The spaceplane homes in on its first victim, a Russian satellite, one of eighteen positioned in a geosynchronous orbit, 22,300 miles above North America. The SMV fires its thruster jets, stabilizing its orbit. Keeping pace with the Russian machine, the SMV retracts the clamshell-like doors within its nose cone, revealing its top-secret payload.

The Lockheed Martin guidance system locks on to its target.

Building to a full charge, the laser ignites, projecting its invisible beam onto the surface of the eighteen-foot-long Russian satellite. The thin protective outer casing begins to heat, causing the metallic hull to glow a brilliant orange-red. Sensitive electronic systems within the satellite short. Sensory components sizzle and melt, leaving charred and carbonized circuit boards.

The laser energy reaches the onboard power cells—With a powerful blast, the reconnaissance satellite explodes, transforming its scorched remains into glittering hunks of space debris.

Caught within the Earth’s gravitational pull, a large chunk of Russian metal ignites into a fireball as it reenters the planet’s atmosphere.

A young boy living in Greenland gazes up at the northern night sky, excited to see the unexpected light show. Closing his eyes, he makes a wish on the shooting star.

The nose of the SMV closes, the spaceplane firing its thrusters, propelling the satellite killer into a higher orbit as it races to hunt down its next target.

High-Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF)
White Sands, New Mexico

To the uninformed passerby, the domed concrete-and-steel observatory situated within the high-security compound along New Mexico’s southern desert appears as nothing more than another stellar observation post. But beneath the retractable dome lies not a telescope but a 5.1-inch naval gun turret mounted on a fast-revolving, 360-degree swiveling platform.

This is the Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser (MIRACL), the most powerful laser in the world. Developed by TRW and Israel’s RAFAEL, the deuterium-fluoride chemical laser is capable of sending high-powered, repeated bursts into space at the speed of light.

Working on the same principles that operate a rocket engine, the laser uses nitrogen trifluoride as an oxidizer to burn ethylene fuel, which, in turn, yields excited fluoride atoms. As deuterium and helium are injected into the exhaust, optical energy is extracted, creating a three-centimeter-wide-by-twenty-one-centimeter-high laser beam. The key component of the satellite killer, the Hughes-made satellite beam director, then locks on to its fast-moving target, transmitting the powerful laser through the atmosphere and into space.