artwork by Dean Ellis

(ed note: This article was written in 1979 and is admittedly a little dated. But most of it is still true.) The Third Industrial Revolution is going to create two areas of concern and interest to military planners in the next thirty to ﬁfty years.



One of these is new technology that will create new problems of defense and military operations. Space industrialization will produce new and less expensive space transportation systems. Space industrialization will produce radically new materials that will have military implications in terms of increased strength, decreased weight, and various other physical properties. Space industrialization will also produce very large energy collectors and transmission devices in space.



The second area of concern involves the fact that the Third Industrial Revolution will create property of value in space—communications satellites, information-handling satellites, crewed space laboratories, crewed and uncrewed space factories, solar power satellites, lunar mining stations and outposts, lunar and orbital catapults or "mass drivers," and other facilities. There will be human activity in space connected with each of these. These facilities will also have commercial value, property value, and even military threat value. Where there exist arenas of human activity and inter-relationships and property, there will be disagreements and conﬂict. We cannot expect these aspects of human nature to change in the next ﬁfty years.

Therefore as we go into space we will have to take our highly-evolved cultural heritages and societal organizations with us to forestall disagreements and to resolve conﬂicts. There are the rules, codes, regulations, laws, and treaties that we have individually and collectively agreed to observe. But they are effective only when the majority of people involved agree to abide by them, and when means exist to enforce compliance with them.

These means of enforcement include the military police organizations. There is a very ﬁne line of distinction between a military organization and a police organization. In some cultures and nations, the distinction cannot be drawn at all. In our Anglo-American culture, the police handle the affairs of internal compliance while the military organization handles the enforcement of trans—national agreements including protection of property from seizure or destruction by other nations.

Therefore, the Third Industrial Revolution is not only going to require military/police protection of space property but will present military organizations with new technology. Both of these involve new military doctrines for use in earth-luna space … or cis-lunar space, that being the portion of space that exists between the Planet Earth and the orbit of its satellite, the Moon.

Protection of space property is very dependent upon the basic military rationales, doctrines, and operational realities of cis-lunar celestial mechanics. Celestial mechanics involves the way objects move in space with relationship to various gravitational ﬁelds. it is no longer a subject for mere academic discussion or scientiﬁc utility in aiming space probes. Celestial mechanics becomes the cornerstone of space strategic and tactical doctrines.

There will be military operations in space above and beyond those necessary for protection of space properties.



Historians Will and Ariel Durant have pointed out, “In every century the generals and rulers (with rare exceptions like Ashoka and Augustus) have smiled at the philosophers’ timid dislike of war …

Anthropologist Dr. Carleton S. Coon has succinctly summarized the prevailing philosophy of the majority of the peoples (and therefore their governments) of the world in what he terms the “Neolithic philosophy: You stay in your village and I will stay in mine. If your sheep eat our grass we will kill you, or we may kill you anyhow to get all the grass for our own sheep. Anyone who tries to change our ways is a witch and we will kill him. Keep out of our village!”

This Neolithic philosophy was successful for its time as an attempt to cope with a world where shortages and outright lack of basic survival necessities have been the norm. It created the “Atilla Syndrome," a least-effort way of acquiring what one wants and does not have: “Take it by force."



The rational antithesis of the Atilla Syndrome has existed only briefly in recent history. It came into being about 250 years ago as a philosophical buttress to the First Industrial Revolution and it was a better least-effort solution: "Make it, don't take it, and everybody has more." This may be termed “The Industrial Syndrome.”



Until the Neolithic philosophy of Coon disappears from the human race (if it ever does; it may be an important long-term survival trait), it would be folly to believe that mankind will disarm and settle all disputes by negotiation. The arts of diplomacy and politics are not yet rigorous enough to prevent us from killing each other all of the time … just some of the time. It is a very delicate evolving system that requires the lubrication of learned responses and manners. It is very susceptible to sand thrown in the works by charismatic leaders, "men on horseback." Its effectiveness is supported only by the veiled threat of physical force that could or might be brought to bear should diplomacy fail.

Until we manage to eradicate the Neolithic philosophy and its Atilla Syndrome from the majority of the human race—if we ever do—there will be military implications to everything we do, like it or not.



This led to late pioneer futurist, Dandridge M. Cole, to formulate in 1960 his famous “Panama Theory” of the military utilization of space. This theory is brieﬂy stated:

"There are strategic areas in space—vital to future scientiﬁc, military, and commercial space programs—which could be excluded from our use through occupation and control by unfriendly powers. This statement is based on the assumption that in colonizing space, man (and/other intelligent beings) will compete for the more desirable areas…

When this is applied to military space operations in the Earth-Moon system, the prime strategic doctrine is that of the "gravity well."



The gravity well is a concept ﬁrst put forth by Dr. Robert S. Richardson, then of Mount Wilson Observatory, and reported by Arthur C. Clarke in his pioneering 1950 book on space, Interplanetary Flight. Because of Earth's gravity ﬁeld, our planet can be considered as being at the bottom of a tapering well some 4000 miles deep. Near the bottom of the well, the walls are very steep; as one reaches the top of the "gravity well," the sides become less steep until, at the top of this funnel, we have reached a nearly ﬂat plain which is dimpled by another, smaller, shallower gravity well some 240,000 miles away, the gravity well of the Moon. While this is a simpliﬁcation, it conveys the concept of the gravity well.

To climb up the gravity well from the planetary surface requires a great deal of energy. Partway up the gravity well, it is possible to maintain the position of an object by making it spin around the surface of the funnel rapidly enough so that centrifugal force neatly balances the gravitational force tending to pull the object back to the planet at the bottom of the funnel. To get away from the earth, one must project an object such as a space vehicle up the side of the gravitational well at an initial speed of 7 miles per second; it then climbs the walls of the well and, if its direction and speed are just right, crosses the nearly level plain at the top until it falls into the gravity well of the Moon. Or goes on outward into the Solar System, in which case our gravity well model must be expanded to include the very powerful gravity well of the Sun. But since we are considering only the Earth-Moon system herein, the simple model will suffice.



The strategic implications of the gravity well in military space operations require that one be at the top of a gravity well or at least higher up the well than the adversary.



The planet-bound analogy to this is the doctrine of the “ (or weather gage (Heinlein called the space war version the " gravity gauge ")

The salient feature of the gravity well doctrine is the fact that it provides both an energy advantage and a maneuvering advantage to the person on the high ground. It requires far less energy in the form of propulsion and propellants to operate high on the gravity well, and it is possible to maneuver with relative ease and ﬂexibility at or near the top of it.

A simple analogy indicates the basic military advantage: Put one man at the bottom of a well and the other at the top of a well. Give them both rocks to throw at each other. Which man is going to get hurt? Which man has more time to see his opponent's rocks coming and more opportunity to get out of the way? Which man has the greater opportunity to do something about the oncoming rock?

In Earth-Moon orbital space the person having a base of maneuver on top of a deep gravity well or in a shallower gravity well than his opponent has a deﬁnite military advantage in terms of surveillance capability, energy required to affect a strike, maneuvering room, and the ability to activate countermeasures in reasonable time.



The logical consequence of the gravity well doctrine leads inevitably to the most important military fact of the late 20th Century and the early 21st Century: with improvements in space transportation available and with the technology in hand to maintain long-term military positions in space, the control of the Moon means control of the Earth. In a like manner, according to this doctrine, control of the L4 and L5 Libration points in the lunar orbit means control of the Earth-Moon system.

Control implies that one is able to regulate the ﬂow of space-going commerce and other traffic, to protect one's own facilities in space, to deny the use of other critical military and/or commercial orbital areas to others, to launch strikes against any target on the surface of the Earth or the Moon or in any orbit in the Earth-Moon system, or to detect any oncoming threat and take counteraction in time.

One of these is new technology that will create new problems of defense and military operations.The second area of concern involves the fact that—communications satellites, information-handling satellites, crewed space laboratories, crewed and uncrewed space factories, solar power satellites, lunar mining stations and outposts, lunar and orbital catapults or "mass drivers," and other facilities.Where there exist arenas of human activity and inter-relationships and property, there will be disagreements and conﬂict. We cannot expect these aspects of human nature to change in the next ﬁfty years.Therefore as we go into space we will have to take our highly-evolved cultural heritages and societal organizations with us to forestall disagreements and to resolve conﬂicts. There are the rules, codes, regulations, laws, and treaties that we have individually and collectively agreed to observe. But they are effective only when the majority of people involved agree to abide by them, and when means exist to enforce compliance with them.There is a very ﬁne line of distinction between a military organization and a police organization. In some cultures and nations, the distinction cannot be drawn at all. In our Anglo-American culture, the police handle the affairs of internal compliance while the military organization handles the enforcement of trans—national agreements including protection of property from seizure or destruction by other nations.Therefore, the Third Industrial Revolution is not only going to require military/police protection of space property but will present military organizations with new technology. Both of these involve new military doctrines for use in earth-luna space … or cis-lunar space, that being the portion of space that exists between the Planet Earth and the orbit of its satellite, the Moon.Protection of space property is very dependent upon the basic military rationales, doctrines, and operational realities of cis-lunar celestial mechanics. Celestial mechanics involves the way objects move in space with relationship to various gravitational ﬁelds. it is no longer a subject for mere academic discussion or scientiﬁc utility in aiming space probes.Historians Will and Ariel Durant have pointed out, “In every century the generals and rulers (with rare exceptions like Ashoka and Augustus) have smiled at the philosophers’ timid dislike of war … War is one of the constants of history, and has not diminished with civilization or democracy. In the last 3,421 years of recorded history, only 268 have seen no war."Anthropologist Dr. Carleton S. Coon has succinctly summarized the prevailing philosophy of the majority of the peoples (and therefore their governments) of the world in what he terms the “You stay in your village and I will stay in mine. If your sheep eat our grass we will kill you, or we may kill you anyhow to get all the grass for our own sheep. Anyone who tries to change our ways is a witch and we will kill him. Keep out of our village!”This Neolithic philosophy was successful for its time as an attempt to cope with a world where shortages and outright lack of basic survival necessities have been the norm. It created the “," a least-effort way of acquiring what one wants and does not have: “Take it by force."The rational antithesis of the Atilla Syndrome has existed only briefly in recent history. It came into being about 250 years ago as a philosophical buttress to the First Industrial Revolution and it was a better least-effort solution: "Make it, don't take it, and everybody has more." This may be termed “.”Until the Neolithic philosophy of Coon disappears from the human race (if it ever does; it may be an important long-term survival trait), it would be folly to believe that mankind will disarm and settle all disputes by negotiation. The arts of diplomacy and politics are not yet rigorous enough to prevent us from killing each other all of the time … just some of the time. It is a very delicate evolving system that requires the lubrication of learned responses and manners. It is very susceptible to sand thrown in the works by charismatic leaders, "men on horseback." Its effectiveness is supported only by the veiled threat of physical force that could or might be brought to bear should diplomacy fail.Until we manage to eradicate the Neolithic philosophy and its Atilla Syndrome from the majority of the human race—if we ever do—there will be military implications to everything we do, like it or not.This led to late pioneer futurist, Dandridge M. Cole, to formulate in 1960 his famous “” of the military utilization of space. This theory is brieﬂy stated:When this is applied to military space operations in the Earth-Moon system, the prime strategic doctrine is that of the "."The gravity well is a concept ﬁrst put forth by Dr. Robert S. Richardson, then of Mount Wilson Observatory, and reported by Arthur C. Clarke in his pioneering 1950 book on space, Interplanetary Flight. Because of Earth's gravity ﬁeld, our planet can be considered as being at the bottom of a tapering well some 4000 miles deep. Near the bottom of the well, the walls are very steep; as one reaches the top of the "gravity well," the sides become less steep until, at the top of this funnel, we have reached a nearly ﬂat plain which is dimpled by another, smaller, shallower gravity well some 240,000 miles away, the gravity well of the Moon. While this is a simpliﬁcation, it conveys the concept of the gravity well.To climb up the gravity well from the planetary surface requires a great deal of energy. Partway up the gravity well, it is possible to maintain the position of an object by making it spin around the surface of the funnel rapidly enough so that centrifugal force neatly balances the gravitational force tending to pull the object back to the planet at the bottom of the funnel. To get away from the earth, one must project an object such as a space vehicle up the side of the gravitational well at an initial speed of 7 miles per second; it then climbs the walls of the well and, if its direction and speed are just right, crosses the nearly level plain at the top until it falls into the gravity well of the Moon. Or goes on outward into the Solar System, in which case our gravity well model must be expanded to include the very powerful gravity well of the Sun. But since we are considering only the Earth-Moon system herein, the simple model will suffice.The planet-bound analogy to this is the doctrine of the “ high ground ." In naval tactics during the age of sail, it was the " wind gauge ; or getting upwind of the enemy.It requires far less energy in the form of propulsion and propellants to operate high on the gravity well, and it is possible to maneuver with relative ease and ﬂexibility at or near the top of it.A simple analogy indicates the basic military advantage: Put one man at the bottom of a well and the other at the top of a well. Give them both rocks to throw at each other. Which man is going to get hurt? Which man has more time to see his opponent's rocks coming and more opportunity to get out of the way? Which man has the greater opportunity to do something about the oncoming rock?In Earth-Moon orbital space the person having a base of maneuver on top of a deep gravity well or in a shallower gravity well than his opponent has a deﬁnite military advantage in terms of surveillance capability, energy required to affect a strike, maneuvering room, and the ability to activate countermeasures in reasonable time.The logical consequence of the gravity well doctrine leads inevitably to the most important military fact of the late 20th Century and the early 21st Century: with improvements in space transportation available and with the technology in hand to maintain long-term military positions in space,Control implies that one is able to regulate the ﬂow of space-going commerce and other traffic, to protect one's own facilities in space, to deny the use of other critical military and/or commercial orbital areas to others, to launch strikes against any target on the surface of the Earth or the Moon or in any orbit in the Earth-Moon system, or to detect any oncoming threat and take counteraction in time.

artwork by Vincent Di Fate



A weapon can be broadly deﬁned as a means of imposing one’s will upon another. Thus, a weapon need not have a physical reality; the threat of the use of a weapon is itself a weapon—if the opponent believes the said weapon exists and will be used.

Heinlein deﬁnes a weapon as a machine for the manipulation of energy. But it has a broader deﬁnition than that. The following categorization of weapons may be useful in determining those that would be most useful in various operational zones of the Earth-Moon system and may also provide a key to the discovery of new and heretofore unsuspected space weapons that could be developed and used with the technology of the Third Industrial Revolution.



Mass manipulators: Produce damage through the use of the basic inertial characteristics of mass and the conversion of energy of position (potential energy) to energy of motion (kinetic energy): mass projectors, penetrators, detectors, and decoys.



Energy manipulators: Produce damage through the application of high energy density or the sudden release of large amounts of energy: projectors, concentrators, releasers, screens, and detectors.



Biological manipulators: Produce damage to organic life forms or other chemical agents: gases, poisons, disease vectors, etc.



Psychological manipulators: Produce alteration of the mental state of the enemy in a desirable fashion that reduces the will or capability to resist: propaganda, counterintelligence, brain-washing, covert manipulation of the information media, mood-altering drugs, consciousness-altering drugs, mind-altering drugs.



Some weapons are a combination of one or more of these basic types, and some require a vehicle to transport them to the point of use or application.

Use of these weapons in. accordance with the strategic doctrine of the gravity well requires in turn that we consider the Earth-Moon system to consist of a series of deﬁnite military operational areas. These are basically zones within the gravity well or, for a better mental view, a series of concentric spheres with the Earth at the center. These are no so much well-deﬁned spheres with distinct boundaries, but rather zones of operation that fade into one another. In a sense, they resemble the energy levels of electrons around an atomic nucleus. Brieﬂy, these zones may be deﬁned as:



Near Earth Orbit (NEO) extending from an arbitrary level of 50 kilometers above the Earth's surface to approximately 200 kilometers—well below the lower limits of the Van Allen radiation belts.



Cis-lunar Space (CLS) extending from about 200 kilometers above the Earth's surface to the geosynchronous orbital altitude of about 39,000 kilometers.



Lunar Surface/Orbit (LSO) extending from geosynchronous orbit to the lunar orbit about the Earth and including the Near Lunar Orbits with an arbitrary altitude of about 100 kilometers from the lunar surface.



Translunar Space (TLS) extending from the lunar orbit out to an arbitrary distance of approximately one million kilometers from the surface of the Earth (actually Hill Sphere is more like 1.5 million kilometers from Terra)



Each operational area has unique military considerations that affect tactical doctrine, tactical operations, and weapons systems within each area.



Near Earth Orbit is a valuable military operational area for earth-launched, earth-oriented activities and of course is already being used as such; it is an area that is easily reached from the earth's surface by spacecraft capable of attaining velocities of about 25,000 feet per second. So far during this decade at least six nations have begun conducting reconnaissance and surveillance operations there—and at least two nations operate crewed spacecraft in the area. In the years to come NEO could be used for quick-look and high-detail surveillance, satellite hunter-killer operations, a staging area for crewed surface-to-surface troop strike transports, and “quick dip” hypersonic skimming into the upper atmosphere for surveillance, reconnaissance, or offensive purposes. Thus, NEO is basically a tactical scouting area for earth-centered operations and a maneuvering area for surface-to-surface operations. It is also the area through which surface-to-surface ICBM's must travel during the ballistic portion of their flight and therefore the area in which they are most vulnerable to intercept by orbital-launched interceptors or orbital beam weapons. Although NEO is reasonably far up on the sides of the gravity well funnel in terms of the energy requirements needed to reach the area from the earth’s surface, current technology permits the deployment of rapid-ascent satellite interceptors. Thus NEO is an area where it is difficult to respond to threat: a nearness to counter-weapons on the surface or in orbit, and large energy expenditures are required for maneuver in the area. The possibility of basing a large crewed military space station in NEO should be dismissed; it would be a very large target in a predictable trajectory and would be destroyed in the opening moments of any war in which its presence could be a factor.



Cis-lunar space, however is a more valuable zone of maneuver and reconnaissance. Not only is less energy required for maneuver but geosynchronous orbit lies in CLS, making it a prime location for surveillance, navigational, communications, data transfer, meteorological, and energy satellites. Geosynchronous orbit is already crowded. As of mid-1977, there were more than a hundred uncrewed satellites located in geosynchronous orbit. Because of orbital crowding and the possibility of frequency interference caused by beam overlapping, these numerous small satellites will be replaced in the late 1980s and the 1990s with large, multi-purpose platforms which will be militarily vulnerable.

However, facilities in CLS are more secure from earth-launched offensive operations because of the time required for vehicles to climb the gravity well. Various location and detection systems sited in NEO and CLS may be used to identify any potential threat with sufficient early-warning time to permit initiation of counter-activities.

The primary consideration of CLS from the military point of view is the strategic importance of the Trojan libration points in the lunar orbit. More of this later.



Lunar surface/orbit has quite different military characteristics. Because of the mass of Luna, it is a prime location for a military base on or probably beneath its surface. It is the prime location for one of the most important space weapons systems we can now foresee, a weapon system that is basically very old. This device is the catapult, usually referred to in current terminology as a "mass driver.” Whatever term is used to identify it, it is a rock-thrower. The Moon is the best site in the Earth-Moon system for such a device because the mass of the Moon provides ample ammunition for the mass driver as well as a very large and stable base to improve its accuracy. Launching very large masses at speeds of a mile per second or more produces some massive reaction forces which would misalign or reorient any mass driver located on its own in orbital space.

The lunar mass driver is a critical system requirement for the overall industrialization of the Earth-Moon system. Although an Earth-based mass driver is a potential commercial cargo transportation system for terrestrial materials launched into space, the energy requirements are very large because of the Earth’s atmosphere and the very deep gravity well; the lunar mass driver is the most economical cargo r transportation device now envisioned for providing materials for space industrialization, including the materials to construct large space structures. It will undoubtedly be built in several locations on the lunar surface for providing lunar materials for deep space operations in the Earth-Moon system. However, it has a military utility that cannot and must not be overlooked.

A large lunar mass driver capable of hurling masses of up to one ton can be converted into an earth bombardment system. It is a non-nuclear weapon and not subject to existing UN treaties!The results of the sudden dissipation of large amounts of kinetic energy should not be lightly dismissed. The Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona was created by the impact of an estimated 80-foot diameter nickel-iron meteorite; the impact was roughly equivalent to the detonation of 2,500,000 tons of TNT—read that as a 2.5 megaton bomb.

Small lunar mass drivers can be used as weapons systems against space facilities. Such small mass drivers can be considered as space Gatling guns. Such a small mass driver is envisioned as throwing a mass of a couple of kilograms, but throwing such small masses in very rapid succession. The impact of a one kilogram mass travelling at several miles per second can do considerable damage to a space facility—such as when several hundred or thousand such masses impact a solar power satellite, the iridescent solar panels of a reconnaissance satellite, or the pressure hull of a crewed space station.

No explosives are required for such space weapons; the conversion of kinetic energy to heat is quite sufﬁcient.

The military capabilities of mass drivers built and used for commercial purposes are such that they will require protection against seizure or destruction, wherever they are built and operated.



The area of military operations beyond the lunar orbit that we have tagged "Translunar Space" is a zone of maneuver and rendezvous for military space vehicles with very large propulsion and maneuvering capabilities. There is a location in this area, however, that could be used as a military staging point. Beyond the Moon’s orbit along the Earth-Moon line lies a zone in space where the gravity ﬁelds of both the Earth and the Moon balance one another; this is known as the L2 lunar libration point. Anything placed at the L2 point will stay there, hidden from view of anyone on the surface of the Earth or on the earthside of the Moon.

The gravity well doctrine dictates the general considerations for space weapons systems that would be most effective. However, one must ﬁrst take a careful look at the basic concept of a weapon.A weapon can be broadly deﬁned as a means of imposing one’s will upon another. Thus, a weapon need not have a physical reality; the threat of the use of a weapon is itself a weapon—if the opponent believes the said weapon exists and will be used.Heinlein deﬁnes a weapon as a machine for the manipulation of energy. But it has a broader deﬁnition than that. The following categorization of weapons may be useful in determining those that would be most useful in various operational zones of the Earth-Moon system and may also provide a key to the discovery of new and heretofore unsuspected space weapons that could be developed and used with the technology of the Third Industrial Revolution.Produce damage through the use of the basic inertial characteristics of mass and the conversion of energy of position (potential energy) to energy of motion (kinetic energy): mass projectors, penetrators, detectors, and decoys.Produce damage through the application of high energy density or the sudden release of large amounts of energy: projectors, concentrators, releasers, screens, and detectors.Produce damage to organic life forms or other chemical agents: gases, poisons, disease vectors, etc.Produce alteration of the mental state of the enemy in a desirable fashion that reduces the will or capability to resist: propaganda, counterintelligence, brain-washing, covert manipulation of the information media, mood-altering drugs, consciousness-altering drugs, mind-altering drugs.Some weapons are a combination of one or more of these basic types, and some require a vehicle to transport them to the point of use or application.Use of these weapons in. accordance with the strategic doctrine of the gravity well requires in turn that we consider the Earth-Moon system to consist of a series of deﬁnite military operational areas. These are basically zones within the gravity well or, for a better mental view, a series of concentric spheres with the Earth at the center. These are no so much well-deﬁned spheres with distinct boundaries, but rather zones of operation that fade into one another. In a sense, they resemble the energy levels of electrons around an atomic nucleus. Brieﬂy, these zones may be deﬁned as:extending from an arbitrary level of 50 kilometers above the Earth's surface to approximately 200 kilometers—well below the lower limits of the Van Allen radiation belts.extending from about 200 kilometers above the Earth's surface to the geosynchronous orbital altitude of about 39,000 kilometers.extending from geosynchronous orbit to the lunar orbit about the Earth and including the Near Lunar Orbits with an arbitrary altitude of about 100 kilometers from the lunar surface.extending from the lunar orbit out to an arbitrary distance of approximately one million kilometers from the surface of the Earthat which distance an object can be considered to be in orbit around the Sun due to the much greater inﬂuence of the solar gravity ﬁeld at that distance.Each operational area has unique military considerations that affect tactical doctrine, tactical operations, and weapons systems within each area.is a valuable military operational area for earth-launched, earth-oriented activities and of course is already being used as such; it is an area that is easily reached from the earth's surface by spacecraft capable of attaining velocities of about 25,000 feet per second. So far during this decade at least six nations have begun conducting reconnaissance and surveillance operations there—and at least two nations operate crewed spacecraft in the area. In the years to come NEO could be used for quick-look and high-detail surveillance, satellite hunter-killer operations, a staging area for crewed surface-to-surface troop strike transports, and “quick dip” hypersonic skimming into the upper atmosphere for surveillance, reconnaissance, or offensive purposes. Thus, NEO is basically a tactical scouting area for earth-centered operations and a maneuvering area for surface-to-surface operations. It is also the area through which surface-to-surface ICBM's must travel during the ballistic portion of their flight and therefore the area in which they are most vulnerable to intercept by orbital-launched interceptors or orbital beam weapons. Although NEO is reasonably far up on the sides of the gravity well funnel in terms of the energy requirements needed to reach the area from the earth’s surface, current technology permits the deployment of rapid-ascent satellite interceptors. Thus NEO is an area where it is difficult to respond to threat: a nearness to counter-weapons on the surface or in orbit, and large energy expenditures are required for maneuver in the area. The possibility of basing a large crewed military space station in NEO should be dismissed; it would be a very large target in a predictable trajectory and would be destroyed in the opening moments of any war in which its presence could be a factor., however is a more valuable zone of maneuver and reconnaissance. Not only is less energy required for maneuver but geosynchronous orbit lies in CLS, making it a prime location for surveillance, navigational, communications, data transfer, meteorological, and energy satellites. Geosynchronous orbit is already crowded. As of mid-1977, there were more than a hundred uncrewed satellites located in geosynchronous orbit. Because of orbital crowding and the possibility of frequency interference caused by beam overlapping, these numerous small satellites will be replaced in the late 1980s and the 1990s with large, multi-purpose platforms which will be militarily vulnerable.However, facilities in CLS are more secure from earth-launched offensive operations because of the time required for vehicles to climb the gravity well. Various location and detection systems sited in NEO and CLS may be used to identify any potential threat with sufficient early-warning time to permit initiation of counter-activities.The primary consideration of CLS from the military point of view is the strategic importance of the Trojan libration points in the lunar orbit. More of this later.has quite different military characteristics. Because of the mass of Luna, it is a prime location for a military base on or probably beneath its surface. It is the prime location for one of the most important space weapons systems we can now foresee, a weapon system that is basically very old. This device is the catapult, usually referred to in current terminology as a "mass driver.” Whatever term is used to identify it, it is a rock-thrower. The Moon is the best site in the Earth-Moon system for such a device because the mass of the Moon provides ample ammunition for the mass driver as well as a very large and stable base to improve its accuracy. Launching very large masses at speeds of a mile per second or more produces some massive reaction forces which would misalign or reorient any mass driver located on its own in orbital space.The lunar mass driver is a critical system requirement for the overall industrialization of the Earth-Moon system. Although an Earth-based mass driver is a potential commercial cargo transportation system for terrestrial materials launched into space, the energy requirements are very large because of the Earth’s atmosphere and the very deep gravity well; the lunar mass driver is the most economical cargo r transportation device now envisioned for providing materials for space industrialization, including the materials to construct large space structures. It will undoubtedly be built in several locations on the lunar surface for providing lunar materials for deep space operations in the Earth-Moon system. However, it has a military utility that cannot and must not be overlooked.A large lunar mass driver capable of hurling masses of up to one ton can be converted into an earth bombardment system. It is a non-nuclear weapon and not subject to existing UN treaties!The results of the sudden dissipation of large amounts of kinetic energy should not be lightly dismissed. The Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona was created by the impact of an estimated 80-foot diameter nickel-iron meteorite; the impact was roughly equivalent to the detonation of 2,500,000 tons of TNT—read that as a 2.5 megaton bomb.Small lunar mass drivers can be used as weapons systems against space facilities. Such small mass drivers can be considered as space Gatling guns. Such a small mass driver is envisioned as throwing a mass of a couple of kilograms, but throwing such small masses in very rapid succession. The impact of a one kilogram mass travelling at several miles per second can do considerable damage to a space facility—such as when several hundred or thousand such masses impact a solar power satellite, the iridescent solar panels of a reconnaissance satellite, or the pressure hull of a crewed space station.No explosives are required for such space weapons; the conversion of kinetic energy to heat is quite sufﬁcient.The military capabilities of mass drivers built and used for commercial purposes are such that they will require protection against seizure or destruction, wherever they are built and operated.The area of military operations beyond the lunar orbit that we have tagged "" is a zone of maneuver and rendezvous for military space vehicles with very large propulsion and maneuvering capabilities. There is a location in this area, however, that could be used as a military staging point. Beyond the Moon’s orbit along the Earth-Moon line lies a zone in space where the gravity ﬁelds of both the Earth and the Moon balance one another; this is known as the L2 lunar libration point. Anything placed at the L2 point will stay there, hidden from view of anyone on the surface of the Earth or on the earthside of the Moon.

artwork by Eddie Jones