Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-19
Space and the Military

space ana me MHIt0ry
The simultaneous orbital flights of
the Soviet CoSmonautS have reSurrected
some rather old questions about whether
or not our country is tagging behind
in space in way that could be militarily
perilouS for all of us. There are those
who feel that the danger is very real.
Certain of our Air Force officers, for
example, anonymously warn that the
Kremlin probably is Sparing no effort
to build manned SpaceShipS capable of
launching Super-megaton nuclear bombs
against our country.
And Britain'S distinguished Sir Ber-
nard Lowell, though he is an aStrophyS-
iciSt rather than military authority,
has rushed into print with quite pes
SimiStic statement declaring that the
Nikolayev-Popovich feat indicates that
I'VE are not far from the situation where
the SovietS could knock down American
orbiting Spacecraft." These would in
clude Midas and SamoS, which are
rather magical devices (Still in the de-
velopmental Stage) designed to keep a
very sharp eye (from hundreds Of miles
up) on missile-firingS and other events
in the territory of the potential enemy.
AS for the men of the Kremlin, they
still do not let the world or even the
Russian people see what kind of ships
their Comonauts fly in, or where they
take off or where they land. Amid the
secrecy, the chief theme of MoScoW'S
propagandiStS is that the Nikolayev-
Popovich flights have been carried out
solely for peaceful purposes. But De-
tense Minister MalinovSky has veered
little bit from this official party line.
He has done so by somewhat bellicosely
suggesting that the event has bearing
on Spatial ornaments. AS he has put
it, Let our enemies know what tech
niQueS and what soldiers our Soviet
power diSposes Of"
However, along with top officials of
the National AeronauticS and Space Ad-
miniStration, Defense Secretary McNa-
mara apparently feels confident that
this latest Soviet achievement-spec
tacular and admirable though it is
does not really have much military sig
nificance worthy of the name. In time,
of course, the Russians may score other
firsts of much more meaningful nature
in terms of possible war in space. But
Mr.. Mcnamara, as of now, seems to
agree with one of the key points made
in the excellent 1858 report of President
EiSenhower'S Science Advisory Commit
tee. In view of present speculation
about military possibilities in the high
heavens, it is point that we'll deserves
to be quoted once again:
Much has been written about space as
future theater Of war. raising such sug-
geStionS as satellite bomberS military bases
on the moon, and so on. For the most part,
even the more sober proposals do not hold
up we'll on close examination or appear to
be achievable at an early date. Granted
that they will become technologically possible
most of these schemes, nevertheless, appear
to be clumsy and ineffective ways of doing
a job. :. A satellite cannot simply drop a
bomb. Indeed, the only way to drop"
bomb directly down from a satellite is to
carry aboard the satellite rocket launching
OF the magnitude required for an intercon-
tinental missile. But that means launch
ing it from moving platform with
every disadvantage compared to a missile
base on the ground. In short, the earth would
appear to be, after all, the best weapons
carrier.
Certainly, if nations can virtually
annihilate each other from bases right
here on terra firma, why should they
undertake the vastly complicated and
enormously expensive task of militariz-
ing outer space? True, there can be
no doubt about the military value of
satellites designed for such things as
communications and reconnaissance,
but bomb-carrying spaceshipS-
vehicles meant to rain obliteration on
the earth-just do not seem to make
much sense in the present stage of
humanity'S faltering march onward and
upward.