Although the Airborne Laser (ABL) was fired from a stationary plane at a target on the ground just a few metres away, the test marked a milestone for the weapon, developed by aerospace firms Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
So starts a recent article on airborne laser from New Scientist. The most useful information for me is the following time line.
It took Norma Margeson a few minutes to learn to control the skinny metal robot. But instead of viewing it as a machine, she soon warmed up to it as a companion.
The robot is commanded with a laser pointer.
Researchers have uncovered a pond-sized crater in the woods of central Alberta, Canada, carved out by a meteor that slammed into Earth about 1100 years ago. The technique they used to pinpoint the pit–a laser take on radar–figures to help scientists find evidence of hundreds of similar impacts that have remained hidden until now.
