[rdmckenzie]

Ars gives the SKIF-DM's designers more credit than they deserve. Gorbechev didn't want a Soviet SDI program and was highly critical of the military's existing research efforts in that direction [1] details at great (and I think facinating length) his efforts to dismantle the Soviet military machine. The -DM launch detailed here was the designers last ditch effort to save the program due to continued failure to produce either a sufficiently powerful chemical laser or a computer system capable of controlling it as the Sary Shagan [2] and Terra 3 [3] installations are ample proof.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/The-Dead-Hand-Untold-Dangerous /dp/0307387844/

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sary_Shagan

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra-3

Disclaimer: at age 20 I was born as these events drew to a close so my knowlege of this subject is restricted to the historical material I've read in incredulity that we stood on the brink for 50 years and came out alive.