The collapse of Soviet Russia (USSR) and the overall end of the Cold War can be largely attributed to a program conceived during the Reagan administration known as Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983, the program was eventually dubbed "Star Wars" by many media outlets in reference to the popular 1977 George Lucas film. The idea was, simply put, a defensive shield surrounding America that would use ground and space systems to protect the United States from strategic nuclear ballistic missile attacks. Soon after its debut, many said it would do nothing but increase military spending and create friction between the world's "superpowers." Although the program was very expensive, it aided, if not resulted in, America's success in finally ending the USSR already beset by wars in the Middle East and nuclear disasters on Soviet soil. The idea for the Strategic Defense Initiative program arose from an informal conversation between Dr. Edward Teller (the widely recognized scientist known as the "father of the hydrogen bomb") and President Reagan. Dr. Teller told Reagan of his idea to use a system consisting of x-ray and chemical lasers and ray guns in space to shoot down enemy missiles. Reagan became interested because the program could potentially create an impenetrable defense system, giving America a permanent advantage in future wars and ensuring our position as the leading "superpower." Unfortunately, Regan was not aware that the technology required to make SDI a working program did not even exist in laboratories and nearly 10 years of dedicated research would be required to determine whether the laser and ray gun were even po ...... middle of paper ......hnston, Robert. “Chernobyl reactor accident, 1986.” Johnston Archives. June 11, 2006. the web. May 13, 2011. "SDI FORCED CHANGES IN USSR, SAYS Thatcher | Deseret News." Salt Lake City and Utah Latest News, Sports, Entertainment and Headlines - Deseret News. August 4, 1990. The web. May 2, 2011. Gaddis, John Lewis. "Nuclear Files: Key Issues: Nuclear Weapons: History: Cold War: Strategy: Mutual Assured Destruction." Nuclear Files - From nuclear proliferation to nuclear testing, from Hiroshima to North Korea, Nuclear Files presents nuclear issues from A to Z. Internet. May 1 2011. .