From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #121 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Sunday, 3 July 1994 Volume 05 : Number 121 In this issue: review-"A War Fighter's Guide to Space" oops-missing S/N from previous post See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-works or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: TRADER@cup.portal.com Date: Sat, 2 Jul 94 13:22:07 PDT Subject: review-"A War Fighter's Guide to Space" I've been doing some research into various military space programs lately, and I believe that large sums (at least 10 billion dollars per year) are spent by the U.S. military services on classified ("black") space related activities. This is a brief review of the Air Force publication "Space Handbook: A War Fighter's Guide to Space, Volume 1", which can serve as an introduction to this subject. (There are also books by private authors, such as "Deep Black" by William Burrows on this subject). This book is available for U.S. $13.00 postpaid (the price for shipment outside the U.S. is $16.25). This book can be ordered from the Government Printing Office at: New Orders Superintendent of Documents P.O. Box 371954 Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954 USA (To order this item, use stock number S/N (Make checks payable to: Superintendent of Documents) This book was issued in November 1993, by Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base. This book was prepared for combat commanders, to give them an introduction to the capabilities of military space systems, and the place of space in military strategy. It includes a history of U.S. military space activities, a chapter on space law (summary: the U.S. position is that it has the right to orbit spy satellites and ASATs (Anti-Satellite weapons), and space strategy (the authors state that control of space during a war is necessary for winning). The most interesting part of the book is the descriptions of various launch vehicles, satellite programs, and SDI ("Star Wars") anti-ballistic missile technology, such as exo-atmospheric interceptors. It's a mixed bag as far as disclosures about classified programs goes. There are interesting pieces of information on classified areas, such as SDI technology and components of the SPACETRACK system (which tracks and identifies foreign satellites). The information on reconnaissance satellites is minimal -- for instance, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is never mentioned. There is some mention of how the non-military LANDSAT and SPOT satellites were used for reconnaissanc e purposes during the Gulf War. Apparently, these areas are mentioned in the 3 classified annexes to this book. I've already filed a request for the 3 classified annexes under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The other volume is called "Space Handbook: An Analyst's Guide, Volume 2". Volume 2 covers the technical aspects of space operations, such as orbital mechanics, propulsion systems, and electrical & communications systems. This volume is available for $23.00 postpaid (US) from the address above. For foreign orders, the price is $28.75. The stock number for volume 2 is S/N 008-070-00689-8. Volume 2 will be of more interest to scientists and engineers. Paul McGinnis / TRADER@cup.portal.com ********************************************************************** Anonymous FTP access to files dealing with excessive military secrecy is available from Internet host ftp.shell.portal.com (IP address 156.151.3.4) in the /pub/trader directory. Read the 00readme files for descriptions of the files. ------------------------------ From: TRADER@cup.portal.com Date: Sat, 2 Jul 94 13:29:52 PDT Subject: oops-missing S/N from previous post OOOPS -- after I sent that message I realized that I forgot to give the stock number for the book "A War Fighter's Guide to Space". It is: S/N 008-070-00687-1 Paul McGinnis / TRADER@cup.portal.com ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #121 ********************************* To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@mail.orst.edu". 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