Space Warfare and Accidents
Arthur C. Clarke wrote an article called, "War and Peace in the Space Age," in which he suggested that an artificial satellite in retrograde orbit could use "a bucket of nails" to destroy an SDI (anti-warhead) satellite. This premise was ridiculed on account of the vastness of space and the low probability of an encounter.
Nevertheless, a satellite in retrograde orbit could pose a major hazard to other satellites, especially if it was placed in the Clarke belt, where geostationary satellites orbit. This risk highlights the fragility of communication satellites and the importance of international cooperation in preventing space collisions due to negligence or malice.
Read more about this topic: Artificial Satellites In Retrograde Orbit
Famous quotes containing the words space, warfare and/or accidents:
“It is the space inside that gives the drum its sound.”
—Hawaiian saying no. 1189, ‘lelo No’Eau, collected, translated, and annotated by Mary Kawena Pukui, Bishop Museum Press, Hawaii (1983)
“Dying is a troublesome business: there is pain to be suffered, and it wrings one’s heart; but death is a splendid thing—a warfare accomplished, a beginning all over again, a triumph. You can always see that in their faces.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Some accidents there are in life that a little folly is necessary to help us out of.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)