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The history of space warfare goes back to the 1960s when the Soviet Union began the Almaz project, a project designed to give them the ability to do on-orbit inspections of satellites and destroy them if needed. Similar planning in the United States took the form of the Blue Gemini project (comprised of modified Gemini capsules that would be able to deploy weapons and perform surveillance.
Through the 1970s, the Soviet Union continued their project and even test fired a cannon to test space station defense.
Space warfare strongly influenced the final design of the US Space Shuttle. The distinctive delta wing shape was needed if the shuttle were to launch a military payload towards the Soviet Union and perform an immediate de-orbit after one rotation to avoid being shot down.
Both the Soviets and the US developed anti-satellite weaponry designed to shoot down satellites. None of these systems are active today.
Space warfare of the future may eventually involve humans fighting each other. Many movies have attempted to portray combat in space as an extension of air to air ' dog fighting', but the velocities involved suggest that any actual fighting will be computer driven.