Subject: Re: Deep Space Bombardment Force
From: Henry Spencer <henry@zoo.toronto.edu> 
Date: Apr 14 1996
Newsgroups: sci.military.naval,sci.military.aviation,alt.war,sci.space.tech

In article <4kjjn5$n1u@cronkite.ocis.temple.edu> agwing@astro.ocis.temple.edu (Andrew Wing) writes:
>: A big fat IR net in Earth orbit would be a great way to look for it.  You 
>: cannot bring it down to absolute zero.
>
>       But like radar based detection systems, the IR net could be
>jammed/spoofed.  Any craft would have countermeasures, perhaps long burning
>flares that would saturate the sensitive detectors.

Firing off flares is a wonderful way of advertising your presence.  Such
tactics are for confusing a missile that's closing in for the kill; they 
are highly counterproductive if your objective is to remain undetected. 

Oh, and by the way, the usefulness of flares is coming to an end with the
rise of imaging sensors, especially multi-wavelength imaging sensors.  (To
make the overall brightness of a small flare comparable to that of a large
spaceship, the flare must be much hotter, which shifts its emissions toward
the short end of the spectrum.)
-- 
Americans proved to be more bureaucratic           |       Henry Spencer
than I ever thought.  --Valery Ryumin, RKK Energia |   henry@zoo.toronto.edu