Orbital nukes backstory

[Stephen Miller]

(original post: 06 Dec 2007 07:32 pm)

How about doing backstories on the various orbital nukes seen in the 2001 alternate universe? How would they be deployed in orbit and what are their capabilities?
What about historic development dating back to the late sixties?
I believe the USAF and RAF nukes and other NATO ones are launched on Orion 2 cargo shuttles operating from the Cape and Vandenberg AFB.
Any other ideas and theories on them? How about the British RAF nuke?

[Model Man]

I originally thought of the following over here:
odec.proboards83.com/index.cgi?board=reference&action=display&thread=25&page=1#310

Depending on what they are: singular, 1000mt nuclear bombs; or up to and including, beam-capable missile platforms.

In the former case, they have thrusters and basic computer controls.

In the latter case, they likely have great ECM, EECM, optical, infrared, thermographic, micromillimeter and more in the optics dept, gamma detectors at the least with however many more radiation bands you want to throw in, never-minding the command and control abilities of such apparently monstrous structures.

If they're controlled by 9000 series-level computers, that makes it more the mind-blowing what they could do.

When they're not busy killing people, they could, for instance, be doing ultradeep space research of all sorts. Link the lenses of 3-20 of those across any side of the globe you want and you get a telescope hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of square miles across. Or do it in stereo with half the depth, but twice the accuracy.

That's big time nuts in so many ways.

They are likely nuclear powered (duh), which means that they could be self-maneuverable to a large degree.

They would require defensive measures too. I've pointed out elsewhere that I think the 'probes' in the middle sides of the US nuke could be slug throwers of some sort. I don't know if a laser canon would look like that, but why not. Maybe even a fusion blaster of some sort.

And are they working w/ fission or fusion yet? BIG difference w/ big implications for how the world works and the tech level that exists.

How many of everybody's would be in orbit? 1 each nation? 100?
And how are they deployed and their ultimate battle tactic.

Lots of fundamental questions.