As the Cold War raged between the United States and the Soviet Union, the possibility of taking the war to outer space seemed remote. But it almost happened in the late 1980s. As President Ronald Reagan took office, he gave an eloquent and patriotic speech reminding the American people that the United States was still fighting oppressive regimes, and announced an ambitious space program that would take weaponry to space.His plan called for creating a moonshot-like missile shield that would be impenetrable against enemy Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. It would mockingly be known as the Star Wars project.Meanwhile, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had been trying to bring peace among the nations and urged Reagan to back down, but the US President did not balk. Urged by Soviet officials to retaliate against the US with a similar missile program, Gorbachev approved a more ambitious endeavor. Like something out of a futuristic movie, the Russian Polyus-Skif spacecraft, known as the Red Death Star, was designed as a space-based laser system aimed at charging against enemy targets in case of conflict.The whole world suddenly held its breath at the possibility of a new type of warfare…