From: swoodcoc@isis.cs.du.edu (Steven Markus Woodcock)
Subject: Re: Stategic Defense System, Accidental Launch System, and related.
Organization: The Good Guys, Inc.                                      
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 92 02:38:49 GMT

In article <2833@ub.d.umn.edu> jremer@ub.d.umn.edu (Jeremy C. Remer) writes:
>
>I would like to start a discussion about the Stategic
>Defense Inititive (SDI) and the Accidental Launch Protection System (ALPS).
>
>I think this will be exciting, and we might even learn something new!  :-)
>
   This should be fun!  I work SDI at the National Test Bed, the central
organizational focus for all SDI research in the country.  Discussions
like this are ALWAYS fun.

>
>Here are some questions to help open up a discussion:
>
>Is the United States government spending their money right investing into  
>systems such as SDI and ALPS?
>
   Okay, first of all, ALPS is an outdated acronym.  It's now INMD
(Initial National Missile Defense), which is much more military-like.

   I strongly believe that investing in SDI is one of the best things
the US (and other countries) can do with their defense dollars.  Right now,
there's NOTHING to stop a nuclear or chemical warhead...nothing.  If we
see it with our radars, all we'll know is where it's going and how long
we've got to try to get people out of there.  With an SDI sytem, even a     
limited early deployment, we've can TRY to do SOMETHING.

>What other countries besides the United States that have such systems in the
>plans?
>
   Currently on the (former) Soviet Union has an active, deployed anti-
ballistic missile defense system.  It's deployed around Moscow and consists
of 100 interceptors built with mid-1970s technology and irregularly updated
since then.  Presumably it's still being maintained.  It is fully legal
under the terms of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

  Several countries are working on ground-based SDI interceptor systems,
most notably Israel, Britain, France, and Canada (mostly in concert with
us). 
 
>The new or more recent updates to SDI and ALPS are the idea of "Smart Rock."
>From what I know, "Smart Rocks" have been named after the idea that the
>missile that aims at another missile of warhead uses infared and radar
>support of collide into its target.  "Dumb Rocks" were those that contained
>explosives and accuracy was not as critally, nor was it there.  Another term
>I have heard is "Smart Pebbles."  Is that just another name, or is there
>another system this is aluding to?
>E-mail  jremer@ub.d.umn.edu

   I think you're thinking about 'Brilliant Pebbles', a concept which 
would deploy hundreds or thousands of single-shot interceptors in space.
These would be able to catch and destroy most types of missiles in their
boost phase wherever they were launched.  This is important because boosters
are very vulnerable while lifting up through the atmosphere, and are
relatively easy targets (slow moving, easily visible, easily destroyed)..

   That's a start......



Steven W.
One of the Good Guys

--
    "...Men will awake presently and be Men again, and colour and laughter and
 splendid living will return to a grey civilization. But that will only come 
 true because a few Men will believe in it, and fight for it, and fight in its
 name against everything that sneers and snarls at that ideal..."