Are we headed to WW3?

[Loren Pechtel]

A successful launch would not be known to carry WMDs (barring other intelligence sources) until they were deployed - but when deployed, there would be no hiding who is responsible.

Disagree. Launch an interplanetary science mission. Two stage motor for the interplanetary burn, the first stage just barely makes escape. The bomb is riding on the first stage, it's now in something approximating Earth orbit, uses only plasma for stationkeeping. Doesn't take much stealthing for it to hide when it's that far out. Do a flyby when you want to attack.

In hindsight it will be possible to figure out how it got there but nobody's going to be able to prove what it was ridesharing with.

For that matter, you could do this with a moon mission. Main mission never reaches escape, but the bomb flies a slightly different trajectory and is ejected.

You still have the big question of reliability, though, as well as the issue of a failed launch. Although if you'll spend some extra mass I don't think even that's insurmountable. The RTG generators on outer planet missions are packed so they'll remain intact even if the booster goes boom. The hard part is believable numbers at launch.

 

[Elixir]

You still have the big question of reliability, though, as well as the issue of a failed launch. Although if you'll spend some extra mass I don't think even that's insurmountable.

No problemo - let AI take over design parameters, parts inspections analysis, performance monitoring and decision making at launch or actuation - what could possibly go wrong?

 

[aupmanyav]

"Are we headed to WW3?"

Elon Musk is angling for his presidency. Might be good rather than the current madman.

 

[bilby]

The RTG generators on outer planet missions are packed so they'll remain intact even if the booster goes boom. The hard part is believable numbers at launch.

An RTG is basically just a big lump of Plutonium.

A nuclear bomb is a lump of Plutonium wrapped in a lot of powerful explosive charges.

Sure, it's really hard to get those charges to accidentally detonate with the exquisite timing needed to get a fission explosion; But it's also really hard to stop them from fragmenting the pit to the point where enough Pu dust is spread around as to make it very clear what you were up to.