Satellite defence system for Earth

[bradly08]

the zpm answers all the power consumption question, that was the idea right

yes, but ZPM's are rare things these days. Its not like we can produce them ourselves.

[Rise Of The Phoenix]

I think satellites are a bad way to go for a weapon system, unless you can prevent them being used to strike down on the planet they're designed to defend, which even with safety measures in place like command codes and other things there's always a chance someone could find a way to use them to attack Earth.
For me a ground based cannon network similar to the Tollans Ion Cannons or something like the Arcturus weapon only using Asgard technology (as Earth appears able to easily reproduce Asgard stuff) is a safer option and with the right kind of sensor tech it's possible to monitor hyperspace activity around Earth so we can calculate when an enemy ship will drop out nearby.
Range of such a weapon may be an issue, although if a 304 can strike at enemy ships at the distances shown in episodes like The Last Man then it shouldn't really be an issue trying to hit enemy targets a few kilometers from Earth.

As people have said here and in other threads there is a chance someone like the Lucianne Alliance or another race could just send a Tel'Tak filled with Naqueda and jump it out inside the Earth's atmosphere (even though it's a strategy I don't recall any race using on the show) then land it into the planet to wipe us out so perhaps there's some way, even though the Goauld could have done that at any time to the Tollans or any race they wanted gone in an instant maybe there's some way to interfere with hyperspace around Earth, like we flood it with some form of radiation or project a force field into subspace and then no race could simply exit hyperspace wherever they want to.

[thekillman]

i think a watertight sattelite defence system is viable and can be made properly protected.

[Buba uognarf]

I think satellites are a bad way to go for a weapon system, unless you can prevent them being used to strike down on the planet they're designed to defend, which even with safety measures in place like command codes and other things there's always a chance someone could find a way to use them to attack Earth.
For me a ground based cannon network similar to the Tollans Ion Cannons or something like the Arcturus weapon only using Asgard technology (as Earth appears able to easily reproduce Asgard stuff) is a safer option and with the right kind of sensor tech it's possible to monitor hyperspace activity around Earth so we can calculate when an enemy ship will drop out nearby.
Range of such a weapon may be an issue, although if a 304 can strike at enemy ships at the distances shown in episodes like The Last Man then it shouldn't really be an issue trying to hit enemy targets a few kilometers from Earth.

As people have said here and in other threads there is a chance someone like the Lucianne Alliance or another race could just send a Tel'Tak filled with Naqueda and jump it out inside the Earth's atmosphere (even though it's a strategy I don't recall any race using on the show) then land it into the planet to wipe us out so perhaps there's some way, even though the Goauld could have done that at any time to the Tollans or any race they wanted gone in an instant maybe there's some way to interfere with hyperspace around Earth, like we flood it with some form of radiation or project a force field into subspace and then no race could simply exit hyperspace wherever they want to.

A ground based defence system is even more vulnerable than a satellite one. For one its accessable from the ground where as a satellite would require someone who already has space travel capacity to get to it. Then there's the fact that if the SG program is a secret its much harder to make up a cover story or cover up the use of large canons on the ground (cloaks could get around this however they'd be able to see any shots which may be fired).

Then there's the major flaw which is that a ground based weapon is fixed and has a limited firing arc compared to a satellite which can orbit the planet to intercept threats. They also can't dodge incoming weapons like a satellite so if someone knows where they are they can take them out with precision strikes where as can potentially maneuver.

It shouldn't be particularly hard to prevent the satellites from being used against us with proper programming the chances of the Lucian alliance tampering with them is slim to known + heavy security could easily limit the chances of someone getting remote access. We've had nuclear weapons for 60 years and yet despite there being thousands of them they're never been used against the nation they come from.

We could put safeties in place to prevent the satellites from activating without special command codes etc...

[thekillman]

have a requirement of atleast 4 different nations' representatives to activate the defence system

[Control_Chair]

maybe there's some way to interfere with hyperspace around Earth, like we flood it with some form of radiation or project a force field into subspace and then no race could simply exit hyperspace wherever they want to.

The Ancients tried disrupting subspace with the Attero device to prevent the wraith from using their hyperdrives in the PG, however the side effect was that it caused stargates to blow up, so if we could recreate a system like that but limit the range to the solar system then that would prevent any unexpected sneak attacks, however we would have to give up the stargate on Earth.

[thekillman]

or we create a few dozen Attero sattelites which are positioned in orbit around the sun. the earth stargate is not caught in the area of effect so remains active.

[Crazy Tom]

or we create a few dozen Attero sattelites which are positioned in orbit around the sun. the earth stargate is not caught in the area of effect so remains active.

It'll take a lot more than a few, and more power generation than earth could
possibly put out at the moment.

Assuming the effects expand in a sphere around a satellite, you'd need a lot more than a few to cover a volume of space as big as that. It may in fact be more advisable to relocate the Stargate outside the range of a planetary based Attero unit, somewhere like Mars, or Jupiter.

Having said that, it's strongly implied that it takes an obscene power source to power Attero, so unless y'all want to be draining a ZPM...

And that assumes the effects of such a device can be localized on distances smaller than intergalactic. .

[Rise Of The Phoenix]

A ground based defence system is even more vulnerable than a satellite one. For one its accessable from the ground where as a satellite would require someone who already has space travel capacity to get to it. Then there's the fact that if the SG program is a secret its much harder to make up a cover story or cover up the use of large canons on the ground (cloaks could get around this however they'd be able to see any shots which may be fired).

My main issue with using satellites is that a single maneuverable satellite can hit pretty much any location on the ground below it, if it has a shield protecting it then it cannot be easily taken out before it does it's damage, where as a ground based cannon can only fire up or around as far as it's firing ark would allow, a cannon can not fire at any location on the planet, only at a small fixed area on the ground.
Each cannon could be placed in a sea based location far away from prying eyes and like you say they could each have a cloak, the odds of them being discovered when they have to be fired are pretty slim especially considering how few times Earth has had to face a major attack.
The sea location where each cannon is based could be both no fly and no travel locations for any boats or planes that have to travel around the globe.

Then there's the major flaw which is that a ground based weapon is fixed and has a limited firing arc compared to a satellite which can orbit the planet to intercept threats. They also can't dodge incoming weapons like a satellite so if someone knows where they are they can take them out with precision strikes where as can potentially maneuver.

You could give each cannon a shield and any sensor tech in place could be used to calculate when to fire on an incoming enemy to destroy your enemy before they have a chance to target the cannons.
I doubt a bulky satellite could really dodge Hive or Ha'Tak fire anyway.

It shouldn't be particularly hard to prevent the satellites from being used against us with proper programming the chances of the Lucian alliance tampering with them is slim to known + heavy security could easily limit the chances of someone getting remote access. We've had nuclear weapons for 60 years and yet despite there being thousands of them they're never been used against the nation they come from.

We could put safeties in place to prevent the satellites from activating without special command codes etc...

That all may be true, but we've seen a orbital based satellite defense system being built in SG1 and any system being made now could have a single member of the IOA trying to put some kind of override system in place so they can gain control of the whole network just like Daniel did, if that happened to a ground based cannon network (if it was all controllable via remote) then each cannon would be fixed and unable to target every location on the planet.
If each cannon is located in a sea based location and out of reach of any shore then they wouldn't be able to target anything but the enemy above.

I just think the risks are lot fewer with ground based cannons than they are with a satellite system.

[Rise Of The Phoenix]

The Ancients tried disrupting subspace with the Attero device to prevent the wraith from using their hyperdrives in the PG, however the side effect was that it caused stargates to blow up, so if we could recreate a system like that but limit the range to the solar system then that would prevent any unexpected sneak attacks, however we would have to give up the stargate on Earth.

I was aware of the Aterro device after watching First Contact and The Lost Tribe, which is kinda what gave me the idea, but now I'm thinking maybe you could just project a force field into subspace.
Instead of keeping the Stargate on Earth build a base on the Moon or Mars anywhere close to Earth, build some small transport craft to move SG teams to the base, give that defenses and place the Stargate there for missions to other Solar Systems.

[Crazy Tom]

D'oh!

What is it with ya people. Satellites don't work in this case, by the time your done adding power generation, propulsion. and shielding, you've got a small ship. So lets just call them frigates and be done with it.

[stargater1990]

why should we bother building satalites to begin with when its much better to just build a fleet of 304s and some sort of sensor grid that can detect incoming ships hours before they get here. afterall, the asgard were a very smart race and im betting that they have sensors that can detect incoming ships. then, once we detect an incoming threat,we scramble the fleet of ships from their hangars on the ground for defence.

this way we have a fleet of ships that not only allows us to attack in large forces anywhere in this and a few other galaxies and allows us to defend the planet without haveing to keep 20 ships in orbit at all times, which would be a waste of manpower and resources.

in addition to this, we can begin strategically deploying shield generators to certin inportant buildings like the white house, the capitol building, etc.etc. and their other allied countries counterparts.

and i think what might be a good idea is to equip some 304s with asgard burst of plasma weapons instead of APBW's because in the unlikely event that the jaffa or some other unforeseen aggressor creates shielding to protect against APBW's, burst of plasma weapons might still be effective because the two are quite different and one should still work if the other dosent.

[lordofseas]

why should we bother building satalites to begin with when its much better to just build a fleet of 304s and some sort of sensor grid that can detect incoming ships hours before they get here. afterall, the asgard were a very smart race and im betting that they have sensors that can detect incoming ships. then, once we detect an incoming threat,we scramble the fleet of ships from their hangars on the ground for defence.

this way we have a fleet of ships that not only allows us to attack in large forces anywhere in this and a few other galaxies and allows us to defend the planet without haveing to keep 20 ships in orbit at all times, which would be a waste of manpower and resources.

in addition to this, we can begin strategically deploying shield generators to certin inportant buildings like the white house, the capitol building, etc.etc. and their other allied countries counterparts.

and i think what might be a good idea is to equip some 304s with asgard burst of plasma weapons instead of APBW's because in the unlikely event that the jaffa or some other unforeseen aggressor creates shielding to protect against APBW's, burst of plasma weapons might still be effective because the two are quite different and one should still work if the other dosent.

These satellites are for delaying purposes only. If there are no ships around Earth for some Deus Ex Machina of a reason, then the Satellites could delay the invaders until a ship or fleet of ship can return. Satellites, IMO, aren't meant to be a long-term defense.

When it's been shown that the bursts no longer work well against ha'tak classes?

[thekillman]

it's better to create a (largely unmanned) defence system than a few more 304's.

304's are big, expensive, not to mention intergalactically capable, and have an expensive crew.

a sattelite (tom, you still cant invent a better term?) with just the very basics would be indeed a small ship, the only difference is it's unmanned and it's being controlled form a distance.

why does everyone think you can that easily defend against APBW's? Drones have been around for god knows how long and not ONE race so far has Drone-resistant shields (ancient drones, that is). with the possible exception of the asgard(by extent tauri).

why would APBW's be different. there are two explanations for the APBW's power:

1: possibly like other asgard weapons, it is designed to directly penetrate shields with some fancy applied technology.

2: sheer force heavily concentrated locally overwhelms the shield and thus passes through.

it's clearly the pinnacle of Asgard Technology. why would any farmer invent something better than that? or even something against that?

[Nemises]

what about the goa'uld ones that daniel made in sg1 ?