Our planet is on the brink of another
devastating world war.
And while it's terrifying
to imagine the realities
this conflict could bring
to people all over the world,
this time
it could play out on a battlefield
unlike any other.
Space.
This is WHAT IF,
and here's what would happen
Before we launch
into the cosmic battleground of World War 3,
let's take a look
at the terrestrial tensions
leading us to the brink of war.
No matter when exactly
the full-scale conflict would erupt,
the stage has been set already
for quite some time.
Many of the geopolitical rivalries
and alliances
have already been compounding
and could ignite
beyond our atmosphere
at any moment.
A digital arms race
for technological supremacy
has been brewing
between the US,
China and Russia.
But this cyber warfare
isn't the only realm where
the most powerful nations on Earth
have already been disputing.
International agreements
such as the nuclear forces treaties
are eroding.
Climate change is turning the Arctic
into a strategic military position,
and nations are already developing all kinds
of anti-satellite
and other space-capable technologies.
With the boundaries between Earth and space
getting blurrier,
this powder keg
of international relations
is about to blow
right out of the atmosphere.
If a violent,
international conflict
erupted in the final frontier,
would we even be able to call it a world war?
Well, debating this name
wouldn't be very useful
when the fight would be unfolding
on entirely new dimensions.
Ok, not literally in new dimensions.
Yet.
The war would still be limited
limited by our four dimensional framework of space and time.
That's not to say
that even further in the future,
we could be fighting interdimensional wars.
Let's just not get too far
ahead of ourselves.
The technologies of space warfare would be a leap
beyond our current capabilities.
The three most powerful nations
and others with advanced space programs
like India, Japan
and the European Union
would need to accelerate
the development of an entirely
new arsenal of weapons.
Satellites, old and new,
would become active components
of the various war machines.
They could be reconfigured
into highly sophisticated communications scramblers,
anti-missile defense systems
or even high-energy laser beams.
This could sound like science-fiction.
And it is.
But it's only the beginning.
Each of the warring nations
would soon develop spacecraft
to fight on battlegrounds
beyond traditional orbits.
These spacecrafts could be both human-controlled and autonomous.
But they'd likely resemble
advanced fighter jets
designed for intricate maneuvering
in the vacuum of space.
And they'd carry
highly destructive weaponry
to engage in short-range dogfights
with enemy spaceships,
as well as long-range laser weapons
to attack targets back on Earth.
Among some of the most terrifying new weapons
that could wreak havoc
and destruction on terrestrial targets
would be so-called "Rods from God."
Now, of all the stuff that might sound like pure sci-fi,
But I regret to inform you
that these could be an actual real-life possibility.
The "Rods from God" would be dense,
heavy rods made of tungsten
that could be dropped from satellites
down onto Earth.
They would measure over 6 m (20 ft) in length
and weigh nearly 4.5 tons.
Yeah, known as a kinetic bombardment rod,
these weapons would accelerate
to incredible speeds
as they descend through the atmosphere.
Upon impact,
they'd carry the force
of a nuclear weapon
but without any of the radioactive fallout.
Entire cities could be wiped out
with the press of a button.
So although this war is primarily fought in space,
Earth could still suffer
some serious consequences.
But more on that in a bit.
The concept for this radical weapon
has been around
since the aftermath of the second world war.
It was developed by a researcher for Boeing
as a way to deliver devastating blows
without the need for
deploying nuclear weapons.
In the battleground of space,
weapons like these
would be a game changer.
And the satellites carrying these rods
would be highly strategic targets to take out
to avoid massive casualties.
from artificial meteor strikes.
One of the most essential strategic sites
in a war in space
would be the biggest of all the satellites in orbit.
The Moon.
This celestial body
would be a highly disputed territory
for establishing bases.
It would also be a home
to artillery and research and development laboratories
to forge new weapons.
It could even be a battlefield of its own
as different countries attack each others bases
or lead ground invasions
through the rocky landscapes.
The meaning of
"one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind"
would take on entirely new interpretations
in this dangerous war zone.
With all the conflict erupting in space,
the borders of the battle
could continually expand as
newer and more capable technologies develop.
Eventually the struggle could lead
to a deadly conflict over Mars,
the Asteroid Belt or beyond.
The repercussions for this war
on earthly civilians would also be severe.
The wide destruction of satellites
would lead to a global breakdown of communications,
navigation systems
and weather prediction technology.
Economies would be devastated,
as all kinds of trade agreements would fall apart.
And the budgets of all the world's most powerful nations
would go almost exclusively
to further advancements in the space-military-industrial complexes.
And while the battles
would rage off the surface of the planet,
there'd be no escape
from the new reality of war.
Every night as you watch the stars,
you'd catch glimpses of orbital bombardments
easily visible to the naked eye.
Now you could be wondering
just how far would World War 3 in space go?
And just how would it ever end?
Well, at this moment
that’s impossible to say.
But you could certainly imagine
that this kind of war
would be almost entirely unpredictable.
It would no longer be about taking over
pieces of land on Earth.
It would be about who could conquer
the vastness of space.
What would begin with satellite cross-fire
could evolve to the construction
of massive space stations
that serve as bases
for a new era of deep-space exploration and conflict.
And to take things even further,
who's to say it would ever end at all?
Or maybe it wouldn't be humans
but another advanced alien civilization
that would swoop in
and diplomatically end the conflict.
And if that were to happen,
well, let's hope
we don't get too carried away
and find ourselves
at war with other species
from far-away planets.
But now that makes me wonder,
if aliens arrived tomorrow
could that possibly prevent
this whole world war in the first place?
Well, that sounds like a story
for another WHAT IF.