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From: al@ames-lm.UUCP (Al Globus)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: High powered space lasers
Message-ID: <188@ames-lm.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 26-Mar-84 22:59:57 EST
Article-I.D.: ames-lm.188
Posted: Mon Mar 26 22:59:57 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 28-Mar-84 00:59:29 EST
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 19

The star wars folks assure us that their weapons are defensive
and will only hurt machines not people.

I'd like to consider laser weapons technology a few years in the future.

There exist designs for 10 Gigawatt solar power satellites.  These
can be built with existing technology, more or less, given plenty
of money.  Source: NASA/DOE solar power satellite study done a few
years ago.

Questions:

Are 10 Gigawatt lasers or particle beams feasible given 20 years of 
development?

Can they be connected to 10 Gigawatt solar power satellites?

What would be the effect of a malicious power using a 10 Gigawatt
laser or particle beam on San Francisco (site of next L5 conference)?