Lights, Tricorders, Action!

By Carl Slaughter: More science links.

Satellite killers. Chinese laser weapons.

China’s military is developing powerful lasers, electromagnetic railguns and high-power microwave weapons for use in a future “light war” involving space-based attacks on satellites.

Beijing’s push to produce so-called directed-energy weapons aims to neutralize America’s key strategic advantage: the web of intelligence, communication and navigation satellites enabling military strikes of unparalleled precision expeditionary warfare far from US shores.

Check out this diagram and these videos illustrating railguns.

I’m a doctor not a… Early model tricorders.

These handy medical devices are inspired by the ‘Star Trek’ tricorder.

Two hundred years from now, medical tricorders like the ones depicted in Star Trek will be as common as tongue depressors. They’ll be unremarkable, mobile tools on our SpaceX starships shuttling us back and forth to Mars.

It’s in the stars. Republican Controlled Congress, Trump, and NASA. “What do the stars hold for the Trump administration? Here’s how NASA’s mission could change”.

Some big changes could be in store for American space exploration under President Trump and the Republican Congress. Sending more humans to the moon, as well as a mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa seem to be part of a plan that extends years beyond the Trump administration.”

Miner change in plans. Trump wants to mine the Moon.

“NASA envisions a future in which low Earth orbit is largely the domain of commercial activity while NASA leads its international and commercial partners in the human exploration of deep space,” the agency wrote. So while Trump’s motivations may sound a bit sinister on the face of things, it’s about getting as much back as possible from the research and investments NASA makes and not necessarily about Trump lining his pockets with cash from commercial space endeavors.

One thought on “Lights, Tricorders, Action!

  1. The article conflates lasers, which are a directed energy weapon, with railguns, which are not.

    Entirely different fire control problem against a 25,000 ft/sec target shooting light as opposed to even a hypervelocity projectile.

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