Lasers in Space

Ever since man has first dreamed of flying through space, man has dreamed of attaching weapons to those spaceships. The latest addition to man's dream of weaponizing space may actually come to fruition. There are now plans to mount a powerful laser on the International Space Station.

It actually makes sense once you understand the context. There's about 3,000 tons of various kinds of debris floating around in Earth's orbit, and the tiniest speck can pack an enormous punch. The ISS constantly has to manuever around bits and pieces of space junk, and it is built to withstand impacts from really small objects. But think about it. It would make everyone's lives much easier if there was something up in orbit getting rid of potentially hazardous junk. After all, we've come to depend on satellites, and some stray debris could wreak a lot of havoc.

Unfortunately, the idea of attaching a laser to a space station is a bit politically sensitive. I imagine there will be some controversy. But the fact is that we depend on satellites up there in orbit, and they are all under constant threat. A way to clear out space debris would not only protect the people up in orbit, it would benefit all of us. As much as we might want to avoid it, space weaponization is probably inevitable, and as long as things are handled transparently, it should work out just fine.