The secret star wars cities

Press, 4 December 1981, Page 13

The secret star wars cities

By

ROSS MADDEN

Features International

Deep in concrete bunkers, beneath the Peterson Air Force Base, in Colorado, hundreds of military scientists and technicians are working round the clock in a $2500 million labyrinth of control rooms which have been nicknamed “Star Wars City.” And that is exactly what it is. Military experts now concede that the superpowers will be equippd to fight a war in outer space by 1985. If it happens, America’s military satellites and space-craft-mounted lasers will be controlled from Star Wars City. Its official name is Space War Centre and it is linked with Building No. 30 at the Houston (Texas) Space Centre. This building, which housed Mission Control during the Apollo moon landings, is now a top-secret U.S.A.F. space-command post.

It is no secret that the success of the reuseable Space Shuttle has given the “Star Wars” project a vast boost. The Shuttle is an integral part of the United States Government’s immediate space warfare plans. Indeed, at least a third of the next 100 Space Shuttle flights will involve military payloads, and a Shuttle launch pad for exclusively military flights is now being built at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, home of U.S.A.F. secret reconnaissance and communications satellites. Vandenberg is already vitally important to America’s defences, for the “spy” satellites launched from there are injected into a stationary polar orbit, enabling their cameras and sensors to keep a continual watch on both hemispheres. Early military Shuttle flights controlled from “Star

Wars City” will carry satellites, but high priority is also being given to experimental work on weaponry for use in outer space. By the end of 1985, for instance, the Americans hope to have perfected a Shuttlemounted laser cannon battery, which, it is claimed, will be able to knock out enemy satellites in orbit and destroy the warheads of Soviet ICBMs in flight. Advanced “Super-Shuttles” are already being planned at Peterson Base, including a spacecraft known as “Star Raker,” specifically designed for combat in Earth orbit. Equipped with laser cannon batteries, it could either coast in a stationary orbit 22,000 miles above the earth or manoeuvre to intercept

hostile spacecraft. The Pentagon is concerned that the Russians — even though they do not have such a sophisticated spacecraft as the Shuttle — may already have captured a lead in some areas of space warfare technology. During a twelve-month period in 1980-81 the Russians launched 89 earth satellites — and 81 of them were known to be of a military nature. During a similar period, the Americans carried out only 12 space shots, of which 10 carried a military payload. What apparently worries the Pentagon is that some of the Russian launches involved “killer” satellites. For instance, in March this year,

in one such test, a “killer” satellite was guided by radar towards another spacecraft and then exploded in close proximity, disabling the target. To counter this threat, the Americans now plan to equip the next generation of reconnaissance satellites with defensive lasers. Any, suspicious satellite approaching them would be automatically interrogated. And if it failed to make the correct response, the lasers would open fire. As a further fail-safe measure, back-up spy satellites will be launched into orbit and their electronics shut down completely. If a key satellite is destroyed, one of the back-up craft would then be activated and immediately positioned to take its place. In the mid-1980s, the Americans hope to Shuttlelaunch a five-megwatt high-

performance laser and carry out a series of weapons tests in space. This weapon has already been tried out experimentally, mounted in a modified Boeing 707 jet. If space trials are successful, it will become the prototype of the first generation of spacemounted laser cannon. Looking even further ahead, a super-laser is being developed for the Department of Defence under the code-name “Project Dauphin." This new laser will be activated not by light, but Rontgen rays, and is expected to produce several billion watts of energy. According to one Pentagon report, a network of 50 such laser-stations would be capable of engaging 1200 strategic missiles, 200 bombers, 50 radar warning aircraft, 200 fighters, and 80 enemy satellites — simultaneously.