No Satellites, No Economy: What You Need to Know About High Altitude Nuclear Detonation

There's been a lot of talk about “tactical” nuclear weapons and rational choices. That discussion has been firmly anchored to ground effects. But what if the state actor simply wants to destroy the economy, without actually destroying much at all, at least immediately, on the ground? They would aim for space, specifically the Van Allen belts. To understand this threat - High Altitude Nuclear Detonation - and get an idea of what can be done to deter such an attack or mitigate its effects, Laura Winter Speaks with Lt. Col. “Tony” Vincent, the Director of Advanced Physics Courses at the Air Force Academy; and Chris Stone, author of “Reversing the Tao – A Framework for Credible Space Deterrence”, and Senior Fellow for Space Studies at The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.