Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Star Wars

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Rockets and Ray Guns: The Sci-Fi Science of the Cold War

Part of the book series: Science and Fiction ((SCIFICT))

  • 851 Accesses

Abstract

In which the real world seeks to emulate science fiction by giving serious thought to the possibility of launching bombs, guns and missiles into orbit. That sci-fi staple, the ray gun, finally acquired a real-world counterpart in the form of the laser, and some people envisaged space-based super-lasers creating an impenetrable shield against nuclear missiles. The culmination of these ideas was a project the news media referred to as “Star Wars”, after the popular sci-fi movie franchise. Nothing came of it, however, and space-based warfare remained just as science-fictional at the end of the Cold War as it had been at the start.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 19.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 27.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    In this context, “openly” is a euphemism for “legally”.

References

  1. T. Burnett, Who Really Won the Space Race? (Collins & Brown, London, 2005), pp. 204, 205

    Google Scholar 

  2. T. Burnett, Who Really Won the Space Race? (Collins & Brown, London, 2005), p. 169

    Google Scholar 

  3. A. MacLean, Ice Station Zebra (Fontana, London, 1965), p. 233

    Google Scholar 

  4. D.A. Day, Has anybody seen our satellite? The Space Review (April 2009), http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1352/1

  5. D.A. Wollheim, Mike Mars and the Mystery Satellite (Paperback Library, New York, 1966), p. 101

    Google Scholar 

  6. D.A. Wollheim, Mike Mars and the Mystery Satellite (Paperback Library, New York, 1966), p. 103

    Google Scholar 

  7. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), p. 30

    Google Scholar 

  8. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), p. 39

    Google Scholar 

  9. K. Neville, Cold War, in The Astounding Science Fiction Anthology, ed. by J.W. Campbell (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1952), pp. 404–414

    Google Scholar 

  10. J. Sutton, Bombs in Orbit (Ace Books, New York, 1959), pp. 14, 15

    Google Scholar 

  11. J. van Hise, The Unauthorized History of Trek (Harper Collins, London, 1997), p. 48

    Google Scholar 

  12. K.W. Gatland, Development of the Guided Missile (Iliffe & Sons, London, 1954), pp. 211, 212

    Google Scholar 

  13. GR-1/SS-X-10 SCRAG, Federation of American Scientists, https://fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/icbm/gr-1.htm

  14. Outer Space Treaty of 1967, Wikisource, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty_of_1967

  15. D. Baker, Soyuz 1967 Onwards (Haynes, Yeovil, 2014), pp. 103–105

    Google Scholar 

  16. P. Drye, False Steps: The Space Race as it Might Have Been (Baggage Books, Kindle edition, 2015), loc. 2483

    Google Scholar 

  17. K.P. Werrell, Hitting a Bullet with a Bullet: A History of Ballistic Missile Defence (Air Power Research Institute, 2000), http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=ADA381863

  18. J.P. Martino, Pushbutton War, in Prologue to Analog, ed. by J.W. Campbell (Panther, London, 1969), pp. 198–215

    Google Scholar 

  19. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), p. 34

    Google Scholar 

  20. I. Asimov, Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (Pan Books, London, 1975), p. 402

    Google Scholar 

  21. I. Asimov, Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (Pan Books, London, 1975), p. 442

    Google Scholar 

  22. P.F. Westerman, The War of the Wireless Waves (Oxford University Press, London, 1936), p. 13

    Google Scholar 

  23. P.F. Westerman, The War of the Wireless Waves (Oxford University Press, London, 1936), pp. 14, 15

    Google Scholar 

  24. P.F. Westerman, The War of the Wireless Waves (Oxford University Press, London, 1936), pp. 92, 93

    Google Scholar 

  25. P.F. Westerman, The War of the Wireless Waves (Oxford University Press, London, 1936), p. 215

    Google Scholar 

  26. W. Gibson, The Gernsback Continuum, in Burning Chrome (Grafton, London, 1988) pp. 37–50

    Google Scholar 

  27. J.W. Campbell, Space Rays, in Wonder Stories (December 1932), pp. 585–593

    Google Scholar 

  28. G. Owen, Directed-energy weapons: a historical perspective. J. Def. Sci. 2(1), 89–93 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  29. N. Redfern, Science Fiction Secrets (Anomalist Books, San Antonio, 2009), p. 112

    Google Scholar 

  30. D. Clarke, A. Roberts, Death Ray Matthews, in Fortean Times (September 2003), pp. 38–47

    Google Scholar 

  31. G.O. Smith, Venus Equilateral, vol 1 (Orbit Books, London, 1975)

    Google Scholar 

  32. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), p. 23

    Google Scholar 

  33. B. Clegg, The Quantum Age (Icon Books, Kindle edition, 2014), loc. 1586–1592

    Google Scholar 

  34. B. Clegg, The Quantum Age (Icon Books, Kindle edition, 2014), loc. 1602

    Google Scholar 

  35. B. Clegg, The Quantum Age (Icon Books, Kindle edition, 2014), loc. 1610–1614

    Google Scholar 

  36. S.E. Whitfield, G. Roddenberry, The Making of Star Trek (Ballantine, New York, 1968), p. 166

    Google Scholar 

  37. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), pp. 24–26

    Google Scholar 

  38. A.J. Wolfe, Competing with the Soviets (Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2013), p. 129

    Google Scholar 

  39. A.B. Carter, Directed Energy Missile Defense in Space (U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, 1984), http://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk3/1984/8410/8410.PDF

  40. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), p. 53

    Google Scholar 

  41. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), p. 81

    Google Scholar 

  42. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), pp. 93, 94

    Google Scholar 

  43. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), p. 95

    Google Scholar 

  44. A.C. Clarke, Astounding Days (Gollancz, London, 1990). pp. 97, 98

    Google Scholar 

  45. D. Clarke, How UFOs Conquered the World (Aurum Press, London, 2015), p. 14

    Google Scholar 

  46. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), p. 73

    Google Scholar 

  47. B. Bova, Millennium (Methuen, London, 1988), p. 46

    Google Scholar 

  48. B. Bova, Millennium (Methuen, London, 1988), pp. 13–14

    Google Scholar 

  49. G.S.J. Hackett, The Third World War (Sphere, London, 1979), p. 255

    Google Scholar 

  50. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), p. 51

    Google Scholar 

  51. P. Drye, False Steps: The Space Race as it Might Have Been (Baggage Books, Kindle edition, 2015), loc. 3079

    Google Scholar 

  52. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), p. 210

    Google Scholar 

  53. N. Hey, The Star Wars Enigma (Potomac Books, Washington DC, 2007), p. 223

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Crewkerne, UK

    Andrew May

Authors
  1. Andrew May
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

May, A. (2018). Star Wars. In: Rockets and Ray Guns: The Sci-Fi Science of the Cold War. Science and Fiction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89830-8_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation