Strategic Defense Initiative
E16701
The Strategic Defense Initiative was a controversial Cold War-era U.S. missile defense program proposed in the 1980s that aimed to develop space- and ground-based systems to protect against nuclear ballistic missile attacks.
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Cold War military program
→
United States defense program → missile defense program → |
| aimedTo |
develop missile defense system against ballistic nuclear missiles
→
render nuclear ballistic missiles less effective or obsolete → |
| announcedBy |
Ronald Reagan
→
|
| announcedIn |
televised national address
→
|
| announcedOn |
1983-03-23
→
|
| budget |
tens of billions of U.S. dollars
→
|
| colloquialName |
Star Wars
→
|
| controversialFor |
high projected costs
→
potential to destabilize nuclear deterrence → technical feasibility concerns → |
| country |
United States
→
|
| criticizedBy |
Soviet leadership
→
many arms control advocates → many scientists and engineers → |
| evolvedInto |
Ballistic Missile Defense Organization
→
Missile Defense Agency → |
| focus |
strategic ballistic missile defense
→
|
| governingBody |
Strategic Defense Initiative Organization
→
|
| includedComponent |
advanced radar systems
→
command, control, and communications systems → directed-energy weapons research → ground-based interceptors → space-based interceptors → space-based sensors → |
| influenced |
later U.S. national missile defense programs
→
post–Cold War missile defense policy → |
| legalContext |
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
→
|
| mediaNicknameGivenBy |
critics
→
|
| mediaNicknameReason |
resemblance to science-fiction space warfare in Star Wars films
→
|
| overseenBy |
United States Department of Defense
→
|
| peakActivity |
mid-1980s
→
|
| politicalContext |
U.S.–Soviet arms race
→
nuclear deterrence debate → |
| raisedConcernAbout |
compliance with Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
→
|
| researchArea |
boost-phase interception
→
kinetic kill vehicles → laser weapons → midcourse interception → particle beam weapons → space-based battle stations → terminal-phase interception → |
| shortName |
SDI
→
|
| status |
never fully deployed as originally envisioned
→
|
| supportedBy |
Ronald Reagan administration
→
U.S. defense hawks → |
| timePeriod |
1980s
→
Cold War → |
Referenced by (5)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Reagan administration
→
|
foreignPolicy |
|
Ronald Reagan
→
|
notableFor |
|
Strategic Computing Initiative
→
|
relatedTo |
|
SDI
→
|
standsFor |
|
Edward Teller
→
|
supported |