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Nukes in orbit would be obvious unless you shielded the absolute crap out of them, and shielding is heavy. Besides, if you get caught with a nuke in orbit, you'

Nukes in orbit would be obvious unless you shielded the absolute crap out of them, and shielding is heavy. Besides, if you get caught with a nuke in orbit, you're in real trouble, and the benefit is...? A secret satellite though? Oh the possibilities! The big problem with satellite surveillance is that people can figure out where your bird is, and simply you know... avoid it. Granted you can't hide large buildings, but you can predict when it will fly over and hide your troop numbers, mobile launch systems, etc. How do you avoid a satellite you have no tracking data on? Of course, that would require some really impressive optical, radar, and thermal stealth tech, but that's quite plausible. Of course if you were really paranoid, then maybe you'd think this isn't a satellite, but a satellite killer. I doubt it, and there are proven options to kill satellites from the ground, but it's possible.

elif 9y ago
Can you explain why they would be so easily detectable? my understanding is that many space vessels use micro-reactors for power. Couldn't you just use plutonium warheads so that they look like one of those?
- aw1621107 9y ago
  I wouldn't say "many"; nuclear-powered vessels generally are ones that are going well beyond Earth's orbit. They also aren't "normal" nuclear reactors, since they use the heat from radioactive decay to power thermocouples, as opposed to sustaining an active fission reaction like most nuclear power plants here do.
cuspycode 9y ago
I don't think unshielded nukes in orbit are easy to detect. Back on Earth you need to get up close (within a few meters) in order to distinguish the radiation signature from the background radiation, and in space the background level is much higher. Source: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R40154.pdf https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R40154.pdf (see page 78 and onwards for a discussion about detecting nukes at a distance)
- QAPereo 9y ago
  Those nukes on Earth are heavily shielded, especially the physics package.

elif 9y ago

Can you explain why they would be so easily detectable? my understanding is that many space vessels use micro-reactors for power. Couldn't you just use plutonium warheads so that they look like one of those?

aw1621107 9y ago
I wouldn't say "many"; nuclear-powered vessels generally are ones that are going well beyond Earth's orbit. They also aren't "normal" nuclear reactors, since they use the heat from radioactive decay to power thermocouples, as opposed to sustaining an active fission reaction like most nuclear power plants here do.

cuspycode 9y ago

I don't think unshielded nukes in orbit are easy to detect. Back on Earth you need to get up close (within a few meters) in order to distinguish the radiation signature from the background radiation, and in space the background level is much higher. Source: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R40154.pdf https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R40154.pdf (see page 78 and onwards for a discussion about detecting nukes at a distance)

QAPereo 9y ago
Those nukes on Earth are heavily shielded, especially the physics package.