President Ronald Reagan had a fancy name for it — Strategic Defense Initiative. S.D.I. His detractors dubbed it a “Star Wars” project.  The idea was to militarize space: install a series of orbital satellites or platforms that would have the capability of detecting, intercepting and destroying incoming ICBMs. In particular Russian ones. Reagan was inspired by the announcement of a powerful, concentrated x-ray beam – a laser – and went on the air to propose his new vision.

On this day, March 23, in 1983, what was supposed to be a a routine “state of the Cold War” speech turned into a forum for Ronald Reagan to wax poetic on his grand vision. “I call upon the scientific community who gave us nuclear weapons to turn their great talents to the cause of mankind and world peace,” he said, “To give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.”

Nobody – up to and possibly including the President – quite knew that meant. Technology to give form to his vision was not only not possible during that time, it was not even in research. Befuddled White House aides quickly assured members of the press and assembled politicians it would be a very long-term project, but few went along with it. The idea was so futuristic, and the proposed costs so astronomical, that hardly anyone wanted to invest the resources. In the end, Reagan’s grand vision was scrapped for infeasibility.