On March 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan addressed the American people directly, warning of a grave threat of war and nuclear annihilation, balanced with a Hollywood message of hope. “The solution is well within our grasp,” Reagan assured the nation. That solution, it turned out, was one of the most expensive and technologically foolhardy projects ever undertaken by the Pentagon: a space-based missile shield to protect the United States and its allies from a Soviet nuclear attack.
