Boarding and takeover of space facilities has already been discussed in Section 3. It is difficult to envision groups other than regular military or paramilitary forces attempting such a mission, since the occupation forces would have to have their own capability for resupply. Seizure of manned facilities or space vehicles would thus be a clear-cut act of war. 4.4.2 Standoff Weapons Standoff weapons offer several advantages to a potential assailant. First, personnel and equipment remain far from the target, minimizing risks of damage or loss of these assets. Second, it may be easier to conceal the origin of the attack and the identity of the assailant. Third, since most of these means of assault rely on rapid motion from weapon to target, it can be easier to achieve surprise. On the other hand, the greater distance may require more sophisticated and expensive equipment than close-in attacks with large numbers of relatively "dumb” devices, both to permit the necessary precision and stability of aiming and to provide higher power levels required to overcome increased dispersion. The power satellites, GEO base, Cargo Orbital Transfer Vehicles (COTVs), and LEO base (unless it has a nuclear power plant) all depend on a predictable stream of raw sunlight for their power. One might thus consider interrupting the power supply of one or more of these SPS elements by deploying large, lightweight, thin- film structures in space to cast large shadows on the solar collectors of these SPS elements. For the power satellites and the GEO base, such an orbital shade could be placed in a 24-hour equatorial orbit of small eccentricity, with perigree perhaps 100 km lower than GEO and apogee as much higher. The shade would then execute a circular trajectory of radius 100 km about its target every 24 hours, with the shadow remaining centered on its target' at all times. Similarly, an orbital shade could immobilize a COTV in high orbit once its shadow fell on the COTV’s solar collectors long enough for the COTV’s batteries to run too low to operate the chemical thrusters. (The COTV’s ion thrusters could not operate as long as the shade was in the way.) In order to use orbital shades against targets in low Earth orbit, however, it would be necessary to provide a continuously operating propulsion system to maintain oribital altitude to counteract atmospheric drag on such a lightweight
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