[oiuyhgrftgthyju]

This isn't a spy plane - it's a potential space minelayer.

The nice thing about the SR71 was that it wasn't that secret, you knew from the speed and altitude that it was an SR71.

But suppose your spyplane flew at the same height and speed as a B52 and was the same size as a B52 - the other guys might be a little more nervous, and more likely to react, when it flew over their territory.

[maukdaddy]

This is smaller than the space shuttle so you should also be able to uniquely identify it as it passes overhead. Might not be in the same spot each time, but it is a spy (multi-purpose) plane afterall.

[oiuyhgrftgthyju]

But you don't know what it is doing. The problem with space - and the reason we have avoided militarizing it - is that it's difficult to stay out of other people's territory.

You wouldn't allow an anonymous N. Korean/ Chinese/ Russian/ Fredonian warship to wander around US waters unchallenged but you have to allow a satellite to pass overhead - thats orbital mechanics.

Now if you start doing things with your space plane, the other side decides it's going to have to defend itself by shotting down anything that passes over it's territory, and 20 minutes later you shoot down their stuff when it passes over your head.

Pretty soon nobody has any satellites. We realized this didn't really work on the high seas several hundred years ago and came up with the idea of laws and flags.