Orbital Defense Initiative

UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND TRANSMISSION 13232-68131/EXC
 
SENT: April 13th, 2487 (UNSC Military Calendar)
FROM: 
Commander Arnold Lewis    
TO: UNSC 
Security Committee Chairman, Admiral Charley McGregor
SUBJECT: 
ORBITAL DEFENSE INITIATIVE
SECURITY: 
CODEWORD CLEARANCE [CODEWORD: GAUSS]
ATTACHMENTS: 
Massdriver.doc, Earth2.img, UNSC Home
Fleet.doc, PROJECT: ORION.doc, ORBITAL DEFENSE INITIATVE (A 
PROPOSAL).doc
 
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Probably someone from Section Three attempting to get into the system. As far as I know, no terrorist organization has been able to breach the Military Intelligence Division's firewalls, other than that one genius hacker. At least now that one is behind bars. Let's get on with it. This proposal, titled "The Orbital Defense Initiative", will give the United Nations Space Command an edge against these terrorists, and any alien civilizations we encounter. We both know they exist; TEMERITY has discovered several ruins dating 100,000 years ago on numerous planets. These findings frighten myself and several others in my group, and at the same time they have intrigued us. This evidence is shattering, and does prove that alien civilizations have been able to evolve and flourish on other planets, and these were found in our space alone. Who knows what lies out there beyond our scanned territory? Probably God himself, but we cannot run that risk. If we ever run into a civilization more advanced than our own, we cannot know if they are willing to negotiate a peace, and I do not wish for us to be caught with our pants down when that happens. Even if there are no alien civilizations out there, it is known that large formations of Colonial Military Administration units and ships have been defecting to those rebels, and sooner or later, they may amass a fleet that rivals our own. And so, I propose this.
This program will have several main objectives. Among them: 
 
1.)   
Defense of Earth and her major colonies from enemy attack, be it terrorist or extraterrestrial.
 
2.)   
Test and observe new technologies in space, and continue the development of coilgun technology, in addition to others.
 
3.)   
Provide a comprehensive deterrent to any threat, real or imagined. 
These goals are the general outline for this entire project, and may be needed for any congressional hearings that may come from this proposal.
My proposal is simple: an array of "Magnetic Accelerator Cannons" (properly called "coilguns"), contained in geosynchronous orbit above our most prized planets (and you very well know which two I speak of: Earth and Reach) to defend from any alien or rebel armada that may strike. The principle behind Magnetic Accelerator Cannons is simple; a large magnetic projectile is fired using a system of linear coils down a long shaft, increasing said projectile's velocity until it carries a massive amount of kinetic energy, able to split even our most well-armored ships in half. The theory is proven; as we both know, MACs have been fitted to our newest ships, and have been used to devastating effect against rebel ships. All we need to do now is take those MACs out of the ships, make them larger (Super MAC, perhaps?), and put an entire orbital station around them, capable of surviving on its own for long periods of time, much like the space stations and orbital terminals that exist already. The materials exist, and the principle is sound. We just need to put it into practice.
Several problems do exist, however. Since they have to be constructed in space and remain in orbit, these stations have no method of generating the power necessary to fire their MACs. Although solar panels are a good option, they cannot generate the power necessary to fire such weapons, but they can be used as a secondary method of power generation. This problem can be solved by placing large powerplants on the ground of the planet, highly defended by Army guards, as well as by layers of reinforced concrete and other strong building materials. The method of transferring power from these generators to the stations above would be through the use of rectennas, which have been proven to be 40% effective with our very own solar satellites. Coupled together, these two systems can generate more than enough power to fire these gigantic slugs at 50% of the speed of light, generating a force equivalent to about ten teratons of TNT.
Now, let's get to the stations themselves. Of course, some of this is aesthetics, and has no bearing on the capability of the station itself. However, these characteristics may have an impact on the crew serving on the stations. The platforms need to have the ability to accept docking ships; everything from the smallest cargo transports to the largest Carriers. This will allow food, water, and other amenities to be transferred from their places of production to the ships, as well as for crew to come and go as per their deployment orders. Currently, some members of Section Two are working with an architectural agency to design some portions of these stations, all under the assumption that said members are a civilian space agency seeking to build a place of business and pleasure for high-class members of society. Their designs will be forwarded at a later date, and they are astonishing to say the least. Crew quarters are much like apartments, and there is a monorail system being proposed to transfer personnel around the station, as well as an extensive elevator system. Some of the designs even feature high ceilings and panoramic windows, giving the viewer an unobstructed view of space. Amazing stuff, really. Standard crew quarters won't be unlike the barracks on ground-bound bases; two Marines/Sailors to an "apartment", shared bathroom, kitchen, and living space, but separate bedrooms. Junior officers receive their own quarters, but are very small, and as one progresses in rank, their quarters grow. SOP, really. In addition, the main control room will have a wide variety of terminals for their own specific functions, such as telemetry, aiming the cannon itself, maintaining life support systems, monitoring cameras, security, etc. Since these stations are much like ships, those in command should be at the rank of a Naval Captain, but some leeway may be allowed for those with specific technical competencies relating to these things. 
Exact specifics will be covered in later documents by those who know about this particular subject than I do. I do hope that you consider this plan, as the future of the UEG, the UNSC, and the CAA depends on it. This project, combined with ORION, will give us an upper hand against these rebels. This file contains a virus and will automatically delete once this is closed. Please make important notes before doing so.
Thank you,
 
 
Commander Arnold Leroy Lewis (UNSC Service Number: 23823-64924-ALL), UNSCDF Military Intelligence Division, Section One, Directorate of Technology
  
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