TECHNOIR (16 page)

This artist rendering of a "Rods from Gods" Battlesat shows how the US military may some day rain death down to Earth literally from the heavens.

This rendering by the US military shows a Battlesat with lasers that apparently are shooting at targets on Earth's surface.

This rendering of a future Battlesat shows a capability of firing a weapons-grade laser, but at what exactly, is unknown. The US military is still far from deploying such a satellite. Nevertheless, the dream is still there; but for what reason: missile defense or something more insidious – space weapons? This illustration by the US military adds to such confusion.

The US Air Force's AirBorne Laser may shoot a beam someday that takes out ICBMs and satellites. The laser is generated in the back of the plane and shot out the mirrored ball-like lens that’s pictured here at the front of the plane’s nose cone.

Pictured here piggy backed on a massive rocket ready for takeoff, is the Soviet Union's Battlesat named Polyus. Shaped like a rocket, the USSR called it a laser space battlestation. While never deployed, it was equipped with a laser canon, space mines, and Barium, which it could release in a cloud in order to blind other satellites.

This future Moon base depicted here may be harvesting the fuel for the Earth’s future, such as Helium-3 for nuclear fusion.

This artist rendering from the University of Wisconsin predicts a future when mining for Helium-3 on the Moon could be necessary to fuel and power life on Earth.

Is it a stretch to suggest US or Chinese troops may someday use images like these to find the best LZ (landing zone) possible? If the US loses the current race back to the Moon to China, and thus losing the race for the next super fuel, is it far-fetched to suggest someday the US will re-take the Moon by force?

This is Apollo astronaut Harris Schmitt. Will his desire for Helium-3 turn the Moon into a combat zone?

The X-37 looks like a miniature Space Shuttle. But when it's loaded with space mines, CAV missiles, and UAVs, its mission is far different – as a Space Bomber.

The US Air Force's Aurora is a classified super jet that can travel at MACH 5. The plane is so secret, only a handful of civilian witnesses exist. During the last ten years, it has been glimpsed flying high and fast over the North Atlantic.