Originally posted by American Mad Man

Originally posted by Lampyridae
if you modify SLIGHTLY a spaceshuttle than you have a platform from
space that can reach any spot on earth with deadly force !

no triple A's to fear ! no SAM's coming up to you !

easy as 123 !

Not exactly... You have to take into account the fact that there is no bomb bay built into the bottom of a space shuttle. You would have to change all sorts of stuff because of the strain that shuttles go under, the bomb bay doors would lesson the structure of the shuttle. Plus it is not a single stage to orbit platform, which is what the military would want.

The Soviets did actually design the Buran to be compatible with nuclear weapons. There's a show called "Strange but True" on the channel TechTV that did a good episode on Buran. It included some footage of a test fit of a nuclear weapon onto Buran. I think the idea was that it could be used as a first-strike weapon. The Buran could be launched on a seemingly peaceful space mission but launch an unexpected attack on the US. For example, a single weapon could be detonated at high altitude using the EMP to blind the enemy.

The Soviets built Buran as a counter to the American Shuttle since they were convinced the US planned to use the craft as a weapon. There is some truth to their speculation since the US Air Force was heavily involved in the construction of the Shuttle.

Originally posted by American Mad Man
Agreed. However there will always be a need for bombers and fighters. Missles aren't always the best way to do something. Plus they cost a LOT of money for a 1 time use weapon.

True, especially for missions like taking out hardened missile silos, mobile command centres and launchers etc. I think a hypersonic bomber would be an ideal way to fight a conventional war. Ths US toyed with the space bomber concept for a number of years and then (apparently) abandoned it.

hang on !

if you modify SLIGHTLY a spaceshuttle than you have a platform from
space that can reach any spot on earth with deadly force !

no triple A's to fear ! no SAM's coming up to you !

easy as 123 !

Not exactly... You have to take into account the fact that there is no bomb bay built into the bottom of a space shuttle. You would have to change all sorts of stuff because of the strain that shuttles go under, the bomb bay doors would lesson the structure of the shuttle. Plus it is not a single stage to orbit platform, which is what the military would want.

Couldn't it just drop nuclear warheads from its cargo bay? Vacuum doesn't mind. All it has to do is launch a smallish rocket fitted with MIRVs to deorbit over the continental US or Europe or China and rain down nuclear destruction.

[Edited on 23-5-2004 by Lampyridae]

yeah, I guess the rocket with small warheads would work...

I was thinking in the more traditional sense of a bomber. This would explain why I do not design such aircraft.

Originally posted by aerospaceweb
The Soviets did actually design the Buran to be compatible with nuclear weapons.

The Soviets built Buran as a counter to the American Shuttle since they were convinced the US planned to use the craft as a weapon. There is some truth to their speculation since the US Air Force was heavily involved in the construction of the Shuttle.

Exactly right. While neither STS nor Buran are practical space bombers, both were designed with that very purpose in mind.

The Shuttle has wings as large as it does for one reason -- to satisfy a DoD requirement for a polar once-around mission, launched and recovered from Vandenburg.

i can't believe i read this !!

BOMBBAYDOORS on a spaceshuttle ?????

that's not making any sense since there is no gravitationforce in space !!!!!

the shuttle floats in space and opens the big baydoors
(have you seen the nasafootage when they released satelites out of the bay ???) and there are the rockets on installation ready to be fired to earth.

you can not DROP a bomb / rocket when floating in space !
you have to fire it so it can leave weightless space and makes a re-entry
in the earth atmosphere.

so read my explanation that the rockets can reach ANY place on earth.
if the shuttle is in space that is very easy to shuttle or wait till rotated earth comes up with the spot that makes a target.

Can't we just make a misslile shell out of semi diamondy stuff that will refract the laser?

explain semi diamondy pleazzzze

if fired from space almost the vertical way than the missilles would go super sonic plus add tot his kinda
J-DAM quality and PRESTO just try to hit it with a llaser.

but in the way riffles fired with kinda diamond bullet would make a very good idea !

high velocity + diamond core = the one on the receiving end can for sure kiss his azs goodby

[Edited on 23-5-2004 by NOGODSINTHEUNIVERSE]

wouldn't have thought the Russians had the kind of money to build such a aircraft..because of all the accidents with their nuclear power stations, submarins. etc, and any other things they would have to pay for

[Edited on 23-5-2004 by Krisboton]

BURAN you can hardly call an airplane !
it is a spaceship just like the spaceshuttle was.

buran was also piggy backed upon a big ruskian cargoplane.
i would like to get my hands on some originale footage of the piggyback composite in flying status.
anybody got a url ?