Military Implications of an SPS

present treaties leaves a legal opening for legally inflicting severe damage by SGEMP upon multiple elements of the SPS. The 1973 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space, and Underwater (often referred to as the "Limited Test Ban Treaty") has not been signed by France, by the People’s Republic of China, or by many Third World nations which could join the nuclear club within the next few decades. Many of these nonsignatories (including the PRC) have not signed the 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities on States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, which would prohibit them from carrying out activities in space which could interfere with peaceful activities of other states. Testing of a very large nuclear warhead in space by such a nonsignatory state would then be "legal," even if it wrought havoc with dozens of power satellites thousands of kilometers away from the detonation.* Note also that a number of nations which have signed neither the Limited Test Ban Treaty nor the Treaty on Principles have not signed the 1970 Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and thus reserve the right to develop nuclear weapons. 4.4.3 Electronic Warfare Smooth and efficient operation of the entire Satellite Power System depends on reliable operation of the electronic equipment used for command, control, and communication functions. Short of actual physical damage to the electronic equipment, operation of the system can be disrupted by electronic warfare (EW) techniques to introduce excessive noise, excessive information, or false 3 information into the C system. Jamming of radars or communications channels is the classic EW techniques for inserting excessive noise into the system. This requires deployment of high-power transmitters operating in the frequency bands used by the target equipment. In view of the large number of ground transceiver locations, the large number of spacebased elements of the SPS, provision of redundant equipment operating at different ♦Admittedly, this is farfetched. Should the North-South conflict over international economic issues become more virulent over the next few decades, however, the opportunity such an attack would provide for simultaneously damaging the economic infrastructures of a number of industrialized nations participating in the SPS could become tempting to leaders in Third World countries.

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