Thanks SOC, the use of the word space mine is very interesting, was the intention to use Nuclear warheads in space to knock out US/NATO Satellites and SDI proposed space based interceptors in order to clear a path for warheads launched from earth. This thus looks like a space based battlestation rather than a strategic strike weapon. But why Nuclear space mines? Why not just conventional micro-satellites like those using the Surrey technology in the west?

Nuclear weapons in space makes for an interesting idea. Perhaps the best aspect is that you don’t need to get a direct hit for a kill. Even a total miss could EMP to death an unshielded satellite or possibly throw it out of orbit.

One thing intrigues me, why rush this project, it was apparent to everybody that any meaningful SDI project was years and years away, at the time Skif was being launched it was just a paper study and nobody knew what form it would take. So was this just an exercise to try and push for a space weapons treaty? a sort of look what will happen type thing?

It wasn’t necessarily rushed. One needs to remember that the Soviets were doing an awful lot of laser research during the latter stages of the Cold War. Mounting one in a modified MIR once the USA starts talking about SDI wouldn’t have been that much of a stretch.