"Frank Glover" wrote in message
...


Yes. A case might be made for some kinds of backup communications
relays (in the event that most other near-Earth milsatcoms are taken
out)there,at the Moon is a not-easily destroyed platform. But only if
you already had the infrastructure for other reasons. It's not
justifiable by itself.


And since the Chinese asat test showed just about anything
in orbit is vulnerable, how does that change the equation?
If we're denied orbital assets, where else could we place
such intelligence gathering capabilities? It's obvious
the moon is not only a much more secure than orbit
but it defines the 'high ground' too.

The military has been talking about moon bases since
the fifties, now we have a real live reason to build them.
The Chinese.



And I admit, even that's a stretch. In a major war, all anyone on
the Moon (or ISS) could really do, is 'enjoy' the view (a lot of
terrestrial boroadcasts can also be monitored from there without much
trouble), and hope there's something worth returning to, when it's all
over...


From Space Command Stategic Statememt for '07.

They make it clear that observing and tracking is job
number one in winning this space race, and they make
it clear the Chinese asat test is the source of this
priority.


"Americans have come to rely on the unhindered use of
space-they will demand no less in the future. To protect
the space domain and deliver effects, Air Force Space Command
is pursuing investments in an array of capabilities."

"We know we will be challenged in the future-both by those who wish
to do us harm and by our own resource limitations. It no longer takes a
sophisticated adversary to impact space and ground systems..."

"We have a duty to secure the entire space domain.not just for
our own military.but for our Nation and for the benefit of the
free world. To do this, we must focus our efforts on two
objectives - improved space situational awareness and
enhanced command and control. First, we must achieve true
space situational awareness.the ability to not only track
and catalog any object, but also to determine its capabilities,
purpose and intent. Only when we've obtained a clear picture
of the entire space environment will we fully realize our
second objective - enhanced command and control over
space assets.
http://www.afspc.af.mil/shared/media...070412-128.pdf









--

Frank

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