Laser cannon on the space station

[DaleA]

Well the USS Ponce has a laser cannon already deployed so what's next? Maybe a laser cannon on the International Space Station. They'd use it to shoot down the space junk in orbit that's getting to be a hazard to the working stuff up there.

Here's an article about the concept:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/20...ernational-Space-Station-needs-a-laser-cannon

Here's a link to the article about the laser already on the USS Ponce.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...s-new-laser-gun-works-at-sea/?tid=ptv_rellink

So anybody up to volunteer to be a gunner on the International Space Station? (Talk about a chance to 'see the world'...the other services must really be jealous.)

 

[Bill DeShivs]

There isn't enough power on the ISS to operate a laser like this.

 

[Snyper]

I suspect it would violate several international treaties also

 

[Ashikabi]

Well if they bill it as a "junk removal tool" not a "laser cannon" I don't see why it would violate anything. You know that's what everyone is thinking though

 

[KyJim]

I haven't read the linked articles but, assuming you could build one with a decent power source, I would think any space laser would mostly just punch holes in an object rather than disintegrating it. And, since it's a light, it would have no or almost no effect on the position of the object. There's no mass in the beam to change the momentum and position of the object.

 

[kilimanjaro]

Only way to move the onrushing comet before the impact destroys all life on the planet is with a binary weapon system, such as the Deep Space Tannerite Launcher paired with the laser cannon. Once the Tannerite grenade is near the dastardly space object, the laser sets it off, with fireball and sound, of course.

 

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Bruce Willis is offering a class at Gunsite on asteroid destruction.

I'll think I will close this.