Secret Projects: Military Space Technology

This book outlines the development of space technology for military purposes from its very beginnings during World War 2 right up to the latest, most sophisticated systems. The author starts with references to the prewar era, then goes on to discuss German rocketry during World War 2 and their bold wartime ambitions, which were finally developed during the Cold War. By the mid-1950s, space was being visualized as the next big battlefield and both the US and Soviet Union had ambitions to expand their domains into the solar system. Many of these ideas were completely impractical, way beyond possible realisation, extremely dangerous and completely unaffordable. By the start of manned spaceflight, missions became politically motivated, although military projects continued in the background and this would eventually surface as the Star Wars (SDI) proposals.