High energy lasers and possibly particle beam weapons could be used for irradiation of Earth-based targets (ET). However, the characteristics of PBWs may make it impossible for their beams to penetrate the Earth's atmosphere. (Refer to the discussion in Appendix C.2.) The SPS power beam itself could be used to irradiate areas on the Earth. While one beam does not supply a high level of intensity, focusing the power beams of, say, twenty power satellites upon the same location would result in a power level of 460 mW/cm^2 at the center. This is approximately 3.3 times larger than the peak incident solar flux at the Earth's surface (~140 mW/cm^2 ). Such diversion of SPS power could be used only against targets in the same hemisphere as the intended recipient of the power. Regardless of the means used, the term "Earth irradiation" is intended to denote levels of radiation which are sufficiently high to cause physical damage to the intended target. Another category of radiation weapon is electronic warfare. This involves the jamming of enemy communications links, radars, or navigation signals by the SPS power beam itself or by special transmitters operating on military frequencies. (See Appendix C.4 for a discussion of electronic warfare possibilities.) A third category of radiation weapon is deliberate weather modification. As discussed in Appendix C.6, it is unlikely that weather modification could be achieved with the SPS power beam operating at 2.45 GHz. At the least, it would be necessary to install a high-power RF transmitter operating at approximately 22.2 GHz. Even with such a transmitter, weather modification appears to be of doubtful feasibility. The last force delivery mission shown in Table 3-2 involves the actual physical attack of space-based facilities by armed military troops. Such troops could be used as boarding parties to inspect an enemy space station or possibly even to seize it (SATNAP). 3.2.2 Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C I) The Satellite Power System appears to offer few new possibilities for performance of C3I missions beyond those expected to be available during the 1980s and 1990s in the absence of SPS. Nonetheless, the sheer scale of SPS suggests that . . military C3I functions might be performed in conjunction with SPS on a larger scale and, perhaps, with some economies.
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