| “ | Our A-SAT is offline! - Granger |
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A-SAT, or Attack SATellites, was the system of ion cannon arrays, laser cannons, and kinetic kill weapons that served as a missile defense shield for the Global Defense Initiative's space stations, orbital weapons platforms, and spy satellites. While the Ion Cannon satellites could be individually given firing commands from commanders with the required uplink facilities, all of GDI's orbiting weapons and surveillance equipment was governed by the A-SAT control center. Without which, the individual uplink facilities would be rendered useless.
However, due to budgetary constraints (an entirely new space station would've had to been commissioned), GDI SpaceCom located the sensitive equipment and personnel on Earth. Even more inexplicably, they consolidated all of A-SAT command in one spot; the Goddard Space Center. Had GDI placed the A-SAT control center in orbit, then the system would have been nigh impregnable; instead, space command assets were grouped into one, vulnerable base.
Nod couldn't believe the luck they had. A well-planned strike at Goddard would leave the entire GDI space system offline for weeks. Kane personally entrusted the raid to a loyal commander, and a sneak attack was launched. Fanatics blasted a hole in Goddard's wall, allowing a Saboteur to jam GDI transmissions. Militia were promptly flown in to take out the defensive power grid, and then Nod Shadows moved in, destroying the A-SAT command system. This took the GDI's Ion Cannon network and all ABM defenses offline.
The strike coincided with the final day of a Global Energy Summit, and much of GDI's leadership was onboard the GDSS Philadelphia, the heart of GDI CENTCOM, which was subsequently destroyed by a Nod missile strike, starting the Third Tiberium War.
Eventually, through a system of auxiliary uplinks and improvisation, GDI managed to regain complete control of its space-based weapons, just in time for the Siege of Temple Prime and against the invading Scrin.