Table 3-2. Uses of Force Delivery Devices POSSIBLE MISSION SPS ADAPTER OR USE ABBREVIATION OR ELEMENT Ballistic missile defense ABM PBW, HEL ASAT carrier AC COTV, POTV, SV Satellite attack ASAT 01, PBW, HEL, SPS power beam, EW Satellite seizure SATNAP SV with grapplers Satellite mutilation SATMUT SV with grapplers Earth bombardment EB RV Earth irradiation ER HEL, SPS power beams Electronic warfare EW SPS power beam Weather modification WXM SPS power beam, special RF transmitter Physical attack — Armed military troops significant targets (LEO satellites, ICBMs, high altitude aircraft, foreign Earth- to-LEO vehicles, etc.) is characteristically 1000 to 5000 km, not 35,000 km or more as for the power satellites themselves. Furthermore, the ground track of a COTV encircles the globe instead of remaining at fixed longitudes as is the case for the power satellites. Some provision would have to be made for energy storage aboard the COTV if the weapons were to be usable even when the COTV is in the Earth's shadow, but given the payload of 3500-4000 T available, a modest decrease in useful payload could be compensated by adding a few more COTVs to the fleet. The term ASAT carrier (AC) refers to the use of a transport vehicle to carry antisatellite weapons such as space-to-space missiles or space lasers. In the Reference Design, the power density at the center of the microwave beam exceeds the solar constant at distances less than about 12,000 km from the trans- mitter array, reaching 4 solar constants at a range of about 5000 km. unless spacecraft intended to pass through these regions of space are properly designed, significant thermal overloading may occur, whether or not the microwave beam is aimed at them deliberately.
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