Star wars research program

Scientific experts had not made any groundbreaking discoveries in the years leading up to the announcement of SDI, and they were far from certain whether such a system was even possible. Scientific development did not influence policy in this case; it was policy that was intended to influence science.

The role of the organization, however, remained largely unclear. The actual design of SDI was also unclear; scientists and experts considered an enormous number of possibilities. Options included both space-based and ground-based lasers, as well as a wide variety of missiles and tracking systems. Edward Teller, for example, was an early proponent of the satellite X-ray laser, although it was ultimately ineffective.

The Strategic Defense Initiative was ultimately most effective not as an anti-ballistic missile defense system, but as a propaganda tool which could put military and economic pressure on the Soviet Union to fund their own anti-ballistic missile system. This possibility was particularly significant because, during the s, the Soviet economy was teetering on the brink of disaster.

Although Reagan was sincerely invested in SDI for the purposes of national security and never intended for it to be a bargaining chip, many of his advisors acknowledged its potential as a negotiating tool. Caption: A Soviet artist's depiction of the Terra ground-based laser. Soviet scientists were immediately tasked with investigating SDI. What we were most afraid of? Soviet research into anti-ballistic missiles had begun in the s, well before Reagan announced SDI, but it was quickly made a top priority in Above all else, Soviet leaders feared that SDI would pave the way for weaponizing space.

The high point of Soviet anti-ballistic missile efforts came on May 15, , when they launched an Energia rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in southern Kazakhstan. The rocket carried the Polyus spacecraft, which was equipped with a laser system, Skif, and a missile system, Kaskad. It was designed to shoot down SDI in space. In the end, Polyus failed to reach orbit and quickly broke apart. When reformer Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in , he began to drastically cut Soviet military spending, particularly the anti-ballistic missile program the USSR had started in response to SDI.

But we should overcome our obsession with it. Scaling back the military budget was one method Gorbachev used in his efforts to revive the Soviet economy; another was negotiating directly with the United States. Caption: Reagan and Gorbachev at the Reykjavik Summit, Although SDI was a frequent topic in negotiations with Gorbachev, Reagan was reluctant to surrender his project. Once again, however, Reagan offered to share SDI technology with the Soviet Union, although not all of his advisors shared his enthusiasm for the proposal.

He argued that SDI was hypocritical—the West would be terrified if the Soviet Union developed an anti-ballistic missile system. By , however, Gorbachev agreed that missile reductions and SDI could be negotiated separately. Along with reduced Cold War tensions, Gorbachev was aware that the U. The INF Treaty, which eliminated all short-range miles and intermediate-range miles nuclear missiles, was signed at the Washington Summit later that year. Partisan debate on the issue had Democrats in Congress questioning the viability of the program, with Louisiana Senator J.

Bennett Johnston calling it "absolute folly" and some scientists and members of the media describing SDI as a bargaining chip or bluff. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Recommended for you. How the Union Defended Washington, D. During the Civil War.

ICBM silos. The sensors to detect attacks would be based on the ground, in the air, and in space, and would use radar, optical, and infrared threat-detection systems.

This system would tip the nuclear balance toward the United States. Critics pointed to the vast technological uncertainties of the system, in addition to its enormous cost.