The concept of kinetic-energy weapons has been around ever since the RAND Corporation proposed placing rods on the tips of ICBMs in the 1950s the satellite twist was popularized by sci-fi writer Jerry Pournelle. (The two-platform configuration permits the weapon to be “reloaded” by just launching a new set of rods, rather than replacing the entire system.) The result: complete devastation of the target, even if it’s buried deep underground. The guided rods enter the atmosphere, protected by a thermal coating, traveling at 36,000 feet per second–comparable to the speed of a meteor. When instructed from the ground, the targeting satellite commands its partner to drop one of its darts. One functions as the targeting and communications platform while the other carries numerous tungsten rods–up to 20 feet in length and a foot in diameter–that it can drop on targets with less than 15 minutes’ notice. A pair of satellites orbiting several hundred miles above the Earth would serve as a weapons system. This technology is very far out–in miles and years.
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