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How do you Defeat Aliens who control the Orbitals?

Aliens? Invading aliens? What will Earth do? Well...we may have a few more resources than we first thought. Come join a friendly discussion about David Weber's newest Tor series - "Out of the Dark."
Re: How do you Defeat Aliens who control the Orbitals? spoi
Post by Lord Skimper   » Wed Sep 11, 2013 5:25 pm

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One could hitch a ride on a shuttle, I personally would prefer to be inside but...

One. Wonders if an automated gun on the moon might not be able to shoot an orbiting platform. No air to deflect shells and while gravities could be planned for. Would they ever think of looking behind them?
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Re: How do you Defeat Aliens who control the Orbitals? spoi
Post by 7thsealord   » Thu Sep 12, 2013 9:01 am

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Lord Skimper wrote:One. Wonders if an automated gun on the moon might not be able to shoot an orbiting platform. No air to deflect shells and while gravities could be planned for. Would they ever think of looking behind them?


8-) The endgame in James P Hogan's 'Voyage From Yesteryear'* comes immediately to mind. When misdirecting someone just so you can shoot them in the back, always be sure to use a frackin' B-I-G gun.

(* - Good book, written well before JPH went all weird.)
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Re: How do you Defeat Aliens who control the Orbitals?
Post by goglen   » Sun Oct 06, 2013 5:35 pm

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jvilnis wrote:How do yoou defeat a race of Aliens who control high orbit and can throw rocks at you down the gravity well?


I do believe Will Smith showed us how back in the 90s... :lol:
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Re: How do you Defeat Aliens who control the Orbitals?
Post by Lord Skimper   » Sun Oct 06, 2013 11:09 pm

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A mine field might work.
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Re: How do you Defeat Aliens who control the Orbitals?
Post by rmsgrey   » Fri Oct 18, 2013 7:12 pm

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Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's novel Footfall offers one solution - send your own battleship up there to reclaim the orbitals.

Remember, they may have the height advantage, but we have the shorter supply chain...
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Re: How do you Defeat Aliens who control the Orbitals?
Post by 7thsealord   » Mon Oct 21, 2013 9:11 am

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rmsgrey wrote:Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's novel Footfall offers one solution - send your own battleship up there to reclaim the orbitals.

Remember, they may have the height advantage, but we have the shorter supply chain...


.... And a chronic inability to surrender.

Noting that this seems to be at least one thing that 'Footfall' and 'Out Of The Dark' had in common. From the point of view of the aliens in both books, Humans were crazy b##t##ds who simply wouldn't surrender or submit, no matter how logical it might be to do so.
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Re: How do you Defeat Aliens who control the Orbitals?
Post by Lord Skimper   » Sat Nov 02, 2013 3:06 am

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In reality you don't unless you already control the orbitals, and keep them from getting control of them.
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Re: How do you Defeat Aliens who control the Orbitals?
Post by Atrox   » Wed Nov 27, 2013 6:27 pm

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Lord Skimper wrote:In reality you don't unless you already control the orbitals, and keep them from getting control of them.


Yeah, this.

If I'm controlling the orbitals and am not terribly concerned with collateral damage, I can fire from a lunar or translunar orbit. That'll put me between 360,000 and 400,000 km from Earth's surface.
That's beyond range of any currently existing rocket, except (maybe) a modified SS-18 Satan, gives me plenty of lead time for point defence, and I can dodge behind the moon after firing.

If need be, I can park my fleet even further out, say at the LaGrange point between Earth and the Sun (SEL-1), about 1.5 million km, or about 5 light-seconds from Earth. Bonus: all that solar radiation will make target acquisition much harder for anything coming from Earth.

Sure, pinpoint precision won't happen, but we've already settled that I'm willing to kill a few million sentients to make the point that they should wise up and cooperate.
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Re: How do you Defeat Aliens who control the Orbitals?
Post by Spacekiwi   » Wed Nov 27, 2013 9:12 pm

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Welcome to the forums atrox.

And an important thing to remember, is that if your enemy is able to fly between the stars, their weapons are probably quite powerful, so when mixed with a speed advantage from firing downwell and increased power, misses wont matter as much. Close counts in nukes and hand grenades after all.....

Atrox wrote:
Lord Skimper wrote:In reality you don't unless you already control the orbitals, and keep them from getting control of them.


Yeah, this.

If I'm controlling the orbitals and am not terribly concerned with collateral damage, I can fire from a lunar or translunar orbit. That'll put me between 360,000 and 400,000 km from Earth's surface.
That's beyond range of any currently existing rocket, except (maybe) a modified SS-18 Satan, gives me plenty of lead time for point defence, and I can dodge behind the moon after firing.

If need be, I can park my fleet even further out, say at the LaGrange point between Earth and the Sun (SEL-1), about 1.5 million km, or about 5 light-seconds from Earth. Bonus: all that solar radiation will make target acquisition much harder for anything coming from Earth.

Sure, pinpoint precision won't happen, but we've already settled that I'm willing to kill a few million sentients to make the point that they should wise up and cooperate.
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Re: How do you Defeat Aliens who control the Orbitals?
Post by Browne   » Tue Dec 03, 2013 8:17 pm

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Use a weaponized Thunder Well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plumbbob

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VonfewfNNfI

Got to love nukes!!! :D
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