ABSTRACT

In the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima many Americans naturally felt confident that they would enjoy complete security into the distant future. The explanation for the strength of Soviet nuclear capability is to be found elsewhere—in the truly revolutionary nature of the technologies of thermonuclear explosives and intercontinental ballistic missiles. A much more intricate situation is exemplified by proposals that would forbid the testing of antisatellite (ASAT) weapons. The Soviet Union has tested an orbiting ASAT weapon with a moderate level of success; the United States is about to begin the testing of a far more sophisticated and nimble ASAT that would be launched at high altitude from a jet fighter. Great ingenuity has been devoted to developing unmanned devices for on-site inspection of a treaty that would ban all underground tests of nuclear weapons.