Competitive SDI Shield Scenario

Interstellar is the only long-term choice for space development. The choice is "Fly or Fry" as the sword of Damocles provides a technology to destroy, the chain reaction, or the technology to travel at speed beyond light. This is possible through testing physical containment of fission, which although large is theoretically confinable. The historical analogy with China is the time lag between practical discovery (gunpowder) and theory of practical application: physical containment (This should encourage the Anglo-American manned atomic test programme to invite the Chinese as "to the fruits of the space programme as technical experts" so that such action prevents the need for 2 SDI shields. The manned atomic testing would with global agreement enable sequenced space speed tests. It should be an Anglo-American partnership, even under the possible case of the Chinese developing a SDI shield.

For the British to renounce all nuclear weapons, it needs America to move all Russian nuclear armaments into American territory. The British under a Chinese SDI shield would thus have adequate warning over the launch of missiles launched on behalf of the first SDI shield. Britain underneath the Chinese SDI shield would have to take the French along or negotiate a similar French choice of also going like Britain, non nuclear weapons or an atomic weaponry free power. The French however should be left alone to their independent nuclear force, unless Britain is definitely handed back all keys and weapons to America and has proof the Russians have committed and finished the same procedure.

Ownership of nuclear missiles capable of delivering warheads at any distance needs to be controlled so agreement between China and America. The manned atomic space test, logical to have proceeded after the end of the cold war, has not yet been attempted and so although the 2 SDI shield programme would enable this, the chance of blunder and catastrophe is higher.

Competitive SDI Shield Scenario continued

Better for no new SDI shield programme but an Anglo-American Chinese/Japanese agreement to begin nuclear testing in space. American can still develop SDI but with investigation into EMF the signal such a test would unstoppably destroy some satellite: desatellisation. 2 SDI shield necessity is a failure. Desatellisation should come about through a paid agreement for compensation. Wrong would be the military that would put the whole world at risk by assuming a limited satellite war between 2 SDI shields would conveniently remove all the commercial unprotected satellite. Unprotected because testing of the interstellar drive to establish the theoretical curve of speed limitation so that at least robotics and cybernetics have a reliable framework to work economic predictions for interstellar travel for trade.

The 2 SDI shield is not the favoured option, as it would increase the risk of war, but its effect of leaving only China, America and France with nuclear weapons is an appealing prospect. Interstellar development that required 2 SDI shields rather than take an opportunity to test in a period between cold wars, would necessitate the nationalisation of the new optical media (DVD etc) manufacturing plant. Only by locating such survival shelters underground would such societies be ready to resume technical pursuits after catastrophe. The knowledge base with some personnel in hydrogen (fusion) proof shelters (plenty concrete and deep) would the knowledge for interstellar survive. Perhaps at best 45 years, man would regain sufficient economic strength the try interstellar again. Merely to avoid the cost of compensation of interstellar research now (manned atomic space tests) is it worth to run automatically into 2 SDI shield programme where the likelihood of a satellite war not being limited and triggering disaster is horrible?