Quote:
Commercial communications satellites do just about everything -- for instance, one was used until 2000 by Osama bin Laden himself (his phone number was 00873 6825 05331).
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Lieutenant-Colonel Conrad Widman of the U.S. Space Warfare Centre noted in 2001 that to jam a satellite, "all you need is a spectrum analyzer, a signal generator, a satellite transmit-and-receive terminal, a computer with a couple of modems, and 200 lines of software."
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The other most likely satellite-damaging scenario involves firing something at the birds as they float by in space. The weapon could be as complex as a nuclear bomb or as simple as a payload of ball bearings launched into satellite orbits -- perhaps a dozen countries have the capability to dispose of low-flying Iridiums this way, and even the high-altitude geostationary birds and GPS. High-energy radio frequency (RF) signals can disrupt satellites temporarily, or cook them outright. The high-power magnetrons used in long-range search radars along with high-gain antennas are readily available; you just have to know -- or be told -- what you want. The search radars operate in the same general frequency band, the L-Band, as do the uplinks for GPS and Iridium.
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Seems slightly ridiculous... there are waaay more targets that are easier for them to hit. We aren't even safe in our own country, just look at our shipping containers and southern border. It's madness