According to the UN Charter, the use of outer space for military purposes is strictly prohibited. Nevertheless, in the past, projects for the creation of military space bases have appeared on both sides of the ocean more than once. At the same time, one of the first such projects was Hitler's so-called space gun.
Lavra of Archimedes
As you know, the legendary scientist of ancient Greece Archimedes in 212 BC. destroyed several ships of the Roman fleet that attacked Syracuse with the help of a sunbeam reflected from a concave mirror of polished copper. The most incredible thing is that, in a similar way, German scientists who developed weapons of retaliation were going to burn cities and countries on the planet, evaporate rivers and seas. For this purpose, the Nazis were going to place a giant mirror in Earth's orbit - a satellite 1.6 kilometers in diameter. Reflecting from it, the focused rays of the Sun were to be directed to the right point on the planet at the opponents of the Third Reich.
Weapon of retaliation
Despite the fact that from the standpoint of today this project looks like a fantasy, in the first half of the XX century the Germans were seriously preparing for its implementation. The development of the solar cannon was carried out by scientists located in the research centers of the small village of Hillersleben. More than 150 physicists, designers and talented engineers worked day and night on the most fantastic projects, which in the long term could bring Germany absolute military superiority on the battlefield. When Allied forces entered Hillersleben in the spring of 1945, they found papers on the development of a "solar cannon" among the technical documentation. It is noteworthy that the author of this project was the famous German scientist, one of the founders of rocket technology, Hermann Obert. The most interesting,that back in 1929 the scientist in his book "The Way to Space Flight" proposed to create a manned orbital station in the Earth's orbit. In his major work, Orbert prophetically brilliantly described the principles by which modern orbital stations are being assembled from separate blocks today. At the same time, the military component of the station did not sound in the initial plans of the scientist. Orbert simply planned to place a concave mirror 100 m in diameter in the planet's orbit to transfer solar energy to Earth to heat water and rotate the turbines of power plants. However, the military, having familiarized themselves with his project, decided otherwise. The scientist was tasked with developing a giant mirror located in space for its use as a deadly weapon. In his major work, Orbert prophetically brilliantly described the principles by which modern orbital stations are being assembled from separate blocks today. At the same time, the military component of the station did not sound in the initial plans of the scientist. Orbert simply planned to place a concave mirror 100 m in diameter in the planet's orbit to transfer solar energy to Earth to heat water and rotate the turbines of power plants. However, the military, having familiarized themselves with his project, decided otherwise. The scientist was tasked with developing a giant mirror located in space for its use as a deadly weapon. In his major work, Orbert prophetically brilliantly described the principles by which modern orbital stations are being assembled from separate blocks today. At the same time, the military component of the station did not sound in the initial plans of the scientist. Orbert simply planned to place a concave mirror 100 m in diameter in the planet's orbit to transfer solar energy to Earth to heat water and rotate the turbines of power plants. However, the military, having familiarized themselves with his project, decided otherwise. The scientist was tasked with developing a giant mirror located in space for its use as a deadly weapon. Orbert simply planned to place a concave mirror 100 m in diameter in the planet's orbit to transfer solar energy to Earth to heat water and rotate the turbines of power plants. However, the military, having familiarized themselves with his project, decided otherwise. The scientist was tasked with developing a giant mirror located in space for its use as a deadly weapon. Orbert simply planned to place a concave mirror 100 m in diameter in the planet's orbit to transfer solar energy to Earth to heat water and rotate the turbines of power plants. However, the military, having familiarized themselves with his project, decided otherwise. The scientist was tasked with developing a giant mirror located in space for its use as a deadly weapon.
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Sun cannon
After examining Orbert's project, a team of German physicists, after detailed calculations, said that to implement the task, a mirror with an area of at least 3 square kilometers would be required. It should be located at an altitude of 8200 km above the planet's surface. However, scientists took at least 50 years to implement such a large-scale project. The modules of the orbital station and the mirror itself were supposed to be delivered to Earth's orbit by improved modifications of the rocket with the help of which the Nazis fired at London during the war. At the same time, the same Obert developed the fuel for it, and the rocket itself was designed by the head of the German and then American rocketry, Werner Von Braun. The space station was supposed to communicate with the Earth using an encrypted radio signal. It is noteworthy that turning a giant mirrorthe planet located in orbit should have had special rocket boosters, thus directing a focused beam of light to the desired point on the Earth. If this project came true, the Nazis could incinerate entire cities from orbit. But fortunately he remained only on paper.
Dmitry Sokolov
