LaGrange punktid.

Teemaks on üks /. artikkel, milles mainitakse Arthur C. Clarke'i romaani "A Fall of Moondust", kus on kirjeldatud LaGrange'i punktis paiknevat kolooniat. Seos tulenes sellest, et USAF Space Command avaldas oma ametlikus ajakirjas teate, et jänkid tahavad püüda LaGrange'i punkte koloniseerida enne teisi rahvusi.


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Before we stop there, considering as our enemies only those who stand in the way of US achieving our national aims might be too simple. Taking a page from Mahan, the choke points we control, whether we need to control them for our “national aims” or not, are choke points that are not controlled by anyone else, friend or foe.14 Specific orbital tracks, LaGrange (libration) points, resemble Mahanʼs coaling stations. On our way to a permanent
lunar base, for instance, we might consider establishing and protecting permanent bases at the LaGrange points.15 Our national aim might be well served by seizing “territory” or planting
the flag before anyone else does to simply maintain our position
relative to the balance of power. For a terrestrial example, Great Britain does not need the Falkland Islands anymore but they went to war to protect their national prestige.

The LaGrange points in the Sun-Earth and Earth-Moon systems, being semi-stable, have been proposed for outposts; given the right kind of energy collection and storage mechanisms these could act as coaling stations. Since they are also potential “choke points” with tactical (if not strategic) value, we should not leave
50 High Frontier Winter 2005
them open to exploitation by others.

See also Arthur C. Clarke, 2010: odyssey two (New York: Ballantine Books, 1982), 147. The Lagrange points L-1, L-2, etc., are points where a planetʼs gravity interacts with either the sunʼs or a moonʼs gravity to form semi-stable orbital points. Clarke referred to this type of intersection as a point on a “gravitational tightrope.”

Keegi pole neid punkte vast suuremalt uurinud, on vaid teada, et nad on olemas. ACC hämmastab mind jätkuvalt oma ettenägelikkusega. Huvitav, kui stabiilsed nad ka on?