Expert: Jayendra Upadhye - 11/5/2005

Question
Dear Sir,

I am a 23 year old engineering student, and am currently trying to plan a sci-fi story that I wish to write (non-professionally) which involves two armed attacks from Earth on a lunar base. I have several options for the attacks on which I would appreciate your comments as to their feasibility, of course assuming fictional advances in technology. I have little knowledge of the orbital physics and laws which would govern and influence such attacks, which is why I am requesting your expertise. The options are outlined below:

1) Spacecraft carrying soldiers, launching from Earth (perhaps being launched from a high altitude transporter; the transporter lifts the spacecraft to 70,000 feet then the spacecraft is disconnected and boosts into space from there); the spacecraft lands and unloads the soldiers who then attack the base
2) Bombers launching from Earth - perhaps first entering lunar orbit, then bombing from there
3) Spacecraft carrying soldiers, launching from Earth; the craft enters lunar orbit then deploys soldiers from there (like a parachute jump)
4) Missiles launching from Earth
5) Missiles launching from high altitude transporter
6) Missiles launching from Earth orbit (they are first placed in Earth orbit, then later break orbit and launch at the Moon)

I would also appreciate guidance on the likely launch points (i.e. which country/state/area) for the above. Please make any assumptions you deem necessary in order to give a reasonable answer.

The Moon has no atmosphere and is much smaller than Earth; would it be possible for a fictional bomber (with, for example, "antigravity technology") to "fly" and launch an attack on the Moon in the same manner as conventional, earthbound bombers (i.e. with the ability to change direction at will) or would a bomber have no option but to enter lunar orbit?

Please feel free to add any other comments you think may be helpful. I trust that I am correct to assume that any ideas you suggest can be used in my story.

Thank you for your help, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards, Dominic

Answer
Hi,
Writing science fiction, (successful) has much more to do with ability of the author to skilfully create a "web" of "some real science" with lot of "mythical science"...asimov's positronic brain.., and mainly a "human interaction angle".
(NOT pseudo science which involves atleast a grain of truth and a lot of WRONG science).

If you analyse asimov, you will find as in his 'caves of steel' sreies, or in the 'robot' series (susan calvin + lanning), it is mostly about 'human interactions' in a futuristic technological context.

That is what made it so riveting to the readers, as they could "relate to" such scenarios, and "plant themselves" or embed themselves" or partake of the same. (empathising).

Something that made the mythical part (positronic brains) completely palatable. ("what a nice story..ok such things will definitely be possible in the future! Let us not waste time bothering how positronic brains could exist, or how they are made..it is NOT important NOW!"..type of reader response).

Hope you dwell on these aspects. For a science-fiction writer to be successfull, he has to be a good fiction writer in the first place..science comes later.

Coming to your questions,
1 - towing them to 70,000 feet is of no consequence as orbital hieghts are 100 km and above. Most rockets clear the critical dense atmosphere in seconds or couple of minutes anyway! (unfeasable).

2 - Current day cruise missiles with multiple unit incendiary bombs (bomblets) are the pre-cursors of these type of "remotely controlled guided bombers"!Albeit smaller ones than you propose to show. You could build that up even by siting the "historical account"  of ancient cruise missiles of the ancients etc and lead up to the "current" remotely piloted / robotic giant agrav reusable interplanetary bombers. [sort of very very advanced b52s].

3 - Entirely feasible! You could have futuristic version of "military transport aircraft" like the present day popular lockheed hercules. A ponderous, "armoured" agrav military transport.
   In place of para-chutes you would have Lunar Para Landers (LPL's)! One unit per person. inexpensive, strictly oneway disposable back packs, with enough energy to reach surface and soft land the person.
   Alternatively you could have motherships launching the equivalent of Armoured personnel carriers with land re-group facilities. [relatively costly re-usable jobs like the Armoured Personnel Carriers now].
4 /5/6 - These do not require humans at all, entirely feasible! Plus these could reach the moon, alter their orbital inclination, and hit targets from any orbital re-entry angle! [not that they would be un-detected in that age of advanced technology!]

Regarding changing direction at will etc, with 'agrav' technology, that would hardly be a question worth pondering..would it?
This can be done even with current technology provided the vehicle has enough fuel! [And as of now THAT is always the million/billion dollar question!]

Regarding likely states to do so..THAT would have to be NORTHAM or SOUTHAM or EASTHAM or WESTHAM an entirely fictitious place..Countries, like organisations, behave like entities.They are born, they gobble up other countries, endure for a while and are gone!

Who can say with certainity WHICH country will endure till the day 'agrav' is dicovered in the remote future?
Most probably by then the sun itself would be well on its way to becoming a red giant, and may well have started to expand a couple of meters every year ..making life HELL on earth! And indeed ARMAGEDDON would have arrived..the ultimate battle over resources..which would be the abundant helium-3 in the lunar regolith! [A wonderful locale for a futuristic WAR novel]!

The helium-3 in the regolith of the moon can be used as fuel in thermonuclear fusion reactors.
Because the concentration of helium-3 is extremely low, it would be necessary to process large amounts of rock and soil to isolate the material. Digging a patch of lunar surface roughly three-quarters of a square mile to a depth of about 9 ft. should yield about 220 pounds of helium-3--enough to power a city the size of Dallas or Detroit for a year.
ref link:- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1309896/posts
Jayen