Re: Laser communications idea

ChuckKuecker (ckuecker@mcs.net)
Mon, 11 May 1998 07:45:23 -0500

At 11:24 PM 5/10/98 PDT, you wrote:
>On a purely non-technical note, you might want to be careful which
>satellite you're doing the bouncing off of. Shooting a medium powered
>laser at someone else's satellite could be interpreted as an unfriendly
>act, Especially if the satellite has sensors that could be
>dazzled/destroyed by such a beam. I have a feeling that a laser beam
>whose scattered reflection is powerful enough to be detected from earth
>is more then bright enough to create a big dead spot in the center of a
>CCD on any earth observation satellite.
>
>Darin Sunley

Good point. I would vote for making sure of WHICH sattelite you point
at...the CIA might take it amiss, as would NOAA..

Next idea - would it be THAT easy to kill a spy satellite? I imagine the
orbits are secret, so you never know where they are..

Chuck Kuecker