| Orbital Drop | |
| Faction |  Soviet Union
|
| Function | Attack Power |
| Brief | Space junk is sent hurtling back to the surface, devastating anything in the target area. |
"Nothing says 'Power to the Masses" like an Orbital Drop!"
- - Anonymous Soviet radio operator
The Soviet Union will tell you time and time again that they are in first place in The Space Race. They regularly deliver tons of equipment and dozens of men to the Mir, Vostok II fleet, and various other orbital facilities.
In fact, the Soviet Union has delivered so much equipment into space that they are actually running out of room; preferred space lanes are being crowded with no-longer-used satellites, waste from the Mir, and enemy vehicles pulled up by the Magnetic Satellite. Cosmonauts have complained about having to steer their ships through fields of "space junk", and several ships and stations have been damaged by impacts.
During World War III, Soviet Space Command had a simple but ingenious idea on how to deal with debris: throw it back. Already, the Soviets had been toying with the idea of using spacecraft to shift space junk into 'graveyard' orbits, a safe distance away from the orbits of functional satellites and space stations; with the war with full swing, why not send the junk hurtling back to Earth instead? Not only would this clear up space in orbit, but it could also be used to rain destruction on the Union's enemies.
The idea worked perfectly. Though they had to be carefully calculated and timed beforehand, orbital drops proved even more devastating than conventional missiles, and far more economical to boot. While the Union allows only tactical bombardment for a number of reasons, Soviet Commanders have lauded the ability to simply dump several tonnes of space junk on targets of their choosing.
 |
Orbital Drop | Three nonfunctional space probes and anything picked up by the Magnetic Satellite are dropped on the targeted area. |
 |
Orbital Dump | Two old communication satellites and anything picked up by the Magnetic Satellite are dropped on the targeted area. |
|
Orbital Downpour | A decommissioned space station and anything picked up by the Magnetic Satellite are dropped on the targeted area. |
