Darth Vader is Korean?

Oh man, I'd really hate to be living in NK these days. If GWB thinks he can get away with nuking the shiat out of them with no chance of retaliation they're gonna be in a world of hurt.

North Korea has teh Death Star?

Have you ever wondered why we don't just shoot off nuclear waste, depleted uranium, et al. into the sun?

Well, it's because the risk of the rocket going challenger or columbia on our asses and raining hella radioactive material down all around. Otherwise I think I'd be a great idea. We could just shoot off hipsters for practice until they were safe enough.

/The more you know..

Spaceweapons == coolness.

Too bad this is all about looking good rather than actually developing a working system.

Oh boy, here we go. Last time we tried to "minimize a threat" in Southeast Asia we ended up with a big black wall in Washington DC. Didn't get the "threat" minimized, either.

And wouldn't you know it, I haven't seen any red and yellow flags raised over the White House since we got our butts kicked.

Crap, there I went. Oh well. Marshmallows, anyone?

Click on image for full size pic and caption.

Eigh, well... at least we can say that it was $50 billion for something that actuially works... you know, instead of $87 billion for an unwinnable war against gurillas in the middle of nowhere....

Why don't we just attach a giant "laser" to the moon?

We need a garbage dump on the moon!

"obvious"

independent confirmation?

Rendrago
Laser? I think a giant magnet would be better and when an ICBM shows up just suck it away. Of course all the other satellites will go with it, respirators will stop...

Thank GOD! Finally our tax money is being spent on wise investments instead of stupid things like helping the homeless and poor in our own country! Lets hear it for high tech weapons!!!

(I'm not liberal, dont look at me like that.)

they rig these tests like a mofo. in a real situation, missle defense is like trying to hit a bee with a baseball

Call me when they can shoot down a ballistic missile either with a fighter jet or with that rockin' 747-based laser system.

/yawns

Umm, it's the 21st century. Missile defenses are SOOOOOO last century. Let's use LASERS, dude!

Dawg47
I once hit a bird with a golf ball, unintentionally. But it would be more possible if the missile was chasing the nuke, rather than trying to hit it from the side or head on.

Some folks don't believe this technology works... as if none of our technologies work.... guess what??? We are the best at everything, suck it up and be proud for once.

Hiding in their dank caves, Terrorist leaders the world over think to themselves "Big deal...I already had a missile shield. It's called Women and Children".

All hail porterville

Was bound to happen sooner or later!

God save the King!

I already had a missile shield. It's called Women and Children

Not guaranteed to work against United States and Israeli forces. :)

I like how the Aegis Crisers all have Daleks standing guard on their bows.....

Have we figured out how to have a shield against things that are actually used against us nowadays, though?
I mean, it's great, now we can win the Cold War ten years after we already won it.

its good that we have something to shoot down all those illegal missiles saddam has.

right?

We interrupt this thread for an important message from your president:

I once hit a bird with a golf ball, unintentionally. But it would be more possible if the missile was chasing the nuke, rather than trying to hit it from the side or head on.

I don't think so. First of all, an ICBM on approach would be moving somewhere around 25,000 mph. No anti-missile system in existence has a velocity that approaches that. Basically, an ICBM is moving so fast that an intercept missile must explode well before the ICBM arrives at the intercept point; if an interceptor was to explode on contact (or at proximity) of the ICBM, it would miss because the ICBM is moving faster than the explosion pushes out the schrapnel required to disable/destroy the ICBM.

First off, I think this is a waste of money. Second off, did anyone see the movie Pentagon Wars? 'nuff said.

we need star wars. So we can go to bed safely in the knowledge that of every 100 missiles the enemy rains down on us, only 92 are going to land!

(was something to this effect on the Australian D-gen Late Show? if not, where? help me please!)

miraimatt

We were treaty-bound not to develop such technology, way back in the day, simply because it would have been too much of an advantage. The Tom Clancy novel Cardinal of the Kremlin is all about the pre-treaty race to develop reliable ABM tech.

Lost_in_Korea appears to know what he's talking about. That's a rarity...

Oh really; Yah sure. Confident in the knowledge that the Scaremerican public will believe anything.

Star Wars as a workable defence system is a fairy tale. It's a money pit.

Daveman

"We were treaty-bound not to develop such technology, way back in the day, simply because it would have been too much of an advantage."

The 1972 ABM Treaty was with a country that no longer existed at the time of our pullout from it. Also, there was a clause in it which stated that either country could pull out of it if that country provided six months notice (I believe that was the correct time, might have been sixty days though, something like that anyways). While I can accept that the Soviet Union no longer existing therefore the 1972 ABM Treaty is null and void rationale is weak our pullout from it was still completely within the guidelines of the 1972 ABM Treaty.

I dont understand why this is that hard. I mean you have a target that is going in a straight line in a vacuum. How hard can it be? I understand it is high, and fast, but it should still be simple.

For all of you non-believers;

My father worked in a missle base in the late 60's (during the V.N. War) called Johnson Island in the middle of the Pacific. Their sole task was to destroy Russian satallites (if neccesary) with a nuclear missile. They never actually had to do it, but the one test fire he was involved with was succesful. If they could use a 400 mile an hour rocket to hit an object moving at 17,000 miles an hour back in 1969, I am sure they can make 2 missiles collide in 2003, even with little notice. By the By, it wasn't neccesary to get as close with a nuke, but still had to be within one mile of the target. Dad-o likened it to lobbing a rock at a bullet.

This link required the 'amusing' tag. Why, at this point, should we believe what the military has to report about its own testing?

4 out of 5. That's one too many getting through. And there's no doubt that these tests can and are fudged - especially when an election year is coming up. Anyhow, the military's got my support, but couldn't we try using a small percentage of the $50 billion to feed the North Koreans for a few decades? Maybe they will be less frustrated and even lay down arms in a show of peace towards their American brothers and sisters

or not

Lost_in_Korea
You're right that using schrapnel wouldn't catch the rocket. But if you got it while it was still taking off-just park a few outside Korea as I'm sure we will. Also if the rockets can go 25Kmph then there can be the same rocket with a laser(to cut) on it that can get real close from behind and stay on it for a while to increase the chances of a hit. Unless I'm missing something else it just seems easier to hit a target chasing than colliding.

what a shame...liberals said for years that it was impossible to knock a missile out of the sky with another missile. the democrat party set our national security back 15 years by fighting against the idea of missile defense. infact, the first few months of w-bush's presidency was nothing but liberals harping on about how we dare not research missile defense...where are the liberals now? have they seen the light?

My neighbour and I don't get along. I find him threatening. Therefore, in the interest of my families safety, I have PRE-EMPTIVELY (in self-defense I promise!) burned down his house. I sure do feel safe now, but I can't understand why the rest of the neighbourhood thinks I am a danger to them. I mean, I was only acting in self defense!

Yours truly,
Uncle Sam

Maybe the much hinted at "Bold Agenda" for space, which Bush and NASA have been discussing, represents the beginning stages of the development of the U.S. "Freedom" Star. It will absolutely not be the death star. . . *cough*