How do ICBM early warning systems differentiate between a real threat and a launch of a normal rocket intended to go to space?
In: 2759
Speed and trajectory. Orbital vehicles are going speeds and directions that absolutely scream, “I’m going into either a low-Earth orbit or a geosynchronous orbit.” Meanwhile, missiles heading for Detroit scream, based on the direction and speed they are going, “I’m headed for Detroit.” It’s super easy to predict where they are going, once they get going.
They can obviously have changes in speed and trajectory, but not big enough to go from one sort to the other. Agencies also communicate with each other. If they do anything even slightly sketchy that isn’t actually sketchy, they warn each other. Even North Korea give some warnings.
Latest Answers