Hyperlaser! It's funny, I just mentioned you not too long ago."

Pulse is rather amused, seemingly in a good mood. She's talking to another woman, an older, bulkier pink demon in masculine formal attire. She looks rather miffed.

[ntrending]

Versions of Han Solo’s blaster already exist

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/versions-of-han-solos-blaster-already-exist/

Versions of Han Solo’s blaster already exist

People who think physics is boring couldn’t be more wrong. It can explain everything from spooky interactions on the tiny scale of atoms and particles to how the entire universe behaves. As if that wasn’t enough, it can also be used to assess how realistic futuristic technology in science fiction is. My area of expertise—plasma physics—can explain many aspects of both lightsabers and the Death Star within Star Wars lore, for example.

I’ve now worked out how feasible the blaster weapons used by, among others, the Star Wars character Han Solo are—and how they compare with lightsabers. In fact, real life versions of these weapons have already been developed. So with the prequel film Solo: A Star Wars Story being released, it seemed fitting to share this “research”.

The key to understanding Star Wars technology is plasmas, a so-called “fourth state of matter” (in addition to solids, liquids and gases). This comprises freely flowing electrically charged particles which naturally interact with electric and magnetic fields. Plasmas are common in space but they rarely exist naturally on Earth. However, it is possible to produce them in laboratories.

Powerful plasmoids

A common misconception about blasters is that they are laser weapons. But within the Star Wars canon, people realised that this wouldn’t make sense. Instead, writers stated that a blaster was “any type of ranged weapon that fired bolts of intense plasma energy, often mistaken as lasers” and that it “converted energy rich gas to a glowing particle beam that could melt through targets”. This means that blaster bolts (glowing projectiles) are simply blobs of plasma—similar to a lightsaber flying through the air.

Coherent masses of plasma and their associated magnetic fields are known as plasmoids. Within the Earth’s protective shield in space—the magnetosphere—plasmoids are commonly generated by a poorly understood process called magnetic reconnection. This is an explosive reconfiguration of magnetic field lines that can take place wherever there is plasma present, in particular when plasmas are forced together. When this happens in our magnetosphere, charged particles are accelerated into the top of the atmosphere causing the aurora, or northern lights. A huge amount of material is also ejected away from the Earth as plasmoids.

However, it isn’t easy to create plasmoids on Earth. Many of the demonstrations that we can do (unlike the ones in space) produce structures which quickly expand and dissipate in the air. The solution to this problem is to use magnets—their fields can contain the hot plasma.

However, blaster bolts are projectiles so it’s not possible to have an externally powered magnet present at all times during their rapid journey. Thankfully, though, there is a solution. As plasmas are highly conductive, it is possible to set up electrical currents within the plasmoid itself. These currents, like all currents, generate magnetic fields that can confine the plasma. Such arrangements are known as spheromaks and they have received renewed interest in plasma physics experiments over the last 20 years.

Real versions

One way to create a spheromak is to use a “plasma railgun”, a device which uses an external magnet to induce currents in the plasma as well accelerate it up to high speeds. In fact, speeds of 200 km/s (or about 124 miles per second) have been achieved with these spheromaks lasting some hundreds of microseconds. This is very impressive and certainly within the realms of use as a weapon.

Indeed, from the 1970s onward, the SHIVA Star programme (named after the multi-limbed Hindu god) at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, conducted various “arms” of research into this kind of plasma physics. One of these, known as MARAUDER (Magnetically Accelerated Ring to Achieve Ultrahigh Directed Energy and Radiation), was one of several U.S. government efforts to develop projectiles based on plasmas.

The weapon was able to produce doughnut-shaped rings of plasma and balls of lightning that exploded with devastating thermal and mechanical effects when hitting their target and produced a pulse of electromagnetic radiation that could scramble electronics. However, its status as of 1993 remains classified.

The temperatures achieved in such devices so far are up to a thousand times hotter than the surface of the sun. With enough plasma in each bolt these would cause huge amounts of damage, so the blaster as presented in the Star Wars films looks to be quite feasible indeed.

But how would these real life blaster weapons fare against the other iconic Star Wars weapon, the lightsaber? A blaster bolt is essentially equivalent to a lightsaber blade, just without the hilt. But as I’ve mentioned before, magnetic reconnection is unavoidable when two magnetically confined plasmas meet. This is the case when two lightsabers collide, causing explosive destruction of both the weapons and the people holding them. However, with a blaster you are far away from that explosion—leaving you totally unscathed.

So it turns out that Han Solo was right when he said “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side.”

Martin Archer is a Space Plasma Physicist at the Queen Mary University of London. This article was originally featured on The Conversation.

Written By Martin Archer/The Conversation

[steenpaal]

Space warfare - Wikipedia

Space warfare is combat that takes place in outer space. The scope of space warfare therefore includes ground-to-space warfare, such as attacking satellites from the Earth, as well as space-to-space warfare, such as satellites attacking satellites.

In the early 1960s the U.S. military produced a film called Space and National Security which depicted space warfare.[1]

From 1985 to 2002 there was a United States Space Command, which in 2002 merged with the United States Strategic Command, leaving Air Force Space Command as the primary American military space force. The Russian Space Force, established on August 10, 1992, which became an independent section of the Russian military on June 1, 2001, was replaced by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces starting December 1, 2011, but was reestablished as a component of the Russian Aerospace Forces on August 1, 2015.

Only a few incidents of space warfare have occurred in world history, and all involved training missions, as opposed to actions against real opposing forces. In 1985 a USAF pilot in an F-15 successfully shot down the P78-1, an American research satellite, in a 345-mile (555 km) orbit.

In 2007 China used a missile system to destroy one of its obsolete satellites (see 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test), and in 2008 the United States similarly destroyed its malfunctioning satellite USA-193. As of 2017[update] there have been no human casualties resulting from conflict in space.

International treaties governing space limit or regulate conflicts in space and limit the installation in space of weapon systems, especially nuclear weapons.

History[edit]

Early efforts to conduct space warfare were directed at space-to-space warfare, as ground-to-space systems were considered to be too slow and too isolated by Earth's atmosphere and gravity to be effective. The history of active space warfare development goes back to the 1960s when the Soviet Union began the Almaz project, a project designed to give them the ability to do on-orbit inspections of satellites and destroy them if needed. Similar planning in the United States took the form of the Blue Gemini project, which consisted of modified Gemini capsules that would be able to deploy weapons and perform surveillance.

One early test of electronic space warfare, the so-called Starfish Prime test, took place in 1962, when the United States exploded a ground-launched nuclear weapon in space to test the effects of an electromagnetic pulse. The result was a deactivation of many then-orbiting satellites, both American and Soviet. The deleterious and unfocused effects of the EMP test led to the banning of nuclear weapons in space in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. (See High altitude nuclear explosion.)

1970s–1980s[edit]

Through the 1970s, the Soviet Union continued their project and test-fired a cannon to test space station defense. This was considered too dangerous to do with a crew on board, however, so the test was conducted after the crew had returned to Earth.

Space warfare strongly influenced the final design of the United States Space Shuttle. The distinctive delta wing shape was needed if the shuttle were to launch a military payload towards the Soviet Union and perform an immediate de-orbit after one rotation to avoid being shot down.[2][verification needed]

Both the Soviets and the United States developed anti-satellite weaponry designed to shoot down satellites. While early efforts paralleled other space-to-space warfare concepts, the United States was able in the 1980s to develop ground-to-space laser anti-satellite weapons. None of these systems are known to be active today; however, a less powerful civilian version of the ground-to-space laser system is commonly used in the astronomical technique of adaptive optics.

A SM-3 missile is launched from a U.S. ship to intercept a failing spy satellite

The People's Republic of China successfully tested a ballistic missile-launched anti-satellite weapon on January 11, 2007. This resulted in harsh criticism from the United States of America, Britain, and Japan.

The U.S. developed an interceptor missile, the SM-3, testing it by hitting ballistic test targets while they were in space. On February 21, 2008, the U.S. used a SM-3 missile to destroy a spy satellite, USA-193, while it was 247 kilometers (133 nautical miles) above the Pacific Ocean.[3][4][5][6]

Japan fields the U.S.-made SM-3 missile, and there have been plans to base the land-based version in Romania and Vietnam.[citation needed]

Theoretical space weaponry[edit]

Ballistic warfare[edit]

In the late 1970s and through the 1980s the Soviet Union and the United States theorized, designed and in some cases tested a variety of weaponry designed for warfare in outer space. Space warfare was seen primarily as an extension of nuclear warfare, and so many theoretical systems were based around the destruction or defense of ground and sea-based missiles. Space-based missiles were not attempted due to the Outer Space Treaty, which banned the use, testing or storage of nuclear weapons outside the Earth's atmosphere. When the U.S. gained "interest in utilizing space-based lasers for ballistic missile defense", two facts emerged. One being that the ballistic missiles are fragile and two, chemical lasers project missile killing energy (3,000 kilometers). This meant that lasers could be put into space to intercept a Ballistic missile.[7]

Ronald Reagan revealing his idea for the Strategic Defense Initiative on March 23, 1983.

Systems proposed ranged from measures as simple as ground and space-based anti-missiles to railguns, space based lasers, orbital mines and similar weaponry. Deployment of these systems was seriously considered in the mid-1980s under the banner of the Strategic Defense Initiative announced by Ronald Reagan in 1983, using the term "evil empire" to describe the Soviets (hence the popular nickname "Star Wars").[8] If the Cold War had continued, many of these systems could potentially have seen deployment: the United States developed working railguns, and a laser that could destroy missiles at range, though the power requirements, range, and firing cycles of both were impractical. Weapons like the space-based laser was rejected, not just by the government, but by Universities, moral thinkers, and religious people because it would have increased the waging of the arms race and questioned the United States' role in the Cold War.[9]

Electronic warfare[edit]

With the end of the Cold War and continued development of satellite and electronics technology, attention was focused on space as a supporting theatre for conventional warfare. Currently, military operations in space primarily concern either the vast tactical advantages of satellite-based surveillance, communications, and positioning systems or mechanisms used to deprive an opponent of said tactical advantages.

Accordingly, most space-borne proposals which would traditionally be considered "weapons" (a communications or reconnaissance satellite may be useful in warfare but isn't generally classified as a weapon) are designed to jam, sabotage, and outright destroy enemy satellites, and conversely to protect friendly satellites against such attacks. To this end, the US (and presumably other countries) is researching groups of small, highly mobile satellites called "microsats" (about the size of a refrigerator) and "picosats" (approximately 1 cubic foot (≈27 litres) in volume) nimble enough to maneuver around and interact with other orbiting objects to repair, sabotage, hijack, or simply collide with them.[citation needed]

Kinetic bombardment[edit]

Another theorized use involves the extension of conventional weaponry into orbit for deployment against ground targets. Though international treaties ban the deployment of nuclear missiles outside the atmosphere, other categories of weapons are largely unregulated. Traditional ground-based weapons are generally not useful in orbital environments, and few if any would survive re-entry even if they were, but as early as the 1950s, the United States has toyed with kinetic bombardment, i.e. orbiting magazines of non-explosive projectiles to be dropped onto hardened targets from low Earth orbit.

Kinetic weapons have always been widespread in conventional warfare—bullets, arrows, swords, clubs, etc.—but the energy a projectile would gain while falling from orbit would make such a weapon rival all but the most powerful explosives.[citation needed] A direct hit would presumably destroy all but the most hardened targets without the need for nuclear weapons.

Such a system would involve a 'spotter' satellite, which would identify targets from orbit with high-power sensors, and a nearby 'magazine' satellite to de-orbit a long, needle-like tungsten dart onto it with a small rocket motor or just dropping a very big rock from orbit (such as an asteroid).[citation needed] This would be more useful against a larger but less hardened target (such as a city). Though a common device in science fiction, there is no publicly available evidence that any such systems have actually been deployed by any nation.

Directed-energy weapons[edit]

A vision for the future of the US Space Command for 2020: a space-based high-energy laser destroys a terrestrial target

Weapon systems that fall under this category include lasers, linear particle accelerators or particle-beam based weaponry, microwaves and plasma-based weaponry. Particle beams involve the acceleration of charged or neutral particles in a stream towards a target at extremely high velocities, the impact of which creates a reaction causing immense damage. Most of these weapons are theoretical or impractical to implement currently, aside from lasers which are starting to be used in terrestrial warfare. That said, directed-energy weapons are more practical and more effective in a vacuum (i.e. space) than in the Earth's atmosphere, as in the atmosphere the particles of air interfere with and disperse the directed energy.

Space-Based Lasers[edit]

Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation pumps energy into molecules, creating an electronic state that releases energy in the form of photons. The photons pass by other molecules, spreading energy, making more photons. To make an actual laser, a beam has to pass through mass quantities of laser medium by bouncing back and forth between mirrors placed at opposing ends. Then the light beam exits through one of the mirrors which is more transparent than the other. Making a functional laser requires the electrons to not only reach their excited state, but is reliant on the time it takes for them to get excited, and also the time for the energy created to reach new electrons. The efficiency of the laser relies on the amount of heat that exits. In terms of lasers, the power of the laser far outweighs the chemical efficiency. Of course the trajectory of the laser matters as well as its ability to hit the target it is aimed at, but when lasers are placed in space, Diffraction can cause interference.[10]

Lethality of Space Lasers[edit]

Lasers require mirrors in the system to direct their beams to achieve impact, but if not done correctly, major damage can affect the skin. However, if the laser or lasers does make impact,

"a 10 meter mirror with a HF laser beam would yield a 0.32 micro-radian divergence angle and create a laser spot 1.3 meter in diameter at a range of 4,000 meters. The distribution of the 20MW over the laser spot would create an energy flux of 1.5 kilowatts per square centimeter (kW/cm²). The laser spot would need to dwell on the target for 6.6 seconds to create the nominal lethal fluence of 10 kilojoules per square centimeter (kJ/cm²)"

meaning that the laser would essentially blow holes into missiles they are aimed at, as long as the laser mirrors are aimed correctly and the heated molecules exit the beam quickly. Other factors of impact would be the type of laser itself, the amount of exposure, what the laser is attempting to hit (the target), environmental factors, and the ability of the target to either absorb or reflect the laser beam itself.[11] So what happens when a target is hit? Since this is a topic of space-based lasers it's safe to assume that the target is in the atmosphere so,

"a beam with an intensity of around 10 million watts per square centimeter would cause the air immediately in front of the target to ionize, which would create a layer of plasma as the beam hits the surface. The plasma would absorb the energy of the laser beam and grow extremely hot (around 6,000 degrees Celsius). The plasma would distribute this energy in two ways, by emitting ultraviolet radiation and by expanding explosively. These mechanisms could increase the extent of the beam energy attached to the target to approximately 30 percent and reduce the amount of energy the laser would have to produce."

When a laser is placed on the ground there are many more chances for obscurity in terms of a laser beam having to travel through the atmosphere as well as a much farther length of travel for the beam to hit the target. Other issues that can cause the laser beam to not be efficient is a state called Thermal blooming when the laser heats up the air around it which can cause diffusion because of the heat, sparking, and simply decreasing the beam size by increasing the mirror size could fight against thermal blooming. The atmosphere can also cause absorption, scattering, turbulence, and sparking to the beam, even simply bending the beam so the target isn't accurate.[12]

Characteristics of a Space-Based Laser[edit]

Directed energy weapons might be put on satellites in Earth orbit, but the altitude of the satellite lies would depend on what the laser is supposed to be targeting and where. The height of the satellite, the capacity of the laser, and the hardness of the missiles, determines the optimum placement so that the positioning of the satellite allows for targeting the furthest boosting missile, but is not far enough out that the beam misses any of its targets. "When the Soviet Union was considered to be the main threat, polar orbits were chosen since they provided good coverage of the northern latitudes", even though there were no ballistic missiles deployed there. Equipment in the satellite improves the performance of surveillance, acquisition, and tracking, as well as damage assessment, and management functions. A ballistic missile booster may be required as well to be able to locate the missiles.[13]

Practical considerations[edit]

Space warfare is likely to be conducted at far greater distances and speeds than terrestrial combat. The vast distances involved pose difficult challenges for targeting and tracking, as even light requires a few seconds to traverse ranges measured in hundreds of thousands of kilometers. For example, if attempting to fire upon a target at the distance of the Moon from the Earth, the image one sees reflects the position of the target slightly more than a second earlier. Thus even a laser would need approximately 1.28 seconds, meaning a laser-based weapon system would need to lead a target's apparent position by 1.28×2 = 2.56 seconds. A projectile from a railgun recently tested by the US Navy would take over eighteen hours to cross that distance, assuming that it would travel in a straight line at a constant velocity of 5.8 km/s along its entire trajectory.

Three factors conspire to make engaging targets in space very difficult. First, the vast distances involved mean that an error of even a fraction of a degree in the firing solution could result in a miss by thousands of kilometers. Second, space travel involves tremendous speeds by terrestrial standards—a geostationary satellite moves at a speed of 3.07 km/s whereas objects in low earth orbit can move at up to 8 km/s. Third, though distances are large, targets remain relatively small. The International Space Station, currently the largest artificial object in Earth orbit, measures slightly over 100m at its largest span. Other satellites can be orders of magnitude smaller, e.g. Quickbird measures a mere 3.04m. External ballistics for stationary terrestrial targets is enormously complicated—some of the earliest analog computers were used to calculate firing solutions for naval artillery, as the problems were already beyond manual solutions in any reasonable time—and the issues in targeting objects in space make a difficult problem even harder. Additionally, though not a problem for orbital kinetic weapons, any directed energy weapon would require large amounts of electricity. So far the most practical batteries are lithium batteries, and the most practical method of generating electricity in space is through photovoltaic modules, which are currently only up to 30% efficient,[14] and fuel cells, which have limited fuel. Current technology might not be practical for powering effective lasers, particle beams, and railguns in space.

Regardless of one's reasons for going to war, at present those reasons are not likely to suggest major targets located in space. Most of the main theories[clarification needed] which attempt to explain human proclivity for warfare—psychological, sociological, demographic, economic, political, or otherwise—would not indicate space as a likely location of conflict until a significant population is engaged in large-scale activity there[citation needed]. Until then, space warfare is likely to take a supporting role to conventional, terrestrial warfare.

Aside from applications such as communications, reconnaissance, GPS, and the like, which would be difficult or impossible without satellites, there do not appear to be any major advantages to basing weapons systems in space. The main reason is simply cost. Space warfare that involves humans being deployed in space to fight each other is not currently practical because of the difficulty and cost of sustaining human life in space, especially over long periods of time.[citation needed]

Additionally, there are few things that could be accomplished by space warfare that any nation wealthy enough to finance them cannot accomplish far more cheaply through conventional means[citation needed]. Raising any significant mass beyond Earth's gravity will always require a large amount of energy, and the cost increases with mass. For example, though kinetic bombardment potentially offers the ability to strike any target anywhere in the world within minutes, both the United States and Russia, possibly the only nations with the resources and facilities necessary to implement such a system, have sufficiently long-range supersonic bombers that the same target could already be destroyed in a matter of hours at a mere fraction of the cost.

General William L. Shelton has said that in order to protect against attacks, Space Situational Awareness is much more important than additional hardening or armoring of satellites.[15] The Air Force Space Command has indicated that their defensive focus will be on "Disaggregated Space Architectures".[16]

Space debris[edit]

Anti-satellite attacks, especially ones involving kinetic kill vehicles, can contribute to the formation of space debris which can remain in orbit for many years and could interfere with future space activity or in a worst case trigger a Kessler Syndrome.[17] In January 2007 China demonstrated a satellite knock out whose detonation alone caused more than 40,000 new chunks of debris with a diameter larger than one centimeter and a sudden increase in the total amount of debris in orbit.[18] The PRC is reported to be developing "soft-kill" techniques such as jamming and vision kills that do not generate much debris.[19]

Possible warfare over space[edit]

Most of the world's communications systems rely heavily on the presence of satellites in orbit around Earth. Protecting these assets might seriously motivate nations dependent upon them to consider deploying more space-based weaponry, especially in conflicts involving advanced countries with access to space. Even without the further militarization of space, a future conflict conducted largely on the ground through conventional means might well be sparked by actions conducted entirely in space. Alternatively, the very threat of space warfare may be enough to put considerable pressure on the political system of a nation, such as the pressure which caused the formation of the Outer Space Treaty.

Space warfare in fiction[edit]

Space warfare is a topic often touched upon in science fiction, with a wide range of realism and plausibility, from stories based on anticipated future technology and tactics, to fantasy or historically based scenarios that happen to take place in a science-fiction background. Some portray a space-borne military will be similar to an Air Force, whereas others depict a more naval analog. Still others suggest forces more like marines: highly mobile forces engaged in interplanetary and interstellar warfare but with most of the actual conflict occurring in terrestrial environments.

Both kinetic energy and directed energy weapons are often portrayed, along with various military space vessels. The Lensman series by E. E. Smith is an early example, which also inspired the term Space Opera due to the grandiose scales of the stories. The Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card is a notable example in that it makes conjecture as to what sort of tactics and training would be required for war in outer space. Other science fiction authors have also delved into the tactics of space combat, such as David Weber in his Honorverse series as well as Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle in their Mote in God's Eye series. A more recent example would be Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space universe, which explores combat at relativistic speeds. Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers is perhaps one of the best-known and earliest explorations of the "space marine" idea.

Space-based vehicular combat is portrayed in many movies and video games, most notably Star Wars, "Stargate", the Halo series, Descent, Gundam, Macross, Babylon 5, and Star Trek. Games such as the Homeworld series provide interesting concepts for space warfare, such as game mechanics using three-dimensional battle formations, the use of plasma-based projectors that receive their energy from a ships propulsion system, and automated unmanned space combat vehicles. Other series, such as Gundam, prominently feature vehicular combat in and among many near future concepts, such as O'Neill cylinders.

The distinct fictional settings in which space warfare occurs are far too numerous to list, but popular examples include Star Trek (in all of its various incarnations), Star Wars, Halo, Stargate, Warhammer 40,000, Babylon 5, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Battlestar Galactica, Mass Effect, Freespace and many comic book franchises. Video games have frequently touched the subject, with the Wing Commander franchise serving as a prototypical example. Note that very few games attempt to simulate an environment with realistic distances and speeds, though Independence War and Frontier: Elite II both do, as does the board game Attack Vector: Tactical.

See also[edit]

Related to specific countries and facilities:

References[edit]

^ PBS Nova Program "Astrospies" , Broadcast February 12, 2008.

^ Draper, Alfred C.; Buck, Melvin L.; and Goesch, William H. "A Delta Shuttle Orbiter." Astronautics & Aeronautics. 9 (January 1971): 26-35.

^ "Satellite Shoot Down: How It Will Work". Space.com. February 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 

^ "Navy Hits Satellite With Heat-Seeking Missile". Space.com. February 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 

^ "DoD Succeeds In Intercepting Non-Functioning Satellite (Release No. 0139-08)" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. February 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-20. 

^ "Navy Succeeds In Intercepting Non-Functioning Satellite (Release NNS080220-19)" (Press release). U.S. Navy. February 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-20. 

^ Mowthorpe, Matthews (2004). The Militarization and Weaponization of Space. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. pp. 140–141. ISBN 0-7391-0713-5. 

^ Hoffman, David (2009). The Dead Hand. New York, New York: DoubleDay. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-385-52437-7. 

^ Bracken, Paul (2012). The Second Nuclear Age. New York, New York: Times Books, Henry Holt and Company, LLC. pp. 37–38. ISBN 978-0-8050-9430-5. 

^ Mowthorpe, Matthews (2004). The Militarization and Weaponization of Space. New York, New York: Lexington Books. pp. 141–142. ISBN 0-7391-0713-5. 

^ Mowthorpe, Matthews (2004). The Militarization and Weaponization of Space. New York, New York: Lexington Books. pp. 142–144. ISBN 0-7391-0713-5. 

^ Mowthorpe, Matthews (2004). The Militarization and Weaponization of Space. New York, New York: Lexington Books. pp. 145–146. ISBN 0-7391-0713-5. 

^ Mowthorpe, Matthews (2004). The Militarization and Weaponization of Space. New York, New York: Lexington Books. p. 147. ISBN 0-7391-0713-5. 

^ "photovoltaics". Spectrolab. Spectrolab, Inc. 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2014. 

^ "Future of USAF Space Command." Archived 2012-10-02 at the Wayback Machine. Defense News, 30 September 2012.

^ "The Future of our Space Architecture."

^ Covault, Craig (January 21, 2007). "China's Asat Test Will Intensify U.S.-Chinese Faceoff in Space". Aviation Week. Archived from the original on 27 January 2007. Retrieved January 21, 2007. 

^ "Problem Weltraumschrott: Die kosmische Müllkippe - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Wissenschaft". SPIEGEL ONLINE. Retrieved 22 April 2017. 

^ Grady, John (29 January 2014). "U.S. Dependence on Space Assets Could be a Liability in a Conflict with China". usni.org. U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE. Retrieved 29 January 2014. 

Further reading[edit]

Hobbes, D (1986) "An Illustrated Guide to Space Warfare" Salamander Books Ltd. ISBN 0-86101-204-6

Macvey, John W. Space Weapons, Space War. New York:1979 Stein and Day (written by a professional astronomer)

David Jordan: Air and Space Warfare, pages 178-223, in:Understanding modern warfare. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 978-0-521-87698-8.

John J. Klein: Space Warfare: Strategy, Principles and Policy. Routledge, Oxford 2006, ISBN 978-0-415-40796-0.

Joan Johnson-Freese: Space Warfare in the 21st Century - Arming the Heavens. Routledge, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-1-138-69388-3.

External links[edit]

[starlit-ocs]

"Cowbell, Pulse." -> The snake demon smirks, her tail swishing gently against the ground as she approached the two. She looked at their respective outfits, kind of questioning why Cowbell seemed so gussied up, but didn't say anything about it. "Glad ta see ya two again. Been awhile, yeah?"

-> A certain snake demon was making her way towards the Lost Temple of another world. She was dressed down, shirt unbuttoned slightly enough to expose some of her chest, signature bandana wrapped around her hair, keeping it pushed up and her usual pants and boots. - @windswept-ocs [LOST TEMPLE LEADER: SNAKEWHIP]

The gates to the palace were open, & any royal guards outside immediately escorted the snake demon to... a private shooting range?

The walk there was quite a long one, but that was mostly because the palace was very large. The actual building was large, but the outdoor areas were larger.

The other Lost Temple leader was down at one of the bays, wearing a frilly & embroidered outfit consisting of leathers & warm tones, adorned in jewelry. He was carefully cleaning his gear, a decorated & golden revolver with a design on it's handle.

Beside him was- Pulse? The Blackrock leader was here! While Cowbell was dressed up, Pulse was dressed down, much like the other Lost Temple leader. She wore a simple suit vest with the traditional Blackrock patterning, as well as a collared dress shirt & dress pants. She had her own gear out, a...very large & high tech gun, which was propped up against one of the tables she was leaning on.

[starlit-ocs]

"Go for it." -> She states boldly, her single eye locking with Pulse's robotic ones. "If there's someone you'd love to be family with, that you'd love tah care fer and make 'em feel loved, make 'em feel like they've got a family. Someone who'd help 'em out and protect 'em. Then by all means I say ya go for it, darlin'." "I'll be rootin' fer ya over here in Lost Temple."

[FOR SNAKEWHIP]

Another Lost Temple leader. He looks...so very different.

"Ey! I heard there were alternate versions or somethin'? I wanted to make my presence known, heh!"

He's short & stocky, a wide & broad man. His face is rough, scarred with visible signs of aging. The cowbell that dangles from around his neck clangs & bangs as he approaches Snakewhip.

Just by looking at him you can tell he's extremely wealthy from the decorated hat, to the gold tooth, to the gold belt buckle with the Lost Temple logo on it, to the cowboy boots with golden spurs. His gear is in a holster on his belt, his gear gold plated & decorated to his liking.

-@leading-inpherno [COWBELL]

-> Snakewhip notices the approaching male and scrunches up her nose already. She wasn't too keen and meeting new people or the whole "making friends" concept. "Ya look like some rip-off cowboy..." -> She scoffs, looking down at her perfectly cut and green-colored nails, clearly bored already. "And yeah, I'M the leader of Lost Temple. Ya can call me Snakewhip."

[starlit-ocs]

"What's it like?"

-> She cocks her head to the side, tail seeming to perk up slightly. She was curious, very curious old snake lady.

-> A certain snake demon was making her way towards the Lost Temple of another world. She was dressed down, shirt unbuttoned slightly enough to expose some of her chest, signature bandana wrapped around her hair, keeping it pushed up and her usual pants and boots. - @windswept-ocs [LOST TEMPLE LEADER: SNAKEWHIP]

The gates to the palace were open, & any royal guards outside immediately escorted the snake demon to... a private shooting range?

The walk there was quite a long one, but that was mostly because the palace was very large. The actual building was large, but the outdoor areas were larger.

The other Lost Temple leader was down at one of the bays, wearing a frilly & embroidered outfit consisting of leathers & warm tones, adorned in jewelry. He was carefully cleaning his gear, a decorated & golden revolver with a design on it's handle.

Beside him was- Pulse? The Blackrock leader was here! While Cowbell was dressed up, Pulse was dressed down, much like the other Lost Temple leader. She wore a simple suit vest with the traditional Blackrock patterning, as well as a collared dress shirt & dress pants. She had her own gear out, a...very large & high tech gun, which was propped up against one of the tables she was leaning on.

[starlit-ocs]

"I see ya more like a siblin'. So no need to worry 'bout me cooin' and treatin' ya like a pet. I ain't like that in general. That's more Bone Mace's thing." -> She snorts a little, glancing over at Pulse before looking back at Cowbell. "How 'bout we all head out now, ya? Go see somethin' else."

-> A certain snake demon was making her way towards the Lost Temple of another world. She was dressed down, shirt unbuttoned slightly enough to expose some of her chest, signature bandana wrapped around her hair, keeping it pushed up and her usual pants and boots. - @windswept-ocs [LOST TEMPLE LEADER: SNAKEWHIP]

The gates to the palace were open, & any royal guards outside immediately escorted the snake demon to... a private shooting range?

The walk there was quite a long one, but that was mostly because the palace was very large. The actual building was large, but the outdoor areas were larger.

The other Lost Temple leader was down at one of the bays, wearing a frilly & embroidered outfit consisting of leathers & warm tones, adorned in jewelry. He was carefully cleaning his gear, a decorated & golden revolver with a design on it's handle.

Beside him was- Pulse? The Blackrock leader was here! While Cowbell was dressed up, Pulse was dressed down, much like the other Lost Temple leader. She wore a simple suit vest with the traditional Blackrock patterning, as well as a collared dress shirt & dress pants. She had her own gear out, a...very large & high tech gun, which was propped up against one of the tables she was leaning on.

[starlit-ocs]

"If ya say so, 'Bell. Maybe take some time ta think 'bout him, hm?" -> She pats Cowbell on the shoulder before pulling away, crossing her arms over her chest, that grin still plastered on her face. "Yer're real fun to get all worked up, 'Bell. Kinda cute too!" -> She snorts.

-> A certain snake demon was making her way towards the Lost Temple of another world. She was dressed down, shirt unbuttoned slightly enough to expose some of her chest, signature bandana wrapped around her hair, keeping it pushed up and her usual pants and boots. - @windswept-ocs [LOST TEMPLE LEADER: SNAKEWHIP]

The gates to the palace were open, & any royal guards outside immediately escorted the snake demon to... a private shooting range?

The walk there was quite a long one, but that was mostly because the palace was very large. The actual building was large, but the outdoor areas were larger.

The other Lost Temple leader was down at one of the bays, wearing a frilly & embroidered outfit consisting of leathers & warm tones, adorned in jewelry. He was carefully cleaning his gear, a decorated & golden revolver with a design on it's handle.

Beside him was- Pulse? The Blackrock leader was here! While Cowbell was dressed up, Pulse was dressed down, much like the other Lost Temple leader. She wore a simple suit vest with the traditional Blackrock patterning, as well as a collared dress shirt & dress pants. She had her own gear out, a...very large & high tech gun, which was propped up against one of the tables she was leaning on.

[starlit-ocs]

"They're dead n gone, sugar. You gotta put ya big boy pants on and take charge." -> She playfully jabs Cowbell's shoulder with her finger, grinning widely at him. "Take charge and run ya faction how YOU wanna run it. Don't mean you gotta throw away EVERYTHIN' yer folks taught ya. But if there's rules n shit that you don't agree with, stop doin' 'em. Or even better, put yer own spin on 'em! That's what I did fer certain rules and shit."

-> A certain snake demon was making her way towards the Lost Temple of another world. She was dressed down, shirt unbuttoned slightly enough to expose some of her chest, signature bandana wrapped around her hair, keeping it pushed up and her usual pants and boots. - @windswept-ocs [LOST TEMPLE LEADER: SNAKEWHIP]

The gates to the palace were open, & any royal guards outside immediately escorted the snake demon to... a private shooting range?

The walk there was quite a long one, but that was mostly because the palace was very large. The actual building was large, but the outdoor areas were larger.

The other Lost Temple leader was down at one of the bays, wearing a frilly & embroidered outfit consisting of leathers & warm tones, adorned in jewelry. He was carefully cleaning his gear, a decorated & golden revolver with a design on it's handle.

Beside him was- Pulse? The Blackrock leader was here! While Cowbell was dressed up, Pulse was dressed down, much like the other Lost Temple leader. She wore a simple suit vest with the traditional Blackrock patterning, as well as a collared dress shirt & dress pants. She had her own gear out, a...very large & high tech gun, which was propped up against one of the tables she was leaning on.

[starlit-ocs]

"There's always a chance tah, darlin'. I may not be interestin' in havin' kids or anythin'. But I feel as tho if someone wants one, they should be allowed tah have one, y'know?" "I know R. Keytar allowed their gear tah be weakened to have their two kiddos, and Bone Mace adopted his daughta which eventually resulted in 'im havin' two grandbabies." "I may dislike 'em both, but if they wanna be parents, and a grandparent in Mace's case, then good on 'em. You should give yaself the chance too, Pulse. Even if ya end up adoptin' someone. Even if ya raise the kiddo on ya own. I feel like you'd be a protective mama from what I've learned of ya."

[FOR SNAKEWHIP]

Another Lost Temple leader. He looks...so very different.

"Ey! I heard there were alternate versions or somethin'? I wanted to make my presence known, heh!"

He's short & stocky, a wide & broad man. His face is rough, scarred with visible signs of aging. The cowbell that dangles from around his neck clangs & bangs as he approaches Snakewhip.

Just by looking at him you can tell he's extremely wealthy from the decorated hat, to the gold tooth, to the gold belt buckle with the Lost Temple logo on it, to the cowboy boots with golden spurs. His gear is in a holster on his belt, his gear gold plated & decorated to his liking.

-@leading-inpherno [COWBELL]

-> Snakewhip notices the approaching male and scrunches up her nose already. She wasn't too keen and meeting new people or the whole "making friends" concept. "Ya look like some rip-off cowboy..." -> She scoffs, looking down at her perfectly cut and green-colored nails, clearly bored already. "And yeah, I'M the leader of Lost Temple. Ya can call me Snakewhip."

[starlit-ocs]

-> Snakewhip nods along with what the other woman was saying, her tail coiling upwards slightly in interest. "I see... I see... I guess Playground is just full o' dummies, ain't it? R. Keytar is... Definitely not as bad as this Party Cola you're talkin' 'bout. But I can't say I still like 'em either. They're very loud and all ova the place, which I guess makes sense fer a Playgrounder." -> She snorts, rolling her only eye. "I know I can be loud too, but they're just... ALWAYS loud, playin' some dumbass music too. I also don't understand why a leader would give up the strength of their gear tah 'ave children... I dislike 'em, but they're betta than Bone Mace."

[FOR SNAKEWHIP]

Another Lost Temple leader. He looks...so very different.

"Ey! I heard there were alternate versions or somethin'? I wanted to make my presence known, heh!"

He's short & stocky, a wide & broad man. His face is rough, scarred with visible signs of aging. The cowbell that dangles from around his neck clangs & bangs as he approaches Snakewhip.

Just by looking at him you can tell he's extremely wealthy from the decorated hat, to the gold tooth, to the gold belt buckle with the Lost Temple logo on it, to the cowboy boots with golden spurs. His gear is in a holster on his belt, his gear gold plated & decorated to his liking.

-@leading-inpherno [COWBELL]

-> Snakewhip notices the approaching male and scrunches up her nose already. She wasn't too keen and meeting new people or the whole "making friends" concept. "Ya look like some rip-off cowboy..." -> She scoffs, looking down at her perfectly cut and green-colored nails, clearly bored already. "And yeah, I'M the leader of Lost Temple. Ya can call me Snakewhip."

[starlit-ocs]

"Don't do them then if they don't work fer ya, sugar. No point keepin' 'em 'round if they ain't gonna benefit ya and how you wanna run ya faction." "I can tell ya m'momma and pa had some rules that I surely didn't fuckin' keep 'round. I saw 'em, hated 'em and removed 'em promptly. Easy as that. When you're in control, you can do whatever you wanna really."

-> A certain snake demon was making her way towards the Lost Temple of another world. She was dressed down, shirt unbuttoned slightly enough to expose some of her chest, signature bandana wrapped around her hair, keeping it pushed up and her usual pants and boots. - @windswept-ocs [LOST TEMPLE LEADER: SNAKEWHIP]

The gates to the palace were open, & any royal guards outside immediately escorted the snake demon to... a private shooting range?

The walk there was quite a long one, but that was mostly because the palace was very large. The actual building was large, but the outdoor areas were larger.

The other Lost Temple leader was down at one of the bays, wearing a frilly & embroidered outfit consisting of leathers & warm tones, adorned in jewelry. He was carefully cleaning his gear, a decorated & golden revolver with a design on it's handle.

Beside him was- Pulse? The Blackrock leader was here! While Cowbell was dressed up, Pulse was dressed down, much like the other Lost Temple leader. She wore a simple suit vest with the traditional Blackrock patterning, as well as a collared dress shirt & dress pants. She had her own gear out, a...very large & high tech gun, which was propped up against one of the tables she was leaning on.

[starlit-ocs]

"This Party Cola ain't yer type, darlin'? I guess I ain't too fond of m'own Playground leader. For differing reasons, obviously." -> She leans her elbow on the table and watches Pulse, humming slightly. "Didja wanna tell me about yer Playground leader? Ya don't gotta, ya just seem like you needa get somethin' off ya chest... I'm all ears, Pulse."

[FOR SNAKEWHIP]

Another Lost Temple leader. He looks...so very different.

"Ey! I heard there were alternate versions or somethin'? I wanted to make my presence known, heh!"

He's short & stocky, a wide & broad man. His face is rough, scarred with visible signs of aging. The cowbell that dangles from around his neck clangs & bangs as he approaches Snakewhip.

Just by looking at him you can tell he's extremely wealthy from the decorated hat, to the gold tooth, to the gold belt buckle with the Lost Temple logo on it, to the cowboy boots with golden spurs. His gear is in a holster on his belt, his gear gold plated & decorated to his liking.

-@leading-inpherno [COWBELL]

-> Snakewhip notices the approaching male and scrunches up her nose already. She wasn't too keen and meeting new people or the whole "making friends" concept. "Ya look like some rip-off cowboy..." -> She scoffs, looking down at her perfectly cut and green-colored nails, clearly bored already. "And yeah, I'M the leader of Lost Temple. Ya can call me Snakewhip."

[starlit-ocs]

"Authentic jewels go for QUITE the pretty penny. I've got all sorts of little jewel mines down in my Lost Temple. I've got a buncha professional also checkin' any and all gems and jewels and gold and stuff that comes in from outside sources." "I pride m'self on selling top of the line stuff. Jewelry, stones, spices and fabrics. Most of the Inpherno's spices come from Lost Temple! Gotta make sure they're top quality."

-> A certain snake demon was making her way towards the Lost Temple of another world. She was dressed down, shirt unbuttoned slightly enough to expose some of her chest, signature bandana wrapped around her hair, keeping it pushed up and her usual pants and boots. - @windswept-ocs [LOST TEMPLE LEADER: SNAKEWHIP]

The gates to the palace were open, & any royal guards outside immediately escorted the snake demon to... a private shooting range?

The walk there was quite a long one, but that was mostly because the palace was very large. The actual building was large, but the outdoor areas were larger.

The other Lost Temple leader was down at one of the bays, wearing a frilly & embroidered outfit consisting of leathers & warm tones, adorned in jewelry. He was carefully cleaning his gear, a decorated & golden revolver with a design on it's handle.

Beside him was- Pulse? The Blackrock leader was here! While Cowbell was dressed up, Pulse was dressed down, much like the other Lost Temple leader. She wore a simple suit vest with the traditional Blackrock patterning, as well as a collared dress shirt & dress pants. She had her own gear out, a...very large & high tech gun, which was propped up against one of the tables she was leaning on.

[starlit-ocs]

-> Snakewhip flashes a wide, toothy grin and goes over, slinging an arm around Cowbell and pulling him close, her tail rattling happily. "Why didn't ya tell me sooner! Ya sure they're authentic, 'Bell? I've got a keen eye for fakes and fool's gold... Jewels and jewelry are a big seller in Lost Temple!" "Should show ya some of the pricier stores I've got there... Ones where only the richest buy their wares."

-> A certain snake demon was making her way towards the Lost Temple of another world. She was dressed down, shirt unbuttoned slightly enough to expose some of her chest, signature bandana wrapped around her hair, keeping it pushed up and her usual pants and boots. - @windswept-ocs [LOST TEMPLE LEADER: SNAKEWHIP]

The gates to the palace were open, & any royal guards outside immediately escorted the snake demon to... a private shooting range?

The walk there was quite a long one, but that was mostly because the palace was very large. The actual building was large, but the outdoor areas were larger.

The other Lost Temple leader was down at one of the bays, wearing a frilly & embroidered outfit consisting of leathers & warm tones, adorned in jewelry. He was carefully cleaning his gear, a decorated & golden revolver with a design on it's handle.

Beside him was- Pulse? The Blackrock leader was here! While Cowbell was dressed up, Pulse was dressed down, much like the other Lost Temple leader. She wore a simple suit vest with the traditional Blackrock patterning, as well as a collared dress shirt & dress pants. She had her own gear out, a...very large & high tech gun, which was propped up against one of the tables she was leaning on.