1. Strategic Defense Imitative

2.  In 1979, the Cold War was still raging between the United States and the USSR  Both countries had a large number of nuclear missiles  United States: 1,600  USSR: 1,500

3.  In 1979, Ronald Regan visited the NORAD Command center in Cheyenne mountain.  The commanding officers showed him the day to day operations and our counter measures for a nuclear attack.  Regan realized that from this visit that we didn’t have a way to defend from a nuclear attack.

4.  On March 23, 1983 Regan gave his famous “Star Wars” speech  In it he called for an increase in defense spending (44 Billion increase)  He told the American public about his defense plan in the event of a nuclear attack

5.  Used three “screens” to defend the country  First, use of space stations that fire watermelon sized projectiles to blow up the missiles over Soviet air space  Second, lasers would be fired from the ground and redirected by using large mirror like satellites over the Atlantic ocean  Lastly, laser equipped planes and surface to air missiles would destroy any remaining missiles over the United States http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMU b8FWr88A

7.  Brilliant Pebbles  Name for the weapon that would fire watermelon size bullets from a space craft at the missiles  Brilliant Eyes  Recognition system that was supposed to be placed in satellite to direct a laser beam.  Space Based Interceptors  Weapons used thermal imaging to track the nuclear missile and disable it

8.  There was wide criticism when Regan proposed this idea  Use of ABM missiles  Physicist Hans Bethe said that it was would be difficult to build, let alone work  Said an easy way to bypass the system would be to just launch decoys that was mixed in with the other nuclear missiles  Also use of x-rays would be improbable due to the waves spreading out quickly

9.  Offices said that the technology was “years away from being even developed, let alone working.”  Regan was even quoted as saying that “it was just a story and many Americans believed that it could be built.”  Plan was never fully carried through, due to cost and technological limitations

10.  Outer Space Treaty of 1967  Outlawed the use of nuclear capable weapons and any weapons of mass destruction that was placed in outer space  Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty  Limited number of ABM to 100 per country  Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty  Meant to aid in the limitation of nuclear weapons  People felt that by creating more missiles and weapons systems, it was just further escalating the arms race

11.  http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/ NSAEBB197/ http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/ NSAEBB197/  http://www.coldwar.org/articles/80s/SDI- StarWars.asp  http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/spee ches/1983/32383d.htm http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/spee ches/1983/32383d.htm  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMUb8F Wr88A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMUb8F Wr88A

12.  http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/2 3/march-23-1983-reagan-proposes-star-wars- missile-defense- system/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/2 3/march-23-1983-reagan-proposes-star-wars- missile-defense- system/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0  http://martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/aug2006/star wars1.html#Cost