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View Full Version here: : Images of lasers taken from space


venus
25-03-2009, 02:49 PM
link here (http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=4595564031104ac7&q=laser%20beams%20imaged%20from%20s pace&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlaser%2Bbeams%2Bimaged %2Bfrom%2Bspace%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D 20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D40)

I was searching google for an image of laser beam from space but the above link was all I could find "Laser beam as it was seen by orbiting space shuttle Discovery 5 when it bounced off 8" mirror mounted on shuttle's side after being dispersed from ground-based Laser Beam Dir. at Maui, HI."

Does anyone know of any more recent?

jkrah
25-03-2009, 03:04 PM
just a note.. but I don't think you would see the beam in space.. as there would be little atmosphere or particles for the beam to scatter off. The best Id guess you would be getting is a big 'spot'... I also assume even the best lasers are still going to have some divergence in the beam so the spot would get pretty big over the large distance.. (sorry if Im stating the obvious)..

venus
25-03-2009, 03:23 PM
The Relay mirror experiment (RME), launched in February 1990, demonstrated critical technologies for space-based relay mirrors that would be used with an SDI directed-energy weapon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed-energy_weapon) system. The experiment validated stabilization, tracking, and pointing concepts and proved that a laser could be relayed from the ground to a 60 cm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centimetre) mirror on an orbiting satellite and back to another ground station with a high degree of accuracy and for extended durations.

With the above statement they must have developed some way of directing the beam?
link here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defense_Initiative)