Combat space stations (platforms) are currently the main space component of a combat space system, considered as a possible means of increasing the reliability of rocket and space defense , in particular, for hitting enemy ballistic missiles in the active trajectory section and ballistic missile warheads in the passive trajectory section . As expected, combat space stations will be equipped with various means of destruction ( missiles , kinetic , laser , accelerator and other types of weapons based on new physical principles ).
In a space war, space stations (platforms) can be a very effective means and the main space component of a stationary defense system of the planet , a star system and even an entire area of space, and also serve as a reliable tactical and strategic rear for the fleet .
Soviet research and predictions
Soviet scientists E.P. Velikhov , R.Z. Sagdeev , A.A. Kokoshin , in the mid -1980s , gave a completely exhaustive forecast regarding the creation and commissioning of combat space stations. So, in the hypothetical commissioning of the station, according to scientists, there are questions about the reliability of the station, the cost of resources for its maintenance, power supply and replacement. It is necessary to single out two main components of the reliability of space weapons: technical reliability and operational (combat) reliability. The technical reliability of the combat space stations determines the life of the space station in the main mode of combat duty, and consequently, the duration of its possible stay in orbit. The parameters of potential weapons of ballistic missiles that can be used in a large-scale anti-missile defense system leave no doubt that the masses, measured in hundreds of tons, will be characteristic of combat space stations. With this in mind, we can conclude that a quick replacement in orbit of a combat station that has developed an established resource will be a very difficult task. Such a station is unlikely, in any case in the foreseeable future, to be put into orbit assembled on one carrier. Consequently, the deployment scheme in space of a combat station will apparently provide for the launch into orbit of its individual blocks with their subsequent assembly in space. Assembling the station in orbit will require the creation of special tools and equipment, which are also likely to have considerable mass. Thus, the replacement of combat stations that have failed or have exhausted their resources will require the launching of significant additional cargo into space and cannot be carried out quickly enough without compromising efficiency. In addition, traditional power supply systems, such as solar batteries , radioisotope generators and various types of batteries widely used today to power artificial satellites , are unlikely to meet the needs of combat space stations of an anti-missile system [1] .
Peak energy loads of combat space stations with weapons of directional energy transfer are estimated at the level of gigawatts, which corresponds to burning at least 5 tons of chemical fuel per minute. But even in non-military conditions, the power consumption of a large station can be 0.1-1 MW in continuous mode, which is ensured only by a space-based nuclear reactor, and there should be many such reactors, almost as many as the combat stations are in space. The technical problems arising in this case are not yet fully understood, but it is already obvious, for example, that the issue of debugging a large space-based power unit is extremely difficult to solve. Finally, there is a separate problem of system survival [2] .
Real prototypes and samples in the USSR
- Diamond - station tracking and orbital photography. Officially called Salute and served as the prototype of civil stations with this name.
- Cascade - stations with rocket armament .
- Skiff - stations with laser weapons. The prototype station flew.
- As part of the Mir station was planned to create a combat module .
Sources
- ↑ Velikhov, EP, Sagdeev, R. Z., Kokoshin, A. A. Chapter 2. Combat space stations of the missile defense system // Space Weapons: Security Dilemma. - M .: Mir, 1986. - p. 65, 73. - 181 p.
- ↑ Prilutsky OF, Rodionov S. N. Scientists are reassessing space weapons // USA: economics, politics, ideology / Institute of the United States of America ( USSR Academy of Sciences ). - M .: Science , 1988. - T. №10 (226). - p. 27-36. - 27,542 copies.