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Strategic Defense Initiative: Difference between revisions
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[[File:LIM-49A Spartan mockup.png|thumb|The [[Nike-X|Extended Range Nike Zeus]]/[[LIM-49A Spartan|Spartan missile]] of the late-1960s was designed to provide full-country defense as part of the Sentinel-[[Safeguard Program|Safeguard]] programs. Projected to cost $40 billion (${{inflation|US|40|1966}} billion in {{currentyear}}) it would have offered minimal protection and damage prevention in an all-out attack.{{sfn|Ritter|2010|p=154}}]] | [[File:LIM-49A Spartan mockup.png|thumb|The [[Nike-X|Extended Range Nike Zeus]]/[[LIM-49A Spartan|Spartan missile]] of the late-1960s was designed to provide full-country defense as part of the Sentinel-[[Safeguard Program|Safeguard]] programs. Projected to cost $40 billion (${{inflation|US|40|1966}} billion in {{currentyear}}) it would have offered minimal protection and damage prevention in an all-out attack.{{sfn|Ritter|2010|p=154}}]] | ||
President | President Dwight D. Eisenhower asked [[DARPA|ARPA]] to consider alternative concepts. Their Project Defender studied many approaches before concentrating on [[Project BAMBI]]. BAMBI used satellites carrying interceptors that would attack the Soviet ICBMs upon launch. This [[boost phase]] intercept rendered MIRV impotent; a successful attack would destroy all of the warheads. Unfortunately, the operational cost of such a system was so large that the [[US Air Force]] rejected the concepts. Development was cancelled in 1963.<ref>{{cite web |website=Astronautix.com |url=http://www.astronautix.com/b/bambi.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227220849/http://astronautix.com/b/bambi.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |title=Bambi}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/28/science/star-wars-traced-to-eisenhower-era.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title='STAR WARS' Traced to Eisenhower Era |first= William |last= Broad |date=October 28, 1986}}</ref> | ||
During this period, the entire topic of BMD became increasingly controversial. Early deployment plans were met with little interest, but by the late 1960s, public meetings on the Sentinel system were met by thousands of angry protesters.<ref name=today>{{cite web |first=Sharon |last=Watkins Lang |url=http://www.army.mil/article/142123/SMDC_History__Today_in_Space_and_Missile_Defense_History/ |title=Today in Space and Missile Defense History |date=February 3, 2015 |website=US Army}}</ref> After thirty years of effort, only one such system was built; a single base of the original Safeguard system became operational in April 1975, but was closed in February 1976.<ref>{{cite news | During this period, the entire topic of BMD became increasingly controversial. Early deployment plans were met with little interest, but by the late 1960s, public meetings on the Sentinel system were met by thousands of angry protesters.<ref name=today>{{cite web |first=Sharon |last=Watkins Lang |url=http://www.army.mil/article/142123/SMDC_History__Today_in_Space_and_Missile_Defense_History/ |title=Today in Space and Missile Defense History |date=February 3, 2015 |website=US Army}}</ref> After thirty years of effort, only one such system was built; a single base of the original Safeguard system became operational in April 1975, but was closed in February 1976.<ref>{{cite news | ||