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Rank: Advanced Member
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 Outer Space Treaty Signed (1967)The Outer Space Treaty represents the basic legal framework of international space law. It bans the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in outer space, exclusively limits the use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes, and forbids any government from claiming a celestial resource, such as the Moon or a planet, on the grounds that they are the common heritage of mankind. What are laser brooms, and why are they not expressly prohibited by the treaty? More...
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Amazing that we can agree not to carve up outer space into national territories. I wonder how long that will last when space tourism and space travel in general become more commonplace and affordable.
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I skimmed the article and still wouldn't know a laser broom if I saw one. Did anyone notice what laser brooms are? I'm not going back to figure things out, myself.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Quote:A laser broom is a proposed ground-based laser beam-powered propulsion system whose purpose is to sweep space debris out of the path of the International Space Station.
It is designed to target debris between one and ten centimeters in diameter. Even small-sized debris can cause considerable damage in extremely high-speed collisions. The Space Shuttle routinely shows evidence of "tiny" impacts upon post-flight inspection.
Proposed initial trials will use low power because of concerns about inadvertently contravening the Outer Space Treaty, which bans laser weapons in space. - Wikipedia
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Sounds good - kind of space agey. Thanks, Michal!
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Rank: Advanced Member
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MichalG wrote:Amazing that we can agree not to carve up outer space into national territories. I wonder how long that will last when space tourism and space travel in general become more commonplace and affordable. My thoughts exactly. Once space travel becomes more widespread and (excuse the pun) universal, I see outer space colonialism as a bit of a foregone conclusion. Hence, I remain skeptical of this treaty, but I suppose only time will tell.
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