US Air Force reveals radical plan to ‘bomb the sky’ to improve radio reception

A fleet of tiny satellites could one day be used to detonate plasma bombs in Earth’s upper atmosphere to improve the range of radio communications. The US Air Force has granted contracts to three research teams to develop the technology

needed to do this, with hopes that CubeSats could carry massive amounts of ionized gas to the ionosphere to create radio-reflecting plasma. The ionosphere begins roughly 40 miles above the surface and becomes denser with charged particles at night, allowing signals to travel much farther. CONTINUE