Shard Phantom Liberty
Death from Above: Mass Drivers as Weapons of Mass Destruction
"Death from Above: Mass Drivers as Weapons of Mass Destruction" – shard from Cyberpunk 2077 (Phantom Liberty). Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid struck our planet and changed the course of natural history.
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Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid struck our planet and changed the course of natural history. Measuring approximately 6.2 miles (10 km) in diameter, the space rock struck with a force equal to 10 billion atom bombs, leaving a crater 18.5 miles (30 km) deep. Of course, the likelihood of another such catastrophe occuring in the near future is next to none. But can we really sleep soundly at night? That all depends on the European Space Council, which currently has three Moon-based mass drivers at its disposal. That's right – three!
Researchers estimate that if the Earth were struck by an object even 50 meters in diameter, the shockwave following impact would be enough to flatten a mid-sized city. Add to that the resulting fires and tsunamis, and the number of potential victims skyrockets. On average, an asteroid of that size approaches our planet once every 1500 years. But a mass driver can launch an object of the same size once an hour!
The first – and to this day only – use of the mass driver in armed conflict took place in 2008 during the so-called First Orbital War. In alliance with the USSR, the European Space Council used a mass driver at Tycho to launch a two-ton stone at the US Army Headquarters in Colorado Springs without warning, not only annihilating the entire general staff, but also much of the surrounding city, which had not been evacuated.
In theory, the various uses of mass drivers are now strictly regulated by law and limited only to Moon-based projects of the ESC, which in turn is theoretically an apolitical organization dealing only with matters of space exploration. But in practice, access to these monstrous cannons would give the ESC a distinct advantage in any conflict fought on Earth. If the rumors are true that Arasaka has built their own mass driver in Mare Nubium on the Moon – right under the ESC's nose – then we've already got two powerful players holding our planet in check.
Think it's not your problem? Think there's nothing to be done? Think again! Share this article, sign our petition, go to a protest or contribute to our fund to build a full planetary shield!
Researchers estimate that if the Earth were struck by an object even 50 meters in diameter, the shockwave following impact would be enough to flatten a mid-sized city. Add to that the resulting fires and tsunamis, and the number of potential victims skyrockets. On average, an asteroid of that size approaches our planet once every 1500 years. But a mass driver can launch an object of the same size once an hour!
The first – and to this day only – use of the mass driver in armed conflict took place in 2008 during the so-called First Orbital War. In alliance with the USSR, the European Space Council used a mass driver at Tycho to launch a two-ton stone at the US Army Headquarters in Colorado Springs without warning, not only annihilating the entire general staff, but also much of the surrounding city, which had not been evacuated.
In theory, the various uses of mass drivers are now strictly regulated by law and limited only to Moon-based projects of the ESC, which in turn is theoretically an apolitical organization dealing only with matters of space exploration. But in practice, access to these monstrous cannons would give the ESC a distinct advantage in any conflict fought on Earth. If the rumors are true that Arasaka has built their own mass driver in Mare Nubium on the Moon – right under the ESC's nose – then we've already got two powerful players holding our planet in check.
Think it's not your problem? Think there's nothing to be done? Think again! Share this article, sign our petition, go to a protest or contribute to our fund to build a full planetary shield!
